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Low birth weight is the genetics that a bull passes on to his offspring to be able to be small at birth so that the calf can easily fit through the pelvic opening of his dam. This is important as heifers have small pelvic openings and will have a harder time delivering a calf if the bull they are bred to is not a low birthweight or high calving-ease bull.
What else can I help you with?
Can a heifer safely calve at 16 months old?
A heifer should be getting bred at that age, not calving. But, I digress. Unless the heifer has been knowingly and purposely bred to a low birth-weight bull, I wouldn't count on it. Keep a constant eye on her when she gets to the point where she's about to "pop" any day and keep tabs on her progress. If she's having any difficulty, get the veterinarian out to see if she will have to have a calf pulled of if a Caesarean section (C-section) needs to be done on her.
How can you get cows to have low birth weight calves?
Select for a more low birth-weight and higher calving-ease bull, and get rid of the bull that obviously lacks this trait. British bulls like Hereford, Angus and Shorthorn, in most cases, are ones that usually have the EPDs for low birth weights. You won't find that as much with Continental-type bulls like those of the breeds Simmental, Charolais or Maine Anjou, for instance.
What is a heifer bull?
Heifers have smaller pelvic areas than mature cows do, so they need to be bred to a bull that has, genetically, low birth weights. Heifers are also best bred to yearling bulls(primarily 12 to 18 months of age), which are smaller than the bigger mature bulls and won't increase the chances of crippling the heifers when trying to mount them. Young and/or small bulls tend to have the genetics for siring smaller calves, and heifers have the body size that tend to develop small calves, however, in either case this does not always occur: Yearling bulls are primarily unproven bulls; small bulls may sire large calves; Breed of the yearling bull plays a part in low birthweight genetics; condition, feed and environment play a role in lowbirthweight rates in heifers and cows. Young bulls are not the best because 99% of the time they are unproven sires. In other words, they are virgin bulls, or have never mated with a cow or heifer and produced offspring. They are selected by the rancher because they are expected to produce low birthweight calves out of the heifers, only because the Expected Progeny Differences (EPDs) combined and calculated from the sire and dam, and compared with other bulls of the same breed and raised in the same conditions, says so. Smaller bulls also need to have the EPD numbers to be able to be used on heifers. If there are no papers that come with a small bull that you buy, you are making a big gamble on him. Even EPDs on yearlings are not reliable, especially if you have a 60% chance that that bull will sire large calves instead of small ones. Thus young unproven bulls may have high birth weights that should not be used on heifers; the same goes with smaller bulls. Breed also has a large affect on how the heifers calve out, and what size of calves the bull will sire. For instance, a yearling Simmental bull is put in with about 20 Red Angus heifers. Low birth weight EPDs for the Simmental breed is different from the low birthweight genetics of the Red Angus breed, so there's a higher chance that 10 or 15 of those Red Angus heifers will need assistance. Even using a Red Angus yearling bull that may have the numbers for low birth weights may not sire low birthweight calves in all of the heifers. But, primarily using a Continental bull that is of a breed that is notorious for large calves, like Simmental, Charolais, Maine Anjou and Belgian Blue, for instance, on your heifers, is asking for trouble. Small bulls like Dexters, White Park, Red Poll, etc. tend to sire small calves that are easy for your heifers to pop out. So heifer bulls are chosen through careful selection of genetics, size and breed, with the type of heifers in mind, in order to have a successful, worry-free calving season. If you know what to look for, you will have some happy heifers on your hands.
Why should heifers be mated to small bulls?
It's a common conception that a small bull will sire small calves. However this isn't always true. A bull, regardless of its size, must be proven to have the genetics for light birth-weight calves. A young small bull may have the genes for this, but there's a chance, since they are unproven, that they may be ones that have the potential to sire large calves. For example, when you get an unproven (or virgin) bull with an EPD BW (birth-weight) value of, say, 1.0, but the accuracy percentage is around 40 to 50%, there's a 50 to 60% chance that he may sire large calves. The higher the accuracy percentage, the higher chance he may be a low birth weight bull. The EPD value and the accuracy percentage changes with every calf he sires. The other reason (and this is not just a conception, it's proven fact) is that smaller bulls are lighter and easier on heifers than larger, mature bulls are. A big bull riding on a small heifer will put most, if not all, of his weight on her hindquarters as he breeds her. This will affect the heifer down the road when she has to give birth, and may end up going down and not being able to get back up again due to a pinched nerve or an injured pelvis that may not have been noticed by the producer until calving time. However, a trained eye can notice of a big bull has caused some damage to a heifer by the way she walks. She may act like she's a bit sore in the hindquarters, for instance, such as having trouble getting up or walking. Smaller bulls are easier on heifers because they are not heavy, they won't cause such problems to heifers and may be easy on a producer's pocket book as far as vet bills and less chance of loosing heifers to injured or broken pelvises are concerned.
What if you had a Jersey heifer and she is bred but you don't want to milk her so if you fed her low protein hay she would produce less milk just enough to feed her calf Would this work?
