carrier cattle and sales
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red
Well-known member
Cert, some of us here have been accused of being "crusaders" on the topic of TH/PHA. Many of us have either had affected animals, seen them first hand or been very instrumental in researching the defect or all three. Burying heads in the sand is one of the worst approaches that can be taken.
I'd like to see more carriers results published & the results put in sale catalogs. As someone else said, you get a catalog, like an animal & then at the sale find out it's a carrier. Private sales can't be made to ban carriers but I do believe the association sponsored sales should.
Thanks for the topic! (clapping)
Red
I'd like to see more carriers results published & the results put in sale catalogs. As someone else said, you get a catalog, like an animal & then at the sale find out it's a carrier. Private sales can't be made to ban carriers but I do believe the association sponsored sales should.
Thanks for the topic! (clapping)
Red
red
Well-known member
phoebe said:
Phoebe, I believe that DL is going to put together some information for us. TH ( please Gary Bob don't shoot me) started out by being primarily confined to the Shorthorn breed but you also are seeing a cross over in the clubbie, Maines & Chi's. PHA has shown up in the Maine-Anjou breed & Shorthorns that have Stinger in their pedigree. Most Maines with the defect can trace their bloodlines back to Draftpick or Payback. PHA also is showing up in the clubbies & the Chi's.
If you have a steer, you don't need to worry about it. It is a genetic defect so you don't need to worry about a nonbreeding animal. When you do worry is when you have 2 carriers bred. Thne you have a 25% chance ( hope my marbles are right) of having an affected or dead calf. If you bred a noncarrier to a carrier you have a 50% chance the offspring will be a carrier but alive.
I hope this isn't too confusing for you. For more information you can go to:
http://www.maine-anjou.org/ga/AllintheGenes.pdf
Good luck & let me know if you have anymore question!
Red ???
[email protected]
(cow)
INHO I believe that carrier animals should not be sold or shown in breed association sanctioned shows or sales. If we are promoting the best it is hard for me to make carrying a lethal recessive genetic defect an example of the best our breed has to offer. I also believe that if BREEDERS intend to get rid of these genetic defects we as breeders need to not use carrier bulls. Humans created this mess by breeding for a specific pehnotype - nature won't fix it for us, we have to fix it ourselves.
I see this as a medical issue that we should work to eliminate. I also see it as a welfare issue - is having a deformed calf that you have to kill an acceptable thing? Is having a PHA calf so big that even with a C-section you can't get the calf out so you have to shoot it a humane thing? I also see it as a commercial acceptance thing - if a commercial cattlemen buys a composite carrier bull and retains some females and then buys a carrier Maine bull and starts having PHA calves - how eager will he be to buy another Maine bull? And I see it as an education thing - there remain huge misconceptions about TH and PHA. And yes we can manage carrier females by breeding to noncarrier bulls - but how about the offspring - are we encouraging that they be tested?
All my cows are PHA free. For the 2006 calf crop I used semen from a bull who (unknown to all of us at the time) was a carrier - got 2 heifers. A real fabulous everybody wanted heifer (that I was sure was a carrier) and a plain Jane heifer. The fabulous heifer is clean (and I am going to keep her) and the plain heifer is a carrier. I can't sell her so if she takes an egg and carrys it to term - she can stay - if not she goes direclty to the kill floor. I can't sell a carrier animal - especially to a kid - even if we test and people "know" the results - there is so much lack of understanding - people really don't understand and I don't want to be part of the problem.
I know that there are lots of people who disagree with me on this one, but ain't that what makes the US great!? (cow) (cow) (cow) DL
INHO I believe that carrier animals should not be sold or shown in breed association sanctioned shows or sales. If we are promoting the best it is hard for me to make carrying a lethal recessive genetic defect an example of the best our breed has to offer. I also believe that if BREEDERS intend to get rid of these genetic defects we as breeders need to not use carrier bulls. Humans created this mess by breeding for a specific pehnotype - nature won't fix it for us, we have to fix it ourselves.
I see this as a medical issue that we should work to eliminate. I also see it as a welfare issue - is having a deformed calf that you have to kill an acceptable thing? Is having a PHA calf so big that even with a C-section you can't get the calf out so you have to shoot it a humane thing? I also see it as a commercial acceptance thing - if a commercial cattlemen buys a composite carrier bull and retains some females and then buys a carrier Maine bull and starts having PHA calves - how eager will he be to buy another Maine bull? And I see it as an education thing - there remain huge misconceptions about TH and PHA. And yes we can manage carrier females by breeding to noncarrier bulls - but how about the offspring - are we encouraging that they be tested?
All my cows are PHA free. For the 2006 calf crop I used semen from a bull who (unknown to all of us at the time) was a carrier - got 2 heifers. A real fabulous everybody wanted heifer (that I was sure was a carrier) and a plain Jane heifer. The fabulous heifer is clean (and I am going to keep her) and the plain heifer is a carrier. I can't sell her so if she takes an egg and carrys it to term - she can stay - if not she goes direclty to the kill floor. I can't sell a carrier animal - especially to a kid - even if we test and people "know" the results - there is so much lack of understanding - people really don't understand and I don't want to be part of the problem.
I know that there are lots of people who disagree with me on this one, but ain't that what makes the US great!? (cow) (cow) (cow) DL
DL,
I am in agreement with you 100%. I have a beautiful heifer that is a PB Maine and a kid wanted her to show. The Ag Teacher thought she was great. I cannot sell her to a kid or even at the salebarn. I would not feel right about it. Keep up the good work.... (clapping)
I am in agreement with you 100%. I have a beautiful heifer that is a PB Maine and a kid wanted her to show. The Ag Teacher thought she was great. I cannot sell her to a kid or even at the salebarn. I would not feel right about it. Keep up the good work.... (clapping)
red
Well-known member
Looking through the IA Maine sale catalog for there expo there was no mention of PHA/TH. I thought all the animals had to be tested prior to the sale? Hope the OH Maines follow through on releasing informtion.
Red
Red
