Using UCDavis-VGL Parentage Verification to Save Money on Obligate Testing

Ever since we've been members of the ADCA, genotyping bull calves has been required for registration.  At this summer's Annual General Meeting, the ADCA will be voting on a new proposal to require genotyping heifers born in 2016 and after.  Here is the proposal:

• All females, born on or after January 1, 2016, must have a genotype on file at an approved lab, prior to registration.
 • Bull calves, born on or after January 1, 2016, are required to be genotyped and sire qualified prior to registration 
• The offspring of all 2016 calves (and all offspring thereafter) must have a genotype with parentage verification on file at an approved lab (with their genotype reports residing at the same lab as the reports of both their sire and dam). 
• Steers are exempt from these genotyping requirements. 

The proposal along with questions and answers can be found on the ADCA website.

Last year I did several blog posts about parentage verification:
Parentage Verification:  Why Is It Important?
Parentage Verification Questions & Answers
Parentage Verification:  Some Interesting Statistics

One concern that has been expressed recently concerning this proposal is the "added cost" to breeders.  It is true that if the proposal passes, breeders will have to spend $25 more to register a heifer, the cost of a genotype at UCDavis Veterinary Genetics Lab (VGL), or a similar amount to have testing done at Texas A&M.  However, there are several financial advantages that this proposal would achieve for breeders.

There is the obvious, albeit unquantifiable, advantage to having fully parentage verified animals.  This means that a buyer will know for sure that the pedigree of a Dexter he is buying is exactly as that animal is registered.  Too many people have bought Dexters, only to discover in the process of trying to parentage verify them that either the sire or dam were not the ones listed on the pedigree.  In a few cases, neither the sire nor the dam were correct.  One woman bought two cows that were registered as daughters of a prestigious bull, only to discover that they were actually sired by two very different bulls--and one of them had a different dam, too.  A $25 genotype and parentage verification would have prevented those costly errors.  More and more buyers are requesting fully PVd animals and refusing to buy those that aren't.  $25 is a bargain to have that Parentage Verified guarantee behind a pedigree.

Another advantage is measurable, and that is the money saved in testing by having animals parentage verified.  Any time an animal is obligate anything, if it is parentage verified there is no need to test for that: non-chondro, PHA negative, black, red, A2 or polled.

Here's the process I recently followed to register and parentage verify our newest Dexter calf:

The blank "Order Tests" page on My VGL account.

I entered Seb's registered name, ZH Royal Celebration, and filled out his information.  Then I selected the tests I wanted done:  DNA (genotype), polled and red.  Note that I did not have to select A2, Dexter Bulldog Dwarfism (Chondrodysplasia), or Dexter PHA--because he is obligate A2 and negative for both Chondro and PHA.

Also note under the "Selected Tests," there is a box next to "Parent Verification (to confirm Dam/Sire)."

When I checked that box, a new window opened up, "Sire Parent Verification Info."  Note the buttons: "Search My Account," "Enter Name + VGL Case #," and "New Sire."  Since the sire of ZH Royal Celebration is Mrald Crown Royal, our bull, the sire is in my account.

When I clicked on "Search My Account," the two bulls in my account appeared in the purple lines.  Wellie, the second one, is now a steer.  So I clicked on Mrald Crown Royal.

Next it was time for "Dam Parent Verification Info" underneath the sire.

When I clicked on "Search My Account," all of the females I have tested at VGL popped up in the purple lines, and I selected the correct dam, New Hope Ebony Belle.

The bottom section "Parent Information" did not need to be filled in.  That is only to be used when parentage verification is not selected.

Once I clicked "Save Test," a "Confirmation" page appeared for me to verify the information.  I clicked "Proceed to Checkout."

Here is the "Payment Basket" for my tests.  Remember, to comply with the ADCA requirements I did not have to order anything except the $25 genotype with parentage verification.  I know Seb is black and horned, because we disbudded him, but I chose to do the tests anyway, as well as testing to see if he carries red and what kind.

Parentage verification is the only way to guarantee obligate status, and in this case it saved me $40 in testing because Seb could not carry chondro or PHA, and he must be homozygous A2.  The $25 genotype has already paid itself back and more.  Had I not done these tests, I could have spent $25 and still had Seb's obligate status confirmed for non-chondro, PHA negative and homozygous A2.

