In simple terms, chondrodysplasia (or chondro for short) is dwarfism in cattle. There is an indepth article about dwarfism in cattle here.
Breeders of miniature Galloways and miniature Highlands have historically incorrectly assumed that the chondro gene (BD1 or BD2) was only carried by Dexter cattle.
An article published in the New Zealand Veterinary Journal in 2017 states, "Dexter cattle have been used to develop the miniature Scottish Highland breed in other countries, and it is likely that this also occurred in New Zealand."
Read the whole article here
What this means, is that even if you have been told you are buying a purebred mini Highland or purebred mini Galloway, there is a chance a Dexter has been used to bring down the size and therefore the chondro gene might be present.
None of this matters unless you are intending to breed mini cattle...
Breeding two chondro carriers (either BD1 or BD2) means there is a 25% chance of a bulldog calf - this is fatal in 100% of cases. Best case scenario: the cow slips the bulldog calf early or at seven months without issue.
However, the worst case scenario is that the cow carries to full term and is unable to get the bulldog calf out and is saved via c section or dies calving.
When you are buying miniature cattle be sure to ask the breeder for the chondro status of the animal/s you are buying if you intend to breed yourself.
If you already own mini cattle and would like to test for chondro you can order tests online from Infogene based at Massey University. The process is;
- Order cattle tests online (here is the link)
- Take samples and submit via post or courier
- Once your sample is received you will be sent a link to pay
- Pay for your testing
- Receive your results
If you have questions about chondro, please join our Facebook group as we share more info there.
