MurraysMutts
Well-known member
And my favorite number cow too!
2 down / 9 to go
- Thread starter coachg
- Start date
Help Support CattleToday:
OP
OP
coachg
Well-known member
8 I think have calved ; 3 to go . There are 30 babies in the pasture. I keep all the first calf heifers and second calf cow's together. One more heifer is springing, one is definitely with calf ; big belly/calf and one is either late bred or open . Bull not chasing so probably late . She will probably go to the sale barn .
OP
OP
coachg
Well-known member
One more calved yesterday, off by herself so I didn't bother them . Lost a week old calf to black buzzards I think . Good day offset by a loss.
OP
OP
coachg
Well-known member
Here's the last heifer to calve and her baby . She has kept it hid out close to the spring that feeds the pond . Cow that lost her calf just left it out in the open pasture. 
Katpau
Well-known member
I expect it is because most Angus breeders don't care if a calf carries the red gene. It isn't a defect, just a color variation, and some breeders even like to see that recessive gene. Red calves can be registered in the Red Angus Assoc. For some reason, it was decided way back in America, that only black calves would be registered in the American Angus Assoc. The Red Angus Assoc. was formed in response to that decision. In Canada, I believe reds are registered in the same association as the blacks.
The black color was used as a way to identify Angus influenced cattle when CAB was begun back in 1978. It was in response to lower quality grades being labeled as choice by the USDA. The Angus Assoc. responded by requiring higher standards for beef to be labeled as Certified Angus Beef. At that time a black calf was almost surely sired by an Angus bull, since most other breeds were not black. The goal was to increase beef quality and to sell Angus bulls. That is why black color was added. Since then, most breeds have gone black by adding Angus blood. The only real problem with a bull that carries the recessive red gene, is that when bred to red cows, or red carrier cows, you may end up with some red calves ineligible for CAB. If that is a concern, I would recommend insisting the buyer of an Angus bull ask for the animal to be DNA tested to make sure they aren't carrying a red recessive gene. I would assume most sellers would agree, and it is unlikely they will be found to be a red carrier. If the bull is found to be a carrier of the red gene, there are plenty of buyers who actually seek that out. I saw red carriers sell at a premium at a bull sale last fall.
Travlr
Well-known member
I wouldn't say "most", not by a long shot.
I don't believe that...
Yup... now we've gotten to the real reason.
Grades of beef carcasses are the same as before CAB. Any animal grading choice is choice regardless of color. CAB is only a marketing program to promote higher prices on black cattle and specifically to sell homozygous black bulls. What is weird is that the public at large has bought into the hype, and even weirder that industry terminal feeder buyers have bought in. They are paying a premium on black calves that will never grade choice and discounting not-black animals that will grade prime. And it's become accepted practice. If I was a large meat packer I'd be buying all the discounted cattle and I'd avoid anything black that was over the prices paid for the non-black cattle.
Last edited:
Jeanne - Simme Valley
Well-known member
When CAB got into full swing - I believe Japan was paying high prices for only BLACK hided cattle, so that snowballed the black hide affect.