Note this screen, which appears after payment has been made.  Using the browser's "Back" button would cancel the test.

Here's the automatic email I received with the attached "testform.pdf" to print out.  SinceVGL's online forms have changed slightly since I previously did a how-to post on ordering tests through VGL, this post updates the paperwork part of the process.  The process for attaching the tail hairs and sending off the sample is still the same and can be found HERE.  Scroll down to the photo with the scotch tape dispenser sitting on the paperwork and read from there.

Meanwhile, as you read the information in this post and consider the female genotyping proposal, I hope you will be convinced of the advantages of this proposal for our Dexter breed and plan to vote Yes either in person or by proxy at the AGM this June.

NOTE:  After hearing some feedback on this post, I need to specify that the point is to show how having our animals parentage verified can help save us money on testing when obligate status is involved.  The cost of the genotype can possibly be more than recuperated in money saved on testing. This is in no way, shape or form meant to endorse breeding for an all-obligate herd in order to save money on testing.  There is a long list of desirable qualities to keep as goals in breeding our Dexters; cheap testing fees does not make the list!

Parentage Verification: Some Interesting Statistics

Looking at online pedigrees the other night, I found some interesting statistics on Parentage Verification on the ADCA website.

• 32,039 - The total number of cattle registered with the ADCA as of Dec. 7, 2014.
• 20,182 - The number of Dexters born since April 2000, registered with the ADCA.  If you search the registry by "Birthdate," you will find animals born in April 2000 beginning on page 475 and running through the next 807 pages, for a total of 20,182 Dexters.  (There are 25 animals per page, although the count sometimes begins or ends in the middle of a page.  Some of those would be steers, of course, and not used for breeding.)  
• April 2000 - Why is it significant?  Keep reading . . .

Searching by "Parentage DNA on the ADCA website brings up some interesting results:  

• 791 Dexters have a genotype on file.  
• 2,341 Dexters are “Sire Qualified."
• 71 Dexters are “Dam Qualified.”  
• 1,175 Dexters are “Sire and Dam Qualified.”  

If you search the “Sire and Dam Qualified” animals by "Birthdate," you will see several things:

• The first two animals have no birthdate listed, and one was born in 1994.  Excluding these three animals . . .
• April 2000 was the birthdate of the oldest “Sire and Dam Qualified” animal.  
• 20,182 - The number of Dexters born after April 2000, any one of which could be “Sire and Dam Qualified.”  
• 1,172 - The number of Dexters born since April 2000 that have been "Sire and Dam Qualified."  
• 5.8% - The percentage of Dexters born since April 2000 that have been "Sire and Dam Qualified."  

Let's go back just to 2010, the last four years . . .

• 7,564 - The number of registered Dexters born since 2010.  
• 960 - The number of Dexters born since 2010 that have been “Sire and Dam Qualified.”  
• 12.7% - The percentage of Dexters born since 2010 that have been "Sire and Dam Qualified."  
• On the rise -  The percentage of fully PV'd Dexters born since 2010.
• 87% - The chance you still run when buying any four-year old registered Dexter that its parents have not been qualified.  You can hope for the best, but you have no guarantee that that animal's pedigree is what it says it is.
• 215 - The number of breeders accounting for the 1,175 "Sire and Dam Qualified" animals.  (It’s important to realize that sometimes it is an owner rather than the breeder who “Sire and Dam Qualified” the animal, as is the case for one of ours.)  Keeping this in mind . . .
• 4 - The number of breeders accounting for 321 of the 1,175 fully PV’d animals, a whopping 27% of all “Sire and Dam Qualified” Dexters!  
• 9 - The number of breeders accounting for 465 of the PV’d animals, almost 40%.

I did not have a way--short of counting the number of breeders on 1,282 pages of the ADCA registry--to calculate how many breeders currently have Dexters registered with the ADCA.  It would be interesting to know what percentage of all breeders are actually doing PV.  Considering that nine breeders have done almost 40% of all PV'd animals, I would guess the percentage is not great.  However, I have two more very significant statistics for you . . .

