Sex ratio - Proportion of bull to heifer calves?

SteveM · Post by **SteveM** » Sun Mar 12, 2006 1:34 pm

So far this year two of each, with three left to calve, last year two female and one male.

Penny · Post by **Penny** » Sun Mar 12, 2006 3:32 pm

Just to prove that things do even themselves out eventually, since my last entry April'05, we have had 16 heifers and only 5 bull calves!

nz dexter · Post by **nz dexter** » Mon Mar 13, 2006 3:42 am

4 heifers and 2 bulls for us this year last year we got 2 heifers 2 bulls and prior to that about a 50-50 mix evened out over the years.

oliver1921 · Post by **oliver1921** » Mon Mar 13, 2006 10:02 am

Scalebor Park Dexters ytd stats are 5 bulls (2 short 3 long) and 3 heifers (1 short and 2 long) all from short bull and long females).

Hope this adds to the stats

hazel clarke · Post by **hazel clarke** » Mon Mar 13, 2006 1:35 pm

Looks as if some of us only seem to manage predominantly male or female calves. Someone somewhere said that it might be something to do with the water! I even tried moving farm to make a difference but that did not work, neither did changing bulls. Ashieburn herds of both Dexter and Highland cattle still produce predominantly female offspring!! As Duncan says small numbers do not give good statistical results, the ratio probebly evens out over the breed.
Interesting thoughts all around
Hazel

John C · Post by **John C** » Mon Mar 13, 2006 4:12 pm

Had my first ever dexter calve about three weeks ago. It dropped something in the field that looked like a prop from the movie Alien ! Fortunatly she was only a few months pregnant so she was able to abort it quite easily . It was a new one on me so I contacted an experienced site member and e mailed her some photos . She told me that it was a fairly rare case of the embryo forming inside out . As soon as she said this I could see that she was exactly right . It was grusome . The heifer has cleansed OK but it now means that if she takes to the bull and things go correctly I,m going to have a Christmas calf Not what I had planned . NOW THATS WHAT I CALL BAD LUCK ! A heifer or a bull calf will be a big improvement on a "thing"

mindenho · Post by **mindenho** » Wed Mar 15, 2006 2:46 pm

I wonder if it has anything to do with bloodlines. Both my foundation cows came from the Whitegates herd but one line produces predominately heifers and the other predominately bulls. Any thoughts?

Duncan MacIntyre · Post by **Duncan MacIntyre** » Thu Mar 16, 2006 1:12 pm

My thoughts on this are simply that there is no point whatsoever in any of us looking at our own figures since even in large herds chance will play its part and give odd figures for time to time. In the average Dexter herds statistics of this sort or eg relating to bulldog incidence etc is just not valid. w
We need samples of 1000s to be meaningfull.

Duncan