Black Baldy?

[RedFernFarm]

We bred our registered Hereford heifer (Fern) to our registered Black Angus bull (Murray) so she would have an easier delivery with her first calf. I really wanted Fern to have a black baldy and was expecting a black calf with a white face. We didn't get what we expected, but baby Abigail is absolutely beautiful. I have searched the internet trying to find other cows/calves with the same colors but haven't found any that look like her. Can anyone tell me how we got these colors instead of just black with a white face? Is there a name for these particular colors/markings?

 

[jwimberly]

Around here we call those motley face cows.

 

[ALACOWMAN]

We call it motley face... You'll get those with that cross also.. No big deal..just as good as a full whiteface just not the eye candy...

 

[ddd75]

extremely rare color combo.. should be named SHOWSTOPPER

 

[Rafter S]

That's a pretty common marking. You'll also get some blaze faced calves (black, with a wide white stripe down the center of the face) with that cross.

 

[3waycross]

I'm no expert on genetics but I have to question whether or not an Angus bull could throw red on a calf like that. Maybe someone who knows genetics can explain it.

 

[Brute 23]

Yup, black mot. Thats not uncommon. We use to have a cow with a peace sign on her face. It was black, white, and tiger striped. It was pretty neat.



This is the blaze face. If you put an Angus bull on F1 Hereford cattle you can get a lot of blaze faced cattle.

 

[RedFernFarm]

I've been reading up on motley faced cattle but can't find anything to explain the red on her face (as a third color) other than the fact that her mother has a small amount of red on the corner of each eye. I am very happy she looks like this. I think she is beautiful. I'm glad she was born this way and not just the black and white. She will be more of a pet to me than anything. Her mother, Fern, is my favorite and I will probably keep all of her calves.

 

[ClinchValley]

I'm no expert on genetics but I have to question whether or not an Angus bull could throw red on a calf like that. Maybe someone who knows genetics can explain it.

Just an observation here.

My neighbor had a Hereford bull on black angus cows, year before last. The majority of calves were black hided. But had a fair amount of reds come from the cross.

Would it be the same with a black angus bull on hereford cows? As to my understanding, it would have to be a homozygous black bull to throw nothing but black hides?

 

[ALACOWMAN]

Angus bull could be a red gene carrier,,that ain't uncommon either...

 

[3waycross]

I'm no expert on genetics but I have to question whether or not an Angus bull could throw red on a calf like that. Maybe someone who knows genetics can explain it.

Just an observation here.

My neighbor had a Hereford bull on black angus cows, year before last. The majority of calves were black hided. But had a fair amount of reds come from the cross.

Would it be the same with a black angus bull on hereford cows? As to my understanding, it would have to be a homozygous black bull to throw nothing but black hides?

Registered "Black Angus" are generally considered to be HOMO BLACK. Your friends cowherd is another story. All black cows are NOT purebred Angus hence the reds coming out of them. An Angus bull on a herf based cowherd SHOULD always throw blacks.

 

[3waycross]

Angus bull could be a red gene carrier,,that ain't uncommon either...

It actually is very uncommon....not saying it doesn't happen.

 

[Ky hills]

I'm no expert on genetics but I have to question whether or not an Angus bull could throw red on a calf like that. Maybe someone who knows genetics can explain it.

Just an observation here.

My neighbor had a Hereford bull on black angus cows, year before last. The majority of calves were black hided. But had a fair amount of reds come from the cross.

Would it be the same with a black angus bull on hereford cows? As to my understanding, it would have to be a homozygous black bull to throw nothing but black hides?

I'm not an expert on genetics or anything else for that matter, but I would think that in the case of a Hereford bull with black cows, the cows may have either not been pure Angus, or some carried a red gene. I could be wrong but have always thought that true F1 calves from Angus/Hereford, either way were always black. I do know that if the F1 BWF is bred back to a Hereford bull there will be a lot of the calves RWF, and some BWF.

 

[ALACOWMAN]

Angus bull could be a red gene carrier,,that ain't uncommon either...

It actually is very uncommon....not saying it doesn't happen.

it does happen ...

 

[M.Magis]

Regarding the calf pictured here, I can understand the motled face, and the possibility of being black or red, but I've never seen (or heard of) all three colors on one calf from that cross. Is it not as uncommon as I think?

 

[wacocowboy]

I have seen a bunch of mott faces but never seen a tri colored face. She is cute.

 

[Katpau]

The original Angus were both reds and blacks and some also had some white. When the cattle were imported to the US and the Angus registry was formed, the decision was made to only allow black and solid. The Red Angus registry (RA) was originally formed because some wanted to preserve the red gene. Red is a recessive, so they never carry the black gene, however the black gene can hide the recessive red gene through many generations, so there are still a few Black Angus cattle that carry the red gene. It is possible now to do a genetic test to identify a red carrier, but unless a red calf is born, most do not test.

The markings on your calf are common, but the red spots within the black is something I have never seen. You can't really see it in the little photo that shows up on this thread, but if you click on it, it becomes apparent. I hope she retains these as she gets older because to me they are really neat. Sometimes black calves are born with a coat that looks red but they shed out black, so I hope that is not the case with her. I would like to see a full body shot of her. Does she have more of those red spots on her black body. What is the registration number of the Angus bull?

 

[ALACOWMAN]

No doubt with the genetics and testing that's done now, its cut down the amount of red carriers...

 

[elkwc]

Redfern I sent you a pm.

 

[Hoser]

Speckled face is what it's called in my neck of the woods. Flashy looking calf!