• 12 - The number of Area Directors plus the President of the ADCA, currently in the process of discussing Parentage Verification and the direction the ADCA will take in the future.  And finally . . .
• 1 - The number of breeders it takes to effect change.  If that "one" is you . . . and you . . . and you . . . and you . . . change will happen, one person at a time.  Contact your Area Director and let them know you support full Parentage Verification as a requirement for registration.  Thank your director and the Board for moving in the right direction.  And even more importantly, don't wait for the Board's decision.  Start getting your herd PV'd today!

Parentage Verification Questions & Answers

Q:  What is the difference between genotyping and parentage verification?

A:  Genotyping uses a sample of your animal’s DNA to read its genetic fingerprint.  It is a DNA profile that identifies your animal.  Parentage verification goes a step farther:  It compares your animal’s genotype (genetic fingerprint) to those of its sire and dam in order to qualify them as its parents.

Q:  What if I’m not sure which are the parents of my calf?

A:  Parentage verification can be done for multiple possible sires and even dams.  Comparing their genotypes with your calf’s genotype can exclude any sire or dam that could not be a parent of your calf.  For the most accurate exclusion, both sire (or sires) and dam (or dams) must have their genotypes included.  VGL has an excellent explanation on their website.  

Q:  All my Dexters are registered.  Why should I bother to PV my calves?  Their parents are both registered, so they can be registered, too.

A:  VGL’s website says:  “For over four decades, parentage verification has been utilized in animal registration programs. Breeder experiences have proven that parentage testing, in combination with well run breeding programs, can ensure accurate pedigrees.”  A breeder’s integrity and reputation depend on the accuracy of their animals’ pedigrees.  When a breeder sells a calf as having a certain pedigree, and subsequent PV by the new owner shows that the pedigree is wrong, the breeder’s breeding practices and even their honesty can be called into question.

Q:  But surely such things rarely happen?

A:  Just this year (2014), one Dexter owner PV'd two cows they had bought and learned that the prestigious sire on their pedigrees was not, in fact, their sire.  With the breeder's cooperation, it was finally determined that two different bulls had actually sired the two cows in question.  

At almost the same time, another Dexter owner had the same problem happen with three different cows.  Two of the cows eventually had the correct parents identified, but although this owner has been trying for more than seven months to get the breeder to determine the correct sire of the last cow, at this time the sire is still unknown.  None of the three cows ended up having the bloodlines for which the owner had bought them.  So unfortunately, these kinds of situations are not that uncommon.

Q:  If I bred my cow to a registered Dexter bull, isn't the bull already "Sire Qualified" or even "Sire and Dam Qualified?"

A:  Not necessarily.  The ADCA merely requires all bull calves to be genotyped for registration:  

1. When registering bull calves, geno lab results must be included with registration. 

Of the 34 AI sires listed on the ADCA website, only six are "Sire and Dam Qualified."  Twelve are "Sire Qualified," and 16 simply have their genotype on file.

Q: Why do some ADCA AI bulls have a blank next to Genotype?

  

A:  One important consideration for your future success in having your offspring PV'd is where a bull's genotype is on file.  Only 9 of the 34 ADCA AI sires state that their genotypes are on file both at TAMU and VGL.  Ten have their genotypes on file only at TAMU.  Fifteen of the bulls do not have the location of their genotypes specified, leaving a blank next to Genotype.  If you have your cows' genotypes on file at one lab and use a bull whose genotype is on file only at the other, it could be more complicated for you to PV your calves, especially if the bull is deceased.  You might need to have your cow genotyped at the same lab as the bull to accomplish it.  

If your cow and the bull you use are both at TAMU, you can "Sire and Dam Qualify" your calf simply by listing the parents' names on the test form.  For VGL, you will need to ask the bull's owner for a Case Number in order to "Sire and Dam Qualify" the calf.  

If you are using an AI sire, it would be wise to get an extra semen straw to send to the lab of your choice if the bull is not already on file there.  It's worth the extra expense to have the peace of mind that your calves are PV'd.

Q:  I’m convinced that I should genotype and PV my animals, but I’m not sure how to do it.  Who can help me?

