I have a hereford bull and have had three calves out of him so far. the first was red with white face the next two are all black. I thought when you bