75259300.htm

A SHORT NOTE ON CALVES WITH UNBIFURCATED
HOOVES

SULTAN SINGH, L.AG., B.Sc.AGRIC.(READING)

Deputy Director of Agriculture, Cattle Breeding and Bundelkhand Circle,
Jhansi, United Provinces

AND

R. K. TANDON, M.Sc., A.I.A.R.I.

Divisional Superintendent of Agriculture, Bharari (Jhansi)

(Received for publication on 9 July 1941)

(With Plate II)

BOVINE species of animals are provided with bifurcated hooves but a few
instances of a strange abnormality have occurred at the Government
Cattle Breeding Farm, Madhurikund. Eight calves consisting of six females
and two males born of different parents showed lack of normal bifurcation in
the hooves of the fore limbs. These hooves do not strictly compare with
those of an equine but they taper down in form of an inverted cone or wedge
[Plate I]. The exact nature of this abnormal character cannot be known
unless elaborate breeding experiments are undertaken. These may be
instances of only somatic variations or of an interesting genetic character of
hereditary nature.

The following table shows the pedigree of all the calves with abnormal
hooves. This information may provide some indication as to the nature of this
abnormality.

Serial No.	Ear No. of calves	Sex	Breed	Date of birth	Sire	Grand sire	Dam	Grand Dam	Grand sire (Dam's father
1	23	Male	Hissar	5-3-37	277	313	763	378	210
2	27	Female .	„	4-4-39	277	313	841	46	313
3	57	„	„	24-7-40	373	313	801	319	210
4	61	„	„	3-9-40	373	313	689	530	313
5	63	„	„	5-9-40	373	313	721	351	195
6	28	„	„	19-4-39	655	313	767	261	195
7	80	„	„	27-12-40	655	313	674	213	313
8	10	Male	„	7-2-41	655	313	851	319	313

All the sires, grand sires, dams and grand dams of these claves had no such
abnormality or bodily defect of any kind. From the above pedigree records
it is clear that these calves are progeny of different dams and three different
sires. The grand dams are also different, but the grand sire is same in all the
cases, i.e. Hissar bull No. 313*. It is not possible to analyse the exact nature
of this character from the above records but these data point to one fact and it
is that the grand sire may in some way be responsible for this abnormality.

No definite conclusion can be drawn at this stage. This little note is not
an attempt at the analysis of the exact nature of inheritance of this abnormality,
but it places on record the fact that such abnormal calves have been met with
in our normal course of breeding.

* It has been ascertained from the Government Cattle Farm, Hissar, that none of
the relatives of this bull are reported to have shown any abnormality in hooves.