A:  Contact your Area Director.  There is a list of the Area Directors and their contact info on the ADCA website.  They should be able to answer any questions you have. 

There are several posts about the process on this blog, and if you still have questions, I would be glad to help.  You can contact me using the "Contact Susan" form under the ADCA logo on the upper right hand side of this blog.

Q:  I genotype and PV my calves, but the results are my private property.  I don’t send results to the ADCA because they are no one’s business but my own.  Why should I publicize my animal’s test results?

A:  You hurt yourself and your animals by not sending test results to the ADCA.  More and more people are buying only "Sire and Dam Qualified" breeding stock, and when people look at your animals' pedigrees, it appears that they have not been tested.  With so many sellers offering fully PV'd stock, many buyers will pass you by.  However, when you send results to the ADCA that your animals are fully PV’d, you provide a public guarantee of their pedigree to interested buyers.

NOTE:  The ADCA Registrar does not make public your animal’s genotype nor your TAMU Accession Number or VGL Case Number.  The test results merely serve to authorize the Registrar to designate your animal as “G5” or “Sire and Dam Qualify.” 

Hopefully this has helped answer some questions about Parentage Verification.  If you have any other questions, please ask them in a comment or through the "Contact Susan" form so I can answer them publicly for the benefit of others.  I'll also be glad to email you or call you if you give me your phone number.

Thanks to S&H Hilltop Sara, our first cow, and our first calf, her heifer ZH Zephryhill Siobhan, for gracing this post with their photos.

Parentage Verification: Why Is It Important?

Parentage Verification is something that has been my goal to achieve for our entire herd ever since I understood what it meant.  I posted previously about our whole herd now being "Sire and Dam Qualified."  Here I'm all excited, while you may be asking, "So what?  What's the big deal?"

We have two black polled cows, Ebony and Siobhan.  I can easily tell them apart, but the rest of my family can't.  This year we had two calves born on our farm.  Ebony, above, had a black polled heifer we called Tiggy.

Six weeks later Siobhan had a red polled bull calf named Wellie.  My previous post ended with the account of how Wellie was parentage verified at the UCDavis VGL.










"So," you might say, "that seems like a whole lot of trouble and expense just to prove what you already knew--that Wellie is Siobhan's calf by Cash!"  It's true that there's no way I could confuse Tiggy and Wellie, so why did I bother with all the PV stuff?

It all started this past summer when someone made this statement on the Dexter forum I belong to:

"The very term "Sire Qualified" describes a useless status. Comparing the genotypes of an alleged offsprin (sic) with an alleged sire can not show any meaningful level of assurance that the two are related. The only parentage verification worth anything is "Sire and Dam Qualified."  (I will not identify the poster by name because they have since deleted their post and I cannot provide a link to it.)

I was confused, so I called VGL to get an explanation.  The person I talked to was astounded that "Sire Qualified" had been called useless.  However, as she further explained Parentage Verification, I understood that the poster was trying to say this:

"Finally, it is important to remember that while parentage exclusions are 100% accurate parentage qualifications are not. The accuracy of most animal parentage tests is greater than 99% when both parents are included in the analysis and drops to around 95% when only one parent is included in the analysis. However, this accuracy will decrease when the potential parents are part of a large group of closely related animals." 

from VGL article on Parentage Testing in Animal Pedigree Verification, emphasis mine.

The very helpful lady at the lab gave me an example using actual genetic markers from a case they were working on.  (She did not tell me the name or even the breed of the animal.)  I can't remember the markers and numbers she used, but here's a simplified version of what she told me using a fictional "Marker A":

If the lab compares the calf's and sire's genotypes:
Calf: Marker A 100/200

Sire: Marker A 100/300

This bull qualifies as this calf's sire.

If the lab compares the calf's and dam's genotypes:
Calf: Marker A 100/200

Dam: Marker A 100/400
This cow qualifies as this calf's dam.

However, if the lab compares all three animals at the same time:
Calf: Marker A 100/200

Sire: Marker A 100/300

Dam: Marker A 100/400
One of the parents does not qualify.

Remember what I wrote in my previous post?

