[Jacob-list] Occypital condylar dysplasia

[Pbs123 at aol.com]

In a message dated 4/20/02 12:59:36 AM Eastern Daylight Time, 
lambfarm at sover.net writes:


> I've never seen it here, but it may explain a lamb or two on other jacob 
> farms I know.  In both cases the shepherds use line breeding a lot.  Is 
> there a link, in your opinion?  Have you already expressed an opinion on 
> this and I missed it?  These two flocks are totally unrelated, in both male 
> and female lines, as far as I can discern.
> 

Sorry to be tardy getting back to you. I haven't been able to get to the 
computer until just now to answer your question. I don't think anyone knows 
it's ultimate source for certain, although I think inbreeding is the most 
likely source. I know that when skeletal abnormalities are present in extinct 
populations of animals, paleontologists invariably attribute them to 
inbreeding. It is however possible that OCD is part of the group of strange 
skull attributes that go along with multiple horns. Either way, I would guess 
that if the trait is present to any degree in a flock, line breeding would 
obviously perpetuate it.

Peter S
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