Page 1 of 1

Short or non-short?

Posted: Mon Nov 05, 2018 10:28 pm
by Carrog
I'm still quite new to Dexters and this year we had our first calves - but I'm struggling to workout if they are short or non-short. We only have three and they are all from a short bull and non-short mothers - so 50:50 chance - all three look the same but I look at photographs on the internet and often am surprised to see animals described as one thing when they look the other (to me!) Is there a sure fire way of telling just by looking if a calf is short or non short? (They're about 6 months old.)

Re: Short or non-short?

Posted: Tue Nov 06, 2018 1:24 pm
by Saffy
You can have a dna test by sending off a hair sample. The hairs have to be pulled out so that the root is on it.

Re: Short or non-short?

Posted: Tue Nov 06, 2018 10:18 pm
by Carrog
Thanks for your reply - where do you send samples? Is it Uk based? Is there a general rule of thumb visual way to tell? Or ratio of measurements?

Re: Short or non-short?

Posted: Wed Nov 07, 2018 4:20 pm
by Mark Bowles
Post some decent pictures and we can say what we think, the older they get the easier it is visually to tell.

Re: Short or non-short?

Posted: Wed Nov 07, 2018 5:43 pm
by SteveM
I generally look at them from a distance and compare the profile, height versus length and general shape, see if one stands out from the others, assuming all mothers are long legged if they are all generally the same proportion then probably all long legged. As Mark suggests posting pics should get some answers