That said, breeders should be extremely cautious about using diet to try to influence offspring sex- especially when the difference is only 5%. If the human race was having a famine during the Stone Age, it makes more sense to preserve the species with more female births. For some reason, high glucose levels encourage the development of male embryos and inhibit female embryos. (2)There is other scientific evidence that a higher caloric intake (ie a high glucose level) around the time of conception shifts the odds of having a male from 50 to 55%. Worldwide, approximately 105 baby boys are born to every 100 girls. Other factors may come into play: (1)Mother Nature has already given a slight advantage to male births. It may be an oversimplification to condemn alkaline water as the definitive cause for a higher percentage of bull calves. A wet year would dilute the alkalinity towards a more neutral pH thereby promoting heifer calves by decreasing the number of surviving Y- sperm in vaginal secretions. If the cows were drinking from a water tank filled with goldfish or drought concentrated pond water stocked with fish, the alkalinity of the water would be higher thus promoting bull calves( Y sperm swim better in a basic environment). A cow can drink up to 30 gallons of water in a day so it makes sense that this ammonia could potentially slightly raise the vaginal pH ( normally quite acidic with a pH of 3.5) to a more alkaline environment. The fecal solids excreted by fish and the dead algae settle to the pond bottom where they decompose and produce ammonia- a strong alkaline chemical. One factor may be the water cattle are drinking.The pH of the water is primarily determined by the fish excretion of ammonia. A breeder needs to know the potential environmental conditions that affect pH. Conversely, an acidic pH in the vaginal fluid gives preference to an X-sperm (female) because most of the Y-sperm(male) have been destroyed. An alkaline pH in vaginal fluid will favor Y- sperm (male) because Y- sperm deteriorate quickly in an acidic vagina. Experts In human reproductive medicine say the pH environment in the female reproductive tract affects gender of the offspring. Y- sperm chromosomes are faster but more fragile than the X-sperm so they can potentially get to the egg in higher numbers under favorable pH conditions. ![]() The egg (X chromosome) encounters the sperm carrying an X(female) or Y (male) chromosome. We all know that the DNA in the sperm determines sex at the moment of fertilization. So I think it is fair to make some guarded extrapolation from humans to cattle. Otherwise, 14,000 out of the 22,000 genes are identical. The major difference is an extraordinary duplication in the specific genes related to milk production and digestion. Both human and bovine DNA have been fully decoded and sequenced. As it turns out, there are some preconception factors that can be manipulated to affect the gender of the baby. Many couples have 2–3 children of the same sex and want to increase the likelihood of having the opposite sex for their next child. Reproductive medicine is big business in the cattle industry but it is even bigger in humans. ![]() These anecdotal stories may have some scientific basis in sex determination based on the water the cows are drinking and the pH of the reproductive system. During the wet years, there was a higher percentage of heifers. When I asked why, he told me that old timers in the commercial cattle industry had noticed through the years that more bull calves were born when the climate had been dry at the time of conception. ![]() He told me that it would turn around the next year because we had a lot of rain during the breeding season. I have also complained to Justin Rombeck about the high percentage of bull calves in my herd two years ago. He removed the goldfish and the heifer calves returned next year. ![]() He had a lot of bull calves that breeding season. WINFIELD KANSAS many times have you heard a Longhorn breeder complain about the high percentage of bull calves in any given year? Is it totally random or is there some science behind the sex of our calves? Bear Davidson once related a story to me about stocking his water tanks with goldfish to reduce the algae. Want More Heifer Babies? MARK D GILLILAND M.D.
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