Potential genetic defect in Shorthorn cattle

Cut the BS said:

sounds like scurs to me.. were the 'actually' attached?

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QMC said:

I just saw a commercial that says if you have a calf with a birth defect, and the cow took ZOLOFT, you may be entitled to a cash settlement.

sorry I didn't catch the phone #.

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colosteers said:

To whom it may concern / FWIW

I guess that if some Postmasters know that you are sending Dr. Beever meat and ear notch samples in the mail, the Postmaster will make somebody go and get dry ice and ship with it.

If I can ask Knabe or somebody with some science education a question?    What happens when you put dry ice in a zip lock bag and send it in the mail for approximately a 3 day shipping?   I dont have much science knoledge--  but isnt dry ice a frozen gas --   that will expand,,,, with meat and ear notches?????

Somebody came back home and told me what he did and I just got to thinking????

any how --  have a good one

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knabe said:

Hmm. I don't recall a postmaster coordinating dry ice.  Maybe some do.

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aj said:

Lets throw this out there for the shorthorn leaders of the industry who have not a clue how the beef industry of the USA works. For someone who propagates a line of shorthorn cattle(with artificial nutrition and steroids). Who has  baby calves on a full feed rumen destroying feed regiment.......who has no common sense about the virtue of fertility levels of the the show heifers they destroy on a annual basis......are going to be concerned about a 15$ test? Its all about a coverup. It's all about about the newcomer who with their dominence of the breed has killed 4,000 registrations from last year. I stand corrected.

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DL said:

eskimo leggs said:

DL, What is the protocol for dealing with possible genetic defects in the shorthorn breed? Are there any forms for submission of the information? Any directions for submitting the DNA? And then who does it get sent to? These things would make it easier to submit the information if it is not available.

Thanks for the time and effort that you have put into this situation.

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eskimo - to submit samples for a gene hunt you would do the following

- affected calf - if dead, take a chunk of ear (1 x 1 inch is enough) stick it in a baggy, label it with a sharpie (calf number, sire & dam, farm name) - put in refrigerator (or if you can't send it right away you can freeze it)

-affected calf - if alive - blood sample in purple top tube (make sure you rock the tube back and forth as it has an anti coagulant and you don't want the blood to clot - the DNA is in the nucleus of the white cells) or you can get a tissue sample from the ear using a pig ear notcher

- dam of calf - purple top tube or ear notch - label with dams name, breed and reg # if registered

- sire - if he is yours and has not been collected - purple top tube; if he is yours and has been collected send a straw of semen (it can thaw); if he is an AI sire most likely DNA will be on file;  label with name, breed and reg # if registered; do not send in plain envelope put in padded envelop or box

-pictures of affected calf, description of abnormality by you or vet, and if calf was necropsied copy of necropsy report; short video if you think that would help

- pedigree of affected calf

-your name, address and phone number (and email)

- send samples on Monday or Tues (depending on where you live) - don't want them sitting somewhere over the weekend; if they can get to Illinois from your place ground in 2 days that is ok, otherwise send 2nd day; unless you are sure it will stay cold include an ice pack. If you have a small styrofoam container that is good - also make sure everything is capped tight, tubes padded, and put everything in a zip lock baggie

- samples for a gene hunt go to Dr Beever (address below)

Jonathan E. Beever, Ph.D.
Department of Animal Sciences
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
220 Edward R. Madigan Laboratory, MC-051
1201 West Gregory Drive
Urbana, IL 61801 USA

Some associations will pay for a complete necropsy on calves with abnormalities - generally for those abnormalities that are not confined to a limb (ie TH, PHA, AM, NH etc -   the really gross ugly ones) - Dr Steffen in Nebraska generally does them and calves are sent to him (sometimes frozen) - sometimes a closer vet pathologist will work with the association and Steffen to do the necropsy - I always suggest that people submit samples before the calf goes away for necropsy and that you keep a chunk of ear in your freezer - that way you know (a) the sample got the the gene gurus and (b) you always have a sample

Most breed associations have a genetic defect policy - ie how you report abnormal calves - generally it is not obvious when you go to their web site and often it is placed in some obscure place -

If you have a calf with an abnormality and you live near a U or state vet lab you can always take the calf for necropsy, in some instances you can arrange to ship it for necropsy

Samples from Canadian calves with abnormalities can be shipped with an import permit that Dr B has

let me know if I left anything out

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aj said:

What is beevers e-mail again?

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Barrel Racer said:

Hello all, I hope that everyone had a great Holiday season!  We are all doing well here in Illinois, although it is unusually warm and I'm really wishing it would freeze I'm tired of the horses slopping around in mud.  With that said....

Just wanted to remind everyone of a few things.... First,  please, please, please stick a note in your sample so I know what it is.  I've gotten probably 3 boxes in the last few days with just a blood tube and no note.  I have no idea what it is.  Dr B is in an out especially during winter break, so unless he's in and I can ask him and he remembers (he does get about 250 e-mails a day), I can't really do much with a blood tube without any information.  Sometimes they come from a 3rd party shipper too, so I don't even have any owner information.  Right now I've got about 5 or 6 different projects in which I've got samples coming in.  

Second, if your calf is dead and you are sending tissue, DL is correct about the size.  I usually use about a chunk the size of a pencil eraser for DNA isolation and if the tissue sample is is good shape that usually gives me enough DNA to do what I need.  As was mentioned earlier, I don't need the whole calf.  I don't have the storage space for entire animals so just an ear or tissue chunk is fine.   I did get an entire lamb once, that was nice opening in front of the UPS guy lol! They typically want you to wait until they leave to open boxes now...As KSU said, just freeze it beforehand, put some ice packs in a styro cooler and ship it 2-3 day.

Lastly, I know I'm preaching to the choir here, you guys are really good about your purple tube tops  ;D, but I have gotten quite a few red topped tubes lately.  Not much I can do with them.  Sometimes I can get "some" DNA out, but there's no way to get enough high quality DNA to run on the chip.  Best way to ship semen is to use a ball point pen and take out the inside slide in the straw and seal it back up.  You do not need to ship it in a semen tank, I'm just going to kill the sperm anyway lol! Use a padded envelope or put into a box, if you just stick in a regular envelope sometimes the rollers that sort mail will tear the envelope and I'll get just an empty envelope with the "we're sorry" tape.  In fact, there's probably quite a few straws of semen floating around mail machines, makes you want to wash your hands after opening your mail huh lol!

Colosteers-I got the heads up from DL, so I'll be on the lookout for your package.  Dry ice does expand quite a bit (at least in my experience), but I'll know what's going on and open accordingly.  And you are correct I typically don't tell them what's in the box lol!  

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sue said:

Hey ... I want to send a couple straws .. to dna . If I send candy with the samples, will this move my results ahead????

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aj said:

The calf that I had x-rayed has absolutely quit growing. He's probably 300 pounds less than his herd mates. It's not dwarf like but man.

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