ThC & milking ability

[linnettejane]

sea,
my experience (limited as it is) with dv in the females has been the opposite of hgc.  i have granddaughters and great granddaughters in my herd.  purebred shorty and 7/8 shorty plus.  all have been excellent milkers and very maternal.  no fertility problems.  in fact, i like them so much, im thinking about flushing one of them in the near future.   

 

[ZNT]

Just from my observations as a breeder, and the comments made on this post, it is pretty clear that the actual genetic defect is not the determining factor in milk production.  I feel it is a direct reflection of a persons selection process when picking replacement heifers.  It has been proven time and time again that the more muscle a heifer has, the lower her milk production will be.

Breeders that are into the show steer deal, and select heifers with the most muscle, the most hair, and are loaded with club calf genetics, are also most likely selecting heifers that have the highest likelyhood of having low milk production, and a greater than 50% chance of selecting THC heifers out of THC sires.

Breeders that select heifers for a breeding phenotype, and select based on performance genetics with less emphesis on muscle than the clubby breeder, will tend to pick heifers that have better milk genetics, and have a random selection of THC heifers closer to the nomal 50% when selecting heifers out of THC sires.

Just my two cents.

 

[SEA]

sea,
my experience (limited as it is) with dv in the females has been the opposite of hgc.  i have granddaughters and great granddaughters in my herd.  purebred shorty and 7/8 shorty plus.  all have been excellent milkers and very maternal.  no fertility problems.  in fact, i like them so much, im thinking about flushing one of them in the near future.   

Thank you linnettejane,  I misunderstood what you had posted in your earlier response.  I guess I will at least keep mind open when considering breeding to Double Vision.

 

[CAB]

I think that when you are talking about SH bulls that definitely have a place in the club calf world, Double Stuff and probably more so Double Vision are the 2 go to bulls. I keep thinking that there has to be a clean SH bull out there that can/will replace them, but really it is hard to find very many that do what those 2 bulls do as predictably and consistently.

 

[KSanburg]

This has been a very interesting thread, and very educational. From what I have seen in my cattle experience milking ability in show heifers goes back to the feed input as much as anything else, I have watched some good Angus and Hereford show heifers never raise a calf that was worth a darn and always blamed the feed, but in the recent past some show heifers have done very well as cows so I question rather it was feed or genetics in the earlier heifers. Obviously the fat in the udder has a lot to do with it. Management of these heifers I believe is crucial in getting them into production, I mean we feed them hundreds of pound of grain to get them to show condition and if we just jerk the feed pan out from under them what effect does that have on them as well? I have 1 THC cow on the ranch and she has a fine udder and raises a good calf every year that seems to preform right with THF cows and calves. I believe management is as much the answer as anything else.

 

[CAB]

I think too that most of us realize but often times forget that muscle mass and milking ability are traits that @ least appear to antagonize each other and we need to see it in print and try to remember it when we are picking out replacement heifers, but it is hard to let those heavier muscled cattle go to the yard or where ever. Thanks for the reminders.