Calf Birth Weights - Request for info

[Louisa Gidney]

For those of you who don't know me, I'm an archaeologist specialising in the study of animal bones. At the moment I'm looking at data on infant calf bones from a possible vellum workshop on Lindisfarne. The metapodial bone length measurements produce normal distribution curves but there is quite a range between smallest and largest. So, I don't know if this is a normal new born pattern or whether it is influenced by sex ratio or age, if some animals are a little older than new born.
To get an idea of the normal newborn range, I would like some data on birth weights. All I need is the weight and sex of new born calves, though short/nonshort info would be helpful too. All data will be most gratefullly accepted, either metric or imperial.
I've made enquiry of DCS but am still awaiting a response.

[Inger]

Email sent

[Louisa Gidney]

I hadn't forgotten about this but other things got in the way. However, this topic has surfaced to the top of the "to do" pile again.
Between 1983 and 1991, the Uk herd book printed birth weights for those herds that supplied data. I've put the Knotting data separately as it was such a large herd at the time.
Annual mean birth weights (kgs)
Heifers Bulls
20.5 22
18.5 20.5
20 21
21 22.5
21.5 22.5
21 23.5
19 23
20 23.5
Knotting
21 22
19.5 21
19.5 21
20 20.5
22 24
23 24.5
21 21.5
21 22.5

21 23 ( more recent data from one herd)

26 28 (Inger, NZ)

info on NZ calves: range 26-30, purebred calf 19kgs "so small"
Obviously lots more number crunching to do but progeny from grading up/Appendix cows in the UK weighed in the same range as pure bred calves, whereas the NZ calves appear to be consistently heavier at birth. Out of interest, are more recent NZ calves with a higher % of Dexter weighing lighter?
If anyone has any more recent data, I'd be very grateful.

[Inger]

This year I will have 11 x Grade 4 calves ( 93.75% Dexter) and a Grade 5 (96.87% Dexter) calf being born, plus 8 x Grade 3 (87.5%) calves. So I can send you the weight and height measurements for them, at the end of the calving season. Most of our calves are due Sept/October, but we have 4 calves due in January. I can send the numbers for the first batch in October if you like.

Last year we had three Grade 4 bull calves, later steered;
Peter - measured at 4 days old. 32kgs, 26 inches high
Sunny - 28kgs, 26.5 inches high
Perry - 24kgs, 25 inches high

We didn't get ANY heifer calves last year. So I can't give you any female measurements. With 20 calves due this year, I jolly well hope I'll be able to give you a balance of sexes and their measurements.

Could you send me your email address Louisa? I'll write it on the page I collect the data on, so it will remind me to email you. :D

[Inger]

I'll email you the address of our research portfolio holder. Hopefully she could pass on data from other NZ breeders who have non-graded Dexter calves.

[Inger]

Thanks for your email addresses Louisa. I'll send you my birthweights once our calves have arrived.