Why a rat-tailed cow is a bad thing?

[Taurus]

I'm trying to understand why rat-tails are bad in commerical cattle herd? Had a rattail black baldy cow that throws best heifers and steers for us.

 

[Cross breeder #1]

they have the chance of throwing a rattailed calf which will be docked at the market.

 

[Taurus]

And.....????? It's not like we will eat the tail, just don't see how it is bad thing. My rattail cow throws great calves for me and only one calf was rat-tail but we do not get any dock at the market.

 

[deenranch]

It's kinda like all the black cattle. We don't eat the hide. It's just something for the buyers to complain about and dock the price.

 

[fitz]

The ones I've experienced never seemed to put on a heavy winter coat. That can make it pretty rough in our climate on a fall calf.
fitz

 

[JSCATTLE]

Other than having a hard time swatting flies being used as an excuse by the buyers I don't know of any reason not to keep one .

 

[angusdave63]

i read some data on rat tails, they do not finish quiet like a regular steer they compaired several in a feedlot, it took a little longer to finish the rat tails. i fed 3 out last fall one was a great steer his twin brother did not feed quiet as well, when i shipped them the good steer weighed 1415 his twin 1185 there 3/4 sister born the same day weighed 1235 about month later, they were 18 and 19 months old when i shipped them and had spent the summer of 2011 on grass only. they were char angus cross.

 

[Bigfoot]

Is rat tailed, and wire haired the same thing? Or are we calling a cow missing its switch a rat tail? To me they are seperate issues.

 

[Red Bull Breeder]

If she was a black baldie she was not a true rat tail. The rat tail will be off white to gray colored with the short curly hair, and a tail slick a possum.

 

[BC]

Years ago, a friend sent some steers to the TAMU Ranch to Rail program. One was a rat tail. He wanted to find out why his occassional rat tailed calf got docked at sale barn. He found out. It gained 0.25 lbs less ADG than his contemporaries. I don't know if it has to do with genetics or the fact that most rat tils are extremely short haired and that lack of hair caused increased maintenance through the winter feeding period.

 

[Taurus]

Well she DID throw a grey calf with curly hair and a rat tail few years ago and we only have Black Angus bulls. The black baldy cow comes from a mixed breed commerical herd contained angus, holstein crosses, simmentals, shorthorns, herefords and who knows what's in that herd so her background is unknown. She do have funny-looking hair and really thinned short tail.

 

[ALACOWMAN]

If she was a black baldie she was not a true rat tail. The rat tail will be off white to gray colored with the short curly hair, and a tail slick a possum.

your right....probably lost her switch

 

[ALACOWMAN]

Is rat tailed, and wire haired the same thing? Or are we calling a cow missing its switch a rat tail? To me they are seperate issues.

i got two rat tails on the ground now , out of simbrah cows,, their slick haired.... they do as good on moma as the rest , just dont perform well on the feed lot................ive lost tail switches to fescue toxicity

 

[Taurus]

If she was a black baldie she was not a true rat tail. The rat tail will be off white to gray colored with the short curly hair, and a tail slick a possum.

your right....probably lost her switch

She never lost her switch since her birth and she was clearly a rat-tail. She once throw a rattail grey calf few years ago despite of have a black angus bull covered her.

 

[ALACOWMAN]

never seen rat tail syndrome expressed in a black cow... though with the simmental influence she can throw one.... all ive seen look like this.. might have a blaze face http://i140.photobucket.com/albums/r33/ ... 8Dec05.jpg

 

[Taurus]

never seen rat tail syndrome expressed in a black cow... though with the simmental influence she can throw one.... all ive seen look like this.. might have a blaze face http://i140.photobucket.com/albums/r33/ ... 8Dec05.jpg

There was few grey cows in the black baldy cow's birth herd looks like that one. The past owner do not say what kind of her dam is. Sometimes I wondered if she has more breeds in her than just black angus and hereford.

 

[jerry27150]

most true ratails don't have any eyelashes either

 

[jerry27150]

most true rat-tails don't have eyelashes either

 

[papavillars]

alacowman, thanks for the picture.

 

[BRG]

I have a friend who purchased a semi load of Rat tail steer calves one at a time several years back. He thought he got a heck of a deal as they were CHEAP! But then we had a real tough winter and he lost around 30% of the calves from this group, while he never lost a calf from the other calves he got that were not rats. The rat tails don't grow a winter hair coat like other calves do.