What is she?

[fivepointsfarm]

Hi, new to the board and bottle calves as well. Bought a bottle heifer on Saturday, and would like to know if anyone can help me identify what breed(s) she may be. I was told she was Guernsey, but friends say she may be Red Holstein. I was told she was not a twin or a freemartin, but then again, I was also told she wasn't a sale barn calf either, and turns out she is...So we'll just do the bloodtest for freemartinism. Have learned a lot just reading on here. (Got scours stopped, lol) She is healthy, active, and eating well. Still on bottle, medicated all milk replacer. Any ideas what she may be would be great. Also, does the dehorning paste work? Thank you.

[Miss Kay]

The coloring certainly looks Guernsey but the thing that confuses me is the color of her nose. Guernsey's have light colored noses. The top pictures looks like she has a black nose (in that case I'm thinking red Holstein) but in the bottom picture it looks light colored. You would know seeing it in natural light. At any rate, she's a pretty thing.

As for the horns, we burn ours off with an iron made for such a purpose the first week of life. If you have a goat farmer around or a dairy man, they should be able to do it for you. The sooner the better. The paste can be nasty for you and the calf and if she starts rubbing it around, you both could be in trouble. I'm sure there are folks that use the paste and like it though.

[Miss Kay]

Here's a picture of a pure bred registered Guernsey calf about the same age for comparison. Notice the nose and the light colored circles around the eyes that almost all Guernsey's have.

[nosqrls]

It looks like a guernsey/holstein cross to be honest you can see both in her. I she is a FM she will eat just fine.

[countryfied2011]

The sooner the better.

To the OP, Please do, I had my two Jerseys done at about a year old.....although I am glad it is done and over with....it was a horrible experience for me and for them. I will never let them go that long again.

[G. Seddon]

The older they are, the more traumatic it will be. Please get your vet's advice on this procedure. And if she's going to end up as beef, you're probably better off not dehorning.

Sorry, this should have been a reply to joshf's post about the Jersey heifers.

[fivepointsfarm]

The bottom picture is most accurate on her color, nose isn't pale pink, but not a black either. More of a pale purple sort of...

[fivepointsfarm]

Its ok, G. Seddon, I needed info on dehorning as well! lol.

[Miss Kay]

I would say Guernsey then. The Guernsey association has a breed up program to get grade Guernseys back in the fold. If you AI her to a registered bull you can register a heifer calf but it will have a provisional number (means you can't show it). You can breed that provisional registered heifer to a registered bull and then register the heifers and so on. A registered Guernsey should bring you more money than a grade and they are really in demand now in most locations. If you are going to breed them, might as well get the biggest bang for your buck.

[Chief Cook]

First let me say that is a beautiful calf. Second I know nothing about cattle except what to do with them after they are in the freezer. So please let me ask a question. What is a freemartin? I checked the stickys at the top of the site and didn't see anything about freemartin. Thanks

[jwal10]

Usually caused by being a twin, female organs are not developed....James

[Chief Cook]

Thanks for the information!

[gone-a-milkin]

Not just a twin, but a female of a male/female twin set.
In utero, the male hormones affect the female twin, rendering her barren in a large percentage of cases.
When both calves are female, this doesnt happen.