"You'll remember that an individual (in this case, a cow) gets half of its genetic material from each parent, so this animal got the 217 from one parent and the 221 from the other. Hold that thought; it's going to be important."

Well, now it's important.  This calf cannot have gotten the "100" from both parents; the "200" had to come from one of them, but neither of the parents has a 200 on that marker . . .

Somebody's got a problem!

The example above is very simplified, but this scenario has actually happened, even with Dexters.  People have bought cattle . . . and when they tried to PV those animals, they learned that one or even both of the parents on the pedigree did not qualify as the sire and/or dam.  Here is a recent discussion about just such an issue on the Dexter forum.

If you read the entire discussion, you will see that experienced breeders shared some excellent advice:  The only way to be sure that something like that does not happen to you is to buy only "Sire and Dam Qualified" animals for breeding stock.  

We have owned Dexters since December 2009.  Our first calf, Siobhan, was born in 2010, over four years ago.  She was PV'd--because we had her genotyped at TAMU and they did it automatically.  When we bought Ebony, we got her genotyped at VGL so her previous owner could PV her calf because the sire was there.  They had bred Ebony and had her sire's genotype at VGL, so it was easy enough for me to get her PV'd.  I could see that it was the highest "G" level accorded on the pedigree, but I still didn't understand why it was important!

Two things helped me realize how vitally important PV is:
1)  My conversation with the lady at VGL, and
2)  My acquaintance with the serious problems a few fellow breeders were facing as they discovered that their prized Dexters didn't even carry the bloodlines for which they had purchased them.

Accidents happen.  An AI'd cows slips her calf and gets field bred by a different bull . . . A bull jumps into a pasture, breeds a cow, and jumps back out again without anyone knowing . . . A neighbor's bull does the same thing . . . Two cows switch calves with each other . . . A bull calf gets left with the herd too long and breeds an open cow . . . The steer running with the open cows wasn't completely castrated . . .  These are actual scenarios that have happened, and they cause nightmares for the new owners and headaches for the breeders who have to sort out the real parents.

This is why we wanted that highest "Sire and Dam Qualify" designation.  Now that our herd sire and cows are all fully PV'd, one simple test for every calf born on our place will guarantee its lineage.

We believe that Parentage Verification is an indispensable part of good breeding--the crown of all our efforts and the final stamp of certainty for our clients.  If we've gone to the trouble to breed an animal, we ought to guarantee that it's everything we say it is.  With PV, we rest assured that the animals we sell are exactly who we say they are!

Feel free to use the "Contact Susan" form under the ADCA logo on the right of this blog if you have any questions.  If you prefer to talk on the phone, send me your phone number and I'll be glad to call you.  Stay tuned for an upcoming Q&A on Parentage Verification.

Parentage Verification: Our Whole Herd is Sire & Dam Qualified!

The subject of Parent Verification ("PV" for short) is extremely important for registered cattle.  I've waited to write about it until I could announce our great news:  Our entire herd is now fully Parent Verified or "Sire and Dam Qualified!"  

The last and most important member of our herd to be done was our herd sire, Mrald Crown Royal, shown here being affectionate with Siobhan.

Here is what Royal's pedigree page looks like now on the ADCA website.  The important line is the one that says "Parentage DNA:  Sire and Dam Qualify."  (Personal information has been removed for privacy.)

I don't have Royal's updated registration certificate yet, but here is Ebony's, which is the same except for name, sex and pedigree.  Note the line "Parentage DNA:  G5."  If you can read the tiny print underneath, you'll see that this is ADCA shorthand to say that Ebony is "Sire and Dam Qualified."  Here's the key to the system:

1. G1 - No genotype on file.  (It either was not done, or was done but not communicated to the ADCA.) 
2. G2 - Genotype on file.  (Bulls must have a genotype on file to be registered.  Maybe one day soon we'll get to the same point for cows.)
3. G3 - Sire qualifies.  (This means that a lab--either Texas A&M or UCDavis VGL--has compared the calf's genotype to his sire's genotype, and the "sire qualifies" to be the sire of that calf.  The comparison of the two genotypes cannot conclusively prove this is the sire, although the comparison could conclusively exclude the sire.)
4. G4 - Dam qualifies.  (The dam qualifies as the calf's dam in the same way as the sire.)
5. G5 - Sire and dam qualify.  (This means that all three animals--sire, dam and calf--have had their genotypes compared at the same lab at the same time.  This comparison is the most fool-proof method of determining whether the sire and dam recorded on the calf's pedigree are indeed its sire and dam.  This is the Cadillac of PV!)