It would and it wouldn't. You could ruin the heifer by doing this, as dairy cattle always put more energy into producing milk than energy into keeping their weight up. When she's lactating, she will be putting all her resources into milk production, and feeding a low quality hay might just be the thing that could really pull her down. I do know that if you feed a lower quality feed this will reduce milk production. But it also depends on the breed: if you didn't want to milk her, why did you get a Jersey in the first place? You should've purchased an Angus heifer or a Hereford heifer or any kind of heifer that is not a dairy heifer. So this is a real catch 22 situation for you.
Can a heifer safely calve at 16 months old?
A heifer should be getting bred at that age, not calving. But, I digress. Unless the heifer has been knowingly and purposely bred to a low birth-weight bull, I wouldn't count on it. Keep a constant eye on her when she gets to the point where she's about to "pop" any day and keep tabs on her progress. If she's having any difficulty, get the veterinarian out to see if she will have to have a calf pulled of if a Caesarean section (C-section) needs to be done on her.
When was Low Birth Weight created?
Low Birth Weight was created in 1999.
How can you get cows to have low birth weight calves?
Select for a more low birth-weight and higher calving-ease bull, and get rid of the bull that obviously lacks this trait. British bulls like Hereford, Angus and Shorthorn, in most cases, are ones that usually have the EPDs for low birth weights. You won't find that as much with Continental-type bulls like those of the breeds Simmental, Charolais or Maine Anjou, for instance.
What is a low birth weight?
The low birth weight is less than 2500 grams
Can a brahman bull mount a tiny jersey cow?
Not without injuring her. However, it depends on the size of the bull and cow in question. If the bull is just a yearling on a mature cow, yes you may. If the bull is a big mature guy, it wouldn't be recommended that he goes anywhere near her, no matter if she's a mature cow or a young heifer, by any producer with a lick of common sense. If she is a young heifer, no to either mature bull nor the yearling. Brahman bulls are not small by any means, and he will injure that cow if he's allowed to mate with her; if he doesn't injure her during the process of conception, the injuries will show up when she's close to calving: i.e., you will get a downer cow with spinal or hip problems. It's best if you get semen from him and artificially inseminate the cow instead, or if you can find a Brahman bull with low birth weight EPDs that you can get semen from, use that bull on her instead.
Which of the following has been linked to maternal smoking?
Low birth weight has been linked to smoking while pregnant.
Is 4 pounds 11 ounces considered low birth weight?
Yes, 4 pounds 11 ounces is low birth weight.
What causes low birth weight?
Crack.
What is a heifer bull?
Heifers have smaller pelvic areas than mature cows do, so they need to be bred to a bull that has, genetically, low birth weights. Heifers are also best bred to yearling bulls(primarily 12 to 18 months of age), which are smaller than the bigger mature bulls and won't increase the chances of crippling the heifers when trying to mount them. Young and/or small bulls tend to have the genetics for siring smaller calves, and heifers have the body size that tend to develop small calves, however, in either case this does not always occur: Yearling bulls are primarily unproven bulls; small bulls may sire large calves; Breed of the yearling bull plays a part in low birthweight genetics; condition, feed and environment play a role in lowbirthweight rates in heifers and cows. Young bulls are not the best because 99% of the time they are unproven sires. In other words, they are virgin bulls, or have never mated with a cow or heifer and produced offspring. They are selected by the rancher because they are expected to produce low birthweight calves out of the heifers, only because the Expected Progeny Differences (EPDs) combined and calculated from the sire and dam, and compared with other bulls of the same breed and raised in the same conditions, says so. Smaller bulls also need to have the EPD numbers to be able to be used on heifers. If there are no papers that come with a small bull that you buy, you are making a big gamble on him. Even EPDs on yearlings are not reliable, especially if you have a 60% chance that that bull will sire large calves instead of small ones. Thus young unproven bulls may have high birth weights that should not be used on heifers; the same goes with smaller bulls. Breed also has a large affect on how the heifers calve out, and what size of calves the bull will sire. For instance, a yearling Simmental bull is put in with about 20 Red Angus heifers. Low birth weight EPDs for the Simmental breed is different from the low birthweight genetics of the Red Angus breed, so there's a higher chance that 10 or 15 of those Red Angus heifers will need assistance. Even using a Red Angus yearling bull that may have the numbers for low birth weights may not sire low birthweight calves in all of the heifers. But, primarily using a Continental bull that is of a breed that is notorious for large calves, like Simmental, Charolais, Maine Anjou and Belgian Blue, for instance, on your heifers, is asking for trouble. Small bulls like Dexters, White Park, Red Poll, etc. tend to sire small calves that are easy for your heifers to pop out. So heifer bulls are chosen through careful selection of genetics, size and breed, with the type of heifers in mind, in order to have a successful, worry-free calving season. If you know what to look for, you will have some happy heifers on your hands.
What percentage of preterm and low birth weight births are unexplained?
The percentage of preterm and low birth weight births that are unexplained is unstable. The percentage is constantly on the rise.
What does the medical abbreviation VLBW mean?
It stands for Very Low Birth Weight. It's an acronym used to describe an infant weighing less than 1500 g at birth.Very Low Birth WeightVery Low Birth Weight
Do twins usually have low birth weight?
yes
