TH question

[spencer f.]

My dad and I were looking at buying a heifer that is out of Ali and the cow is a heatwave. I dont think the cow or the heifer have been tested for TH, but I was wondering what the chances of the heifer being a carrier is as well as what the chances of her progeny being carriers of TH is. Any input is welcomed.

  thanks Spencer F.

 

[Silver]

the way th works is if two th carriers are breed to each other, then its a 50% of the calves will be carriers, 25% will be clean and a 25% will be th lethal. You can always play these percentage games, but until you have the test results in your hand nothing is for sure.

 

[knabe]

have her tested.  if she's free, pay more.  if she's a carrier, pay less.  if they won't test her, look elsewhere.

seems like the same ratio as the defect.

 

[JTM]

There are the scientific percentages and then there are what happens. We only have one TH carrier cow and the two heifers that she has had have both been positive. That is my experience and I believe that other people will probably tell you the same. More times than not they will have th positive calves.