You may be scratching your head, wondering what in the heck this means, and why it's important.  Let's take a closer look . . .

First, let's look at genotypes. A genotype is like a genetic fingerprint, unique to each individual.

This is a genotype report from Texas A&M (TAMU).  (All identifying information has been removed.)  TAMU identifies 13 genetic markers (highlighted in yellow) in a genotype.   The various markers, such as ETH10, don't mean anything to us laypeople.  The lab uses the same ones for every animal to identify each animal's genetic "fingerprint."

Note that most of the markers are followed by two numbers.  For example, ETH10 is followed by 217/221.  You'll remember that an individual (in this case, a cow) gets half of its genetic material from each parent, so this animal got the 217 from one parent and the 221 from the other.  Hold that thought; it's going to be important.

 

This is a genotype report from UCD's Veterinary Genetics Lab (VGL).  VGL identifies 16 genetic markers in their genotypes.  The markers are in the Locus column with the animal's individual results highlighted in pink.  Note that the third marker down in the left-hand column is, once again, ETH10.  (TAMU and VGL use some of the same markers as well as some different ones.)  Of course this marker is still 217/221 because it's the same animal tested at a different lab.

Now we can finally get down to Parent Verification or PV . . .

Here is the genotype we had done on Siobhan at TAMU.  Her AI sire, Hillview Red Wing, was on file at TAMU, and we had sent her dam Sara's tail hairs there to be genotyped.  When I filled out the paprerwork for the test, TAMU automatically compared Siobhan's genotype to those of her parents.  Note the Comment:  Sire Qualified, Dam Qualified.  That meant that TAMU had compared all 13 markers of Red Wing and Sara and Siobhan and found no inconsistencies, so she was now "Sire Qualified, Dam Qualified."  In ADCA lingo, she had achieved "G5" status.

However, things had been evolving in the ADCA world, and on July 1, 2013 VGL was approved by the ADCA for genotyping Dexters.  For various reasons, including the fact that VGL lets me create an account and manage my own tests online, I decided to transfer our animals to VGL.  Having so few animals, I chose to re-submit tail hairs to VGL for genotyping.

After Siobhan's calf Wellie was born in May 2014, I wanted to genotype and PV him at VGL.  I signed in to my online VGL account and pulled up this form that VGL uses.  Look in the third section down, where there is a box next to  the words"Parent Verification."  

When you click the "Parent Verification" box, this opens up a new section.  You will see a place to enter the sire's and dam's information.  If they belong to you and you have their genotypes on file, all you have to do is click the "Search My Account" button.  That's what I did for Siobhan, but for Wellie's sire, I needed the "Enter Name + VGL Case #" button.  So I emailed Cash's owner to ask for his Case Number, a common courtesy readily granted by breeders when you own their animal's offspring.

Once I ordered the test, VGL went to work.  A lab tech compared all three genotypes--Cash the sire, Siobhan the dam, and Wellie the calf.  The result of that comparison is the "Parentage Analysis"  which states:  "ZH Duke of Wellington qualifies as an offspring of ZH Zephyrhill Siobhan and FF Lil' Christmas Cash."  (Case numbers removed.)

The lab personnel at VGL refer to this as "Sire and Dam Qualified."
The ADCA online pedigree says "Sire and Dam Qualify."
The ADCA registration certificate says "G5."
TAMU calls it "Sire Qualified, Dam Qualified."

Whatever you call it, it is full Parent Verification--and we are thrilled that our herd has got it!

Stay tuned for more information on Parentage Verification.  If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me using the "Contact Susan" form under the ADCA logo on the right hand side of the blog.

