Choices made and not made

Today we decided not to buy the little cow with the big horns! l spoke to the man we got the other two from and after describing her he thought she might be too small and have difficulties calving as a result.Dexters are actually a dwarf breed of cattle as opposed to miniaturised ones which are developed by selective breeding. Dexter means 'small' in Irish! Dexters come in two types. The long legged and the short legged. The short legged -Achondroplastic or Chondrodysplastic Dwarf type . Carriers of the actual dwarf gene.
Whereas the long legged are more normal looking Kerry Dairy Type and more proportionate,

Both are the same height but there is a marked difference in the build.

 

Breeding a short legged to a short legged can cause (and l have no idea how this all works) what they call a Bulldog Mutation which is generally results in an aborted deformed calf. Its called Bulldog  Mutation as the calves normally have massive heads and very short legs. By describing this little girl to Greg he seemed quite convinced that she was what they call "very dwarfy" and not an ideal prospect as an addition to our little herd at all. l was quite relieved to hear him say that as l wasn't 100% sure she wasn't going to be a bit difficult to own in several different ways!

And on a much much sadder note, the lady who has the little kids rang this evening to say the lovely little black one with the floppy white ears died today. No idea what caused it, possibly a neurological reaction to something or a snake bite, The vet was at a loss to know why. So sad. Now we will get only one little girl who will have no friend. l have phone numbers of diary herd owners to call tomorrow to  see if l can track down a kid of a similar age as a friend for her. Very sad indeed.