22/12/2023
Consistency in Calf Crop
What is it?
Why is it important?
Consistency in calf crop is where calves begin to have an appearance and size and birth weight which are consistent. A breeder with a rigorous selection process (for things other than color or polled) will often produce calves with a certain “look”. When you can recognize the calves from a certain breeder based on appearance, or even the offspring of calves from a breeder’s customer who breeds exclusively with the breeder’s stock, that is Consistency of Calf Crop. When you can look at a breeder’s stock and the adults, bred and born on a breeder’s farm and carrying the breeder’s name, look of similar shape and size and look, and when a breeder’s calves appear to be stamped out like “cookie-cutter calves,” that is Consistency of Calf Crop.
Consistency of Calf Crop is important to buyers who want a better assurance of what they are buying and what the calf will mature to be. Consistency of Calf Crop is important when breeding so that outputs are similar and birthweights are consistent. Consistency in Calf Crop is one crucial component in creating a separate breed status for the mini Highland. Without Consistency of Calf Crop, there is no miniature Highland breed. Highland the only recognized breed.
Here are photos of several of our 94% Highland chondro positive 2023 heifers. They are penned in pairs with a best friend. The photos show each pair and each individual calf.
We’ve been breeding genetically smaller Highlands which classify as mini sized when non chondro and then introduced the Dexter BD1 gene by breeding to registered and show quality Dexters for 20 years. I’m starting to struggle to tell some of these calves apart, so I think we’re getting close to consistency of calf crop. :)