Update on Sept. 8, 2016 in answer to a question in the comments.  The question is: "Based on the latest requirements from ADCA, "ALL ANIMALS BORN AFTER 2009 MUST HAVE THEIR SIRE’S GENOTYPE ON FILE WITH THE ADCA. To check if the ADCA has it on file, go to the Online Pedigree and look up the sire. If the genotype field on the bull’s pedigree page is blank, then you will need to obtain his geno in order to register your animal." What is the "genotype field"?"

Answer: Cathy, here's a screen shot of the relevant part of our bull's online pedigree.  The "genotype field" is the line that says "Parentage DNA."  I marked it "HERE" to make it easier to find.  If it says "Sire and Dam Qualify" or "Sire Qualifies" next to "Parentage DNA" that means the ADCA has the genotype on file.  If it's blank or only says "Dam Qualifies," they don't have it. It might have been better if the explanation on the website you're referring to used the same terminology as the online pedigrees, but basically "DNA" and "genotype" are interchangeable. 

You also asked, "I don't know what Select Profile options are." You actually do have that option. At the bottom of the online pedigree you'll see several options: "Start New Search, Hypothetical Mating and Frequently Asked Questions." When you click on FAQs, you find this explanation about halfway down:

Can I sort the search results by something other than the animal name?
Yes. Each column heading in the search result is actually a link. If you click on a column heading, the search results will be redisplayed, sorted by that column.

This is to use in cases where your search brings up a whole list of animals. So you can click on the "Sire" column to sort the results and display all the same sire together. You don't really need to go to that trouble, though, when checking on your own animals. Just go to your animal's pedigree and look at Parentage DNA. I hope this helps clear things up for others who have your same question!

Our Dexter Breeding Priorities

A reader recently asked how we determine what to breed for, and it got me thinking.  There are certain things that are very important to us in our breeding program, others that are less so.  But we had never sat down and put a list in writing, much less tried to list our priorities in order.  It took a lot of thinking and re-writing!  So here, by request, is a first attempt to list our priorities for breeding.  NOTE: This list is subject to re-evaluation and change, and we reserve the right to throw it completely out the window if we so choose!

Our Breeding Priorities

1) Temperament. For us, if our Dexters are to be family cows, good temperament is an absolute requirement. Warning: Aggressive animals will be eaten on our farm!


We halter train our heifers, and our bull is halter-trained. It so happened that we needed to move both him and a heifer in season from one pasture to another. We put his halter on, clipped a lead rope on hers, and we each led one. It went very well. Of course we don't TRY to plan to disrupt a breeding pair, but it's good to know that if we have to, we can safely do it.


Many are the times we've been thankful to be able to walk up to an animal in the pasture, put on a halter or clip on a lead, and take it where we want it.


It's extremely important to me that my cows don't kick or even look like they want to when I'm milking and that I can handle their calves without trouble. For us, this is the essence of a "Family Cow."

2) Calving ease. Any cow can have a wrong presentation and a difficult delivery; if it happens again, it's time to check whether the cow has a problem. A low-birth weight bull is a great asset to calving ease. One of the best things about our Dexters (and Dexters in general) is that they have calved without difficulty and have good mothering skills with little or no help from us. Waking up in the morning to a healthy, dry, nursed calf is a huge blessing!

3) Dual purpose, meaning equal emphasis on beef and milk. For beef you want good muscling, length, good width across the body, and good depth through the heart girth.

For milking you want good milk production with plenty of butterfat and protein (also necessary for raising a healthy calf). You want good udder conformation with a level floor, good front attachment, high rear suspension, good spacing of teats and well-shaped teats. A cow with "sausage teats" that a small calf can't get hold of to nurse becomes a burden.


Temperament is especially important for a true dual purpose animal. The cow with the greatest milk production in the world is worthless if she tries to kick your head off every time you milk her!

4)  Good conformation.  We wouldn't cull an animal with less than perfect conformation if it has other good qualities.  We would breed it to a better animal to try to improve on its faults.  This is why a good bull is so important, since he is going to contribute his genes to every calf born on the farm.

Good feet are an often over-looked part of conformation, hidden away in the grass as they often are.

Note:  One of my pet peeves is breeders whose animals have "good confirmation."  We have yet to take a cow to church and serve it communion, and until we do, I'm afraid none of our animals will have "good confirmation!"  But we hope they will have good conformation!

5)  Polled.  Our foundation cow  (left) had horns, and we knew we didn't want to deal with them, so choosing a homozygous polled bull for her was a very high priority.  Our  current herd sire is heterozygous polled.  Being homozygous polled would have made him "Perfect," but he is so excellent in every other respect that we wanted him even with one horned gene.  With all our breeding stock being heterozygous polled, we will eventually have a horned calf, but we are willing to dehorn it.  What we don't choose to do is to keep both horned and polled animals together.  For our safety, the safety of our grandchildren, and the safety of our other animals, we have chosen to go hornless.

6)  A2 status, homozygous A2 (A2/A2).  The photo of our granddaughter eating yogurt is here because our family's health is the main reason we are interested in the whole A2 issue.  While it may not have been conclusively proven to the satisfaction of the dairy world at large, we like the idea of breeding for A2.  When we decided not to keep our A2 foundation cow (pictured above), we did decide to replace her with her better-tempered, polled, A2 granddaughter.  However, we plan to keep our A1/A2 cow because of her sweet temperament and easy keeping.  In looking for our herd bull, homozygous A2 status was a priority.  You can cut horns off, but you can't filter the A1 out of the milk!  However, A2 is only number 5 on our list because we feel other things are more important.

7)  Grass-based.  Also for our family's health, we want to raise grassfed beef.  Our steers should finish well on grass, and our cows should be able to raise healthy calves without a lot of supplemental grain.  Currently we feed one cow 4 pounds of 16% protein feed a day, while the other gets 3.  Their calves are 6 months and 4 1/2 months old, respectively, so both are at their peak lactation.  Both calves are on their dams full time with grass, hay and minerals.  Both are healthy and shiny and chunky.  Our vet is happy with the condition of the cows on this amount of feed, less than the rule of thumb would dictate.  (The rule of thumb is 3 pounds of 16% protein per gallon of milk.)  I know of full-sized dairy cows that consume a 5-gallon bucket of grain twice a day.  Ours get four (or fewer) tomato-cans full per day!

8)  Size.  Our aim is to stay within the ADCA height guidelines.  Again, we would not necessarily cull an animal based on this, but we will breed toward that goal.  We love Dexters partly because of their size, and we have no desire whatsoever to "upsize" them to get more beef or more milk.

9)  Color.  I put this last because it's just the gift wrap, as far as we're concerned.  Beef and milk from black, red or dun cattle taste exactly the same.  That being said, we were thrilled to get our first red calf this spring.  They sure look pretty on the green grass, they're a lot easier to spot at night, and there's anecdotal evidence that they are less troubled by flies.  (That's something we'll be watching.)  Both of our cows carry red, and now that we have a red herd sire, we'll be getting some red calves.  That's just window dressing--fun, but not important to us.

There are other things I didn't list, even some things we test for (or will test for).  Here's why they didn't make the list:

PHA - All of our animals are PHA-negative and always will be.  There would be absolutely no reason to add a PHA-positive animal to our herd.  I believe that almost every Dexter breeder with a PHA-positive cow is trying to breed a replacement heifer.  Many with PHA-positive bulls have castrated them, despite their other great qualities.  We don't test for PHA any more because our animals are obligate non-carriers.

Chondrodysplasia - We bred a cow to a chondro-positive bull, twice.  We got one sweet non-carrier heifer and a carrier bull (pictured above).  While we love our sweet, chondro-positive bull calf, we have personally decided not to breed chondro carriers.  We will be castrating this bull calf and raising him for beef, NOT because of his chondro status, but because of his dam.  And THAT is another post for another day: "What Makes a Bull Mother?"  Meanwhile, he's looking like mighty tasty beef!

Kappa Casein & Beta Lactoglobulin - These are milk components that can be tested for with other DNA tests.  If they were computer programs, you might call them A2-2.1  They relate to cheese-making, and while they are interesting--and we've already tested one animal for them--they will never be a reason to cull an animal.  They fall into the Fun-to-Know category, that's all.

So there it is, our breeding priorities at 6:29 p.m. on October 8, 2014.  And now we've got some hungry animals waiting for hay!