Clarabelle's Genetics Test Results are in

In this post from last week, we talked about how we had taken hair samples from Clarabelle and had them sent off for her to be tested to determine if she had A2/A2 genetics.  You can read about what A2 milk is and what benefits drinking it provides in that post or in other other articles such as THIS.

About 65% of the milk from Jersey cattle is A2.  We have been trying to breed our cows with the goal being to produce offspring that are A2/A2. Of course milk from an A1/A2 cow is better than milk from an A1/A1 cow, and we feel that drinking raw milk is the best option for our family regardless of the genetics, but we really are shooting for an A2/A2 replacement heifer.  Is Clarabelle going to be the one?

The Genetic Lottery

Each day since we mailed off the hair samples, I've been asking Tricia if the test results had come back in.  Each day the answer was, "Negative, no results yet."  So on Friday we received an email back notifying us of the test results.

The concise and to the point email was kind of anti-climactic after all the build-up and suspense, but the results did make us happy.  Clarabelle is A2/A2 and that means that she is a keeper.  Our little pasture doesn't have any more carrying capacity for additional stock, but we'll find a way to keep an A2/A2 heifer and she'll, in turn, be good breeding stock to hopefully provide us with more calves with A2 genetic dominance.