Description:
We have only seen 3 of these kids in our herd. All were quite weak and abnormal at birth. One lived 3-4 weeks and seemed fairly normal, except she did not run or jump like the other kids. We found her dead in the baby pen with no evidence of any other problem. The other kid lived a few days but struggled to eat and breathe normally. We put him down because it was obvious he was not going to survive. When my husband, who is a veterinarian, listened to their hearts while they were alive he heard huge murmurs and hearts that did not sound normal.
After they died, my husband examined their hearts and found several major problems. The chambers of the heart were not divided normally, so one practically had a hole. Instead of flowing from the heart to the lungs, some of the blood would have gone back to the heart. One outflow vessel was much too small. What struck us was how similar these hearts were to each other and yet so remote from what a healthy heart looks like.
In 2023, one kid was born extremely weak, couldn't eat or stand and died within a day. Even though his heart sounded normal, my husband found it had the same deformities as the other kids.
(videos available upon request)
We have only seen 3 of these kids in our herd. All were quite weak and abnormal at birth. One lived 3-4 weeks and seemed fairly normal, except she did not run or jump like the other kids. We found her dead in the baby pen with no evidence of any other problem. The other kid lived a few days but struggled to eat and breathe normally. We put him down because it was obvious he was not going to survive. When my husband, who is a veterinarian, listened to their hearts while they were alive he heard huge murmurs and hearts that did not sound normal.
After they died, my husband examined their hearts and found several major problems. The chambers of the heart were not divided normally, so one practically had a hole. Instead of flowing from the heart to the lungs, some of the blood would have gone back to the heart. One outflow vessel was much too small. What struck us was how similar these hearts were to each other and yet so remote from what a healthy heart looks like.
In 2023, one kid was born extremely weak, couldn't eat or stand and died within a day. Even though his heart sounded normal, my husband found it had the same deformities as the other kids.
(videos available upon request)
Inheritance:
We have no idea how this is inherited. The dams are granddam and granddaughter. The sires are grandsire and grandson. Rouelle is also D'Ambert's half niece. The first breeding was an outcross. The second breeding was 4.8% inbred. The two affected kids are definitely related, but so is most of our herd. Thankfully we have seen this only rarely.
We have no idea how this is inherited. The dams are granddam and granddaughter. The sires are grandsire and grandson. Rouelle is also D'Ambert's half niece. The first breeding was an outcross. The second breeding was 4.8% inbred. The two affected kids are definitely related, but so is most of our herd. Thankfully we have seen this only rarely.