Is this the thickest Shorthorn heifer you've seen?

Help Support Steer Planet:

coyote

Well-known member
Joined
Jun 15, 2007
Messages
499
A guy sent me this picture and asked me to post it on here for him.
 

Attachments

  • IMG_1163 - Copy.JPG
    IMG_1163 - Copy.JPG
    213.6 KB · Views: 648

justintime

Well-known member
Joined
May 26, 2007
Messages
4,346
Location
Saskatchewan Canada
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.
 

wiseguy

Well-known member
Joined
Apr 17, 2011
Messages
143
Location
Bethany,Illinois
Easily the heaviest muscled shorthorn femle I have ever seen! I definitely would not want to keep her for a replacement. Besides being to terminal her structure is very concerning.
 

mark tenenbaum

Well-known member
Joined
Mar 23, 2009
Messages
5,765
Location
Virginia Sometimes Iowa and Kansas
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 O0
 

twistedhshowstock

Well-known member
Joined
May 2, 2011
Messages
758
Location
Nacogdoches, TX
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.
 

justintime

Well-known member
Joined
May 26, 2007
Messages
4,346
Location
Saskatchewan Canada
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 !!
 
C

cornish

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

Nope-- Steerplanet exposes another one!  (clapping)

justintime said:
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. 
 

justintime

Well-known member
Joined
May 26, 2007
Messages
4,346
Location
Saskatchewan Canada
aj said:
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.
 

coyote

Well-known member
Joined
Jun 15, 2007
Messages
499
PAINTEARTH DEE 47W is the dam .

I am wondering if it could be the very first double muscled defect of its lineage, just like the very first polled Shorthorn.
 

Ohio1

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 3, 2011
Messages
652
Double muscled I'd say, but when you look at her she looks like she has a showpigs rear end haha
 

ROMAX

Well-known member
Joined
Apr 12, 2008
Messages
1,233
Location
kintore,ontario, canada
In my opinion this is a belgian blue,or piedmontese cross calf.probably a wrong labelled semen straw.Notice how fine boned she is and that is a trait of both those breeds.
 

CWshorthorns

Well-known member
Joined
Jul 29, 2009
Messages
213
Location
Missouri
We have a heifer that is just like that i will get a picture of her today and post it along with her asa reg#. the only thing diffrant between this one and ours is that ours is as roaned as it can be. i have wondered if anyone has had one like this before.
 
C

cornish

Guest
ROMAX said:
In my opinion this is a belgian blue,or piedmontese cross calf.probably a wrong labelled semen straw.Notice how fine boned she is and that is a trait of both those breeds.

I think that's a trait of all double muscled animals-- I've never seen one that wasn't extremely fine boned...

I think it might also be an optical illusion, based off of how massive they are up high==- making it appear as if they are really frail down low-- where in all reality.. they aren't any different bone wise than a normal animal.
 

aj

Well-known member
Joined
Jul 5, 2006
Messages
6,420
Location
western kansas
cool cw. Is there a data base of dna markers? Would it do any good to send in a sample somewhere.
 
Top