Steer Planet - Show Steers and Club Calves Forum

A guy sent me this picture and asked me to post it on here for him.

She is sired by Hill Haven Summit 5X.

this heifer is definitely double muscled and she will get heavier muscled as she gets older. By weaning she will look like a Belgian Blue. Do you know the dam's pedigree? I'm scratching my head wondering where the double muscling is coming from from the sire's pedigree, and a doubled muscled calf has to get the gene for double muscling from both sides of the pedigree. I would bet my farm that she is double muscled and I also think her structure is messed up and is going to get even worse with time.
I think the owner better figure out where the double muscling gene is coming from and make sure be does not combine these genetics again.  My prediction is she will be crippled so bad by weaning that she will be hardly saleable. To me she already appears to have some issues in here joints especially in her back legs, and if this is showing up already, it is going to get a lot worse.

I had one that wasnt double muscled but had the biggest butt on any breed Ive ever seen,she ended up crippled;and at 8 months could barely walk-the red one here will too-she definitely goes back to bel-Blue-they were created perse-from shorthorns-she has some in the woodpile

Definately double muscling there, and its not a good thing. As was said earlier she will get even tighter as she gets older and will not be able to walk.  Double muscled cattle also often cant calve on their own.  So I would be shipping her as quick as possible.  There was a roan heifer in the plus class at Ft Worth built exactly like this. I mean she looked like a red roan belgian blue.  Asked the guy if she was part blue and he said no she was sold to him as half red angus.

next genetic defect----------------------> to be swept under the rug?

Nope-- Steerplanet exposes another one!  

There are still some Shorthorns that carry the double muscling gene.  The Belgian Blue were developed from Shorthorns stock that had this double muscling gene, many decades ago. Most of these bloodlines have been eliminated but there are still some around, and some of them are very good genetics ( when the double muscling does not appear!!)  I know some of these bloodlines and I am not seeing any of these in the sire of this calf, so I am curious where it is coming from. This is something we really don't need !!

So, if it's not in the sire-- then there is a semen tank mixup- or a false pedigree on the calf and/or the bull. 

Is it a scotsdale benham deal or what?

I'm not sure who Scotsdale Benham even is, but I have never known of any Scotsdale genetics that possessed this gene. That doesn't mean there isn't some, but it is obviously coming from somewhere in the pedigree on both the sire and dam sides. Personally, I don't see where it is coming from on the sires side, and I am certain that the breeder of this bull has not fudged his pedigree. They are as honest as any breeder I know of. I am also fairly certain that this is not a semen tank mixup as this calf is the result of a pasture mating, and I doubt if AI has been used in this herd. I would really be interested in seeing the dam's pedigree as well.

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Train Wreck - Do not want.