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Posted: Fri May 08, 2009 7:37 pm
by nuttalls
delilah one of my better heifers has got 2 white socks, should she still be a pedigree anyone help, she,s going to a few local shows but probably not has an entry, she,s a short legged and in calf. any showing tips for the other guy,s. jean jordeth 
Posted: Fri May 08, 2009 9:08 pm
by Mark Bowles
Hi Jean, sadly if your potential show heifer has 2 white socks then i am afraid she is not up to breed standard and not really suitable for showing.
I have had a red non-short heifer this year with 2 white patches on her rear legs, and a white tassle to her tail, i have only birth notified her with the DCS and she will go into the beef chain.
Posted: Sat May 09, 2009 9:44 am
by Inger
Where do the white patches come from?
Posted: Sat May 09, 2009 11:30 am
by Pennielea
Jean
Mark is being very kind in saying that Delilah should not be shown. She is not up to breed standard and if presented in the ring could be publicly told to leave, as I have seen happen, or stood at the end of the line and a quiet word from the judge explaining the embarassment.
The breed standard says:-
'Wholly black, wholly red and wholly dun are of equal merit. A little white will not disqualify, but must be limited to:- Cows,a small amount on the udder and underline, in the tassel of the tail and on the vulva. There must be no white forward of the navel or on any other part of the body.'
The animal you have described should not be registrered as pedigree never mind shown. Some years ago council agreed that animals which ticked the box 'excess white' on the registration card were entitled to be registered as Grade 'C' and their progeny as full pedigree if they did not carry white. Whether white feet qualifies as 'excess white' only council can decide as I have never seen a defdinition of this expression.
The animal as described would/should not have been accepted at a Society approved sale. I have had a similar problem in the past, and white feet are a sure sign of cross breeding in the near (or possibly distant) past. As Mark says the only real solution to eliminate the problem is the beef chain.
Sorry! Ian
Posted: Sat May 09, 2009 12:30 pm
by Inger
DNA profiling will help you find out if the bull you thought was the sire, actually is the sire. The NZ Dexter Society has now made it compulsory to file the DNA profile of any bull calf being registered, before it can have full registration. This way, if there is a query as to the sire, the profile is already on file with the Society and the DNA profile of the calf can be matched up. It ensures that the pedigree of any calf can be verified.
I had an occassion, a few years ago, when a cow that I had been waiting for 2 years to give me a calf, finally did. BUT when I saw it, I needed no DNA test to tell me that the sire must have been the neighbour's hereford bull, rather than our Dexter bull, as she had a white face. Very disappointing, but she sold for a reasonable amount at the salesyards, as a yearling. In fact her white face helped to sell her. Seems like people prefer white faced beef animals. No accounting for taste. 
Posted: Sat May 09, 2009 3:39 pm
by nuttalls
well, poor delillah as i thought, her mum woodbank daisyf26217 has never had a calf before or after with white on. and all other calves born here have had no white on,my stock bull is by vatch hercules and appleseam 4th. could it be daisy,s grandparents maybe?? thanx for the above replies
Posted: Sun May 10, 2009 7:47 am
by Inger
I suspect that it comes from the bull the daisy happened to find hansome at the time and I suspect it wasn't the Dexter bull that had been chosen for her. Maybe a neighbour had a black and white bull of some other breed?
Posted: Mon May 11, 2009 9:03 am
by Penny
I may be wrong, but I think the Woodbank herd also keep Shetland cattle (black and white) so there could be some illicit liason in her past pedigree?!
Posted: Mon May 11, 2009 6:42 pm
by nuttalls
dear inger, thats impossible she,s a poor doer and was inside with bull. penny,s answer looking good thanx penny