THC questions

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WinterSpringsFarm

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Looking at a heifer that has heat seeker on the top side and bottom side, paternal grand sire and maternal sire. Should I request testing be done prior to sale? She would be used for a breeding piece.
 

trevorgreycattleco

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WinterSpringsFarm said:
Looking at a heifer that has heat seeker on the top side and bottom side, paternal grand sire and maternal sire. Should I request testing be done prior to sale? She would be used for a breeding piece.


Absolutely request a test.
 

knabe

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how many similarly bred females have you seen that have turned out to be breeding pieces versus ones that haven't?


be honest.
 

sue

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Every one is has a different breeding program and a customer base to follow it. If this sale heifer was say a heatseeker out of a commerical black angus female would you require the 8 tests for genetic issues that Angus have currently?

Recently my nephew purchased " THC sired" heifer out of a 8 yr old female I had bred and  sold 6 years ago. We did not ask for a test. The price was right, he needs a show heifer and I have all the confidence in the cow family- the family is old and very proven, super udder, moderate sized and great mothering ability.

In your case I would ask more about the cow family too.
 

trevorgreycattleco

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sue said:
Every one is has a different breeding program and a customer base to follow it. If this sale heifer was say a heatseeker out of a commerical black angus female would you require the 8 tests for genetic issues that Angus have currently?

Recently my nephew purchased " THC sired" heifer out of a 8 yr old female I had bred and  sold 6 years ago. We did not ask for a test. The price was right, he needs a show heifer and I have all the confidence in the cow family- the family is old and very proven, super udder, moderate sized and great mothering ability.

In your case I would ask more about the cow family too.


THC cattle posses a look. No denying it. I'd like to know if my heat seeker sired cow carried TH. If she doesn't, that opens the door to 5 million THC Bulls to use. If she had any angus in there, I'd research the pedigree and see if any more tests were needed, and only then if I was going to breed her back angus. Every situation is different, but the more knowledge to start from, the better. Unless you're just trying to win a show on the cheap or only interested in making a sale down the road.
 

sue

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You cant search a pedigree if it's a black  commerical non papered animal?  That's my point.
 

sue

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The Heatseeker pedigree is also potentially a DS carrier, so if you're testing.... test for both DS and TH. If this female is Heatseeker top and bottom on pedigree, then she is potentially DSH?  Cheaper to do both tests at the same time.
 

oakview

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THC cattle have the look?  Quick count of the open Shorthorn show at Louisville per entry book:  176 animals in catalog, 16 sired by THC bulls, 9%.  8 of the 16 were sired by Damn Proud.  THC sired animals were noticeably absent from the champion list.  What look did they have that some others did not?  Perhaps the steer show game is different.
 

GoWyo

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On the crossbred papered cattle with Angus there is no need to test for eight Angus defects if you don't breed to an Angus carrier bull.  That doesn't mean that there are not some Angus defects lurking around in the crossbred clubby bulls, but the likelihood is fairly low.  I would play the odds on that. 

However, TH is prevalent and you have to assume the heifer is THC when purchasing if she has a THC parent or even a potential THC parent (untested with THC in the pedigree).  If I was selling a potential THC heifer, I think I would test because the clean ones could potentially bring quite a bit more money if they're good.
 

trevorgreycattleco

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oakview said:
THC cattle have the look?  Quick count of the open Shorthorn show at Louisville per entry book:  176 animals in catalog, 16 sired by THC bulls, 9%.  8 of the 16 were sired by Damn Proud.  THC sired animals were noticeably absent from the champion list.  What look did they have that some others did not?  Perhaps the steer show game is different.

I was referring to show steers, not shorthorns. And in general THC cattle are more extreme. Maybe I'm wrong. Just open up a genetic horizons semen catalog. The carriers out number the clean.
 

oakview

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The THC in those bulls comes from the Shorthorn in them.  There has to be something else transmitted to them from Shorthorns besides the TH gene.  Heat Seeker is out of a purebred Shorthorn daughter of AF Improver 145.  I saw 145 at Aldens as a young bull and Heat Seeker as a three or four day old calf.  I can't say they had a totally similar "look."  I think Aldens had another bull named AF Majestic Dividend about the same time I saw 145 and I liked him much better.  I think he went to Hoyts and more or less disappeared.  It's been a long time, but I think my memory is correct. 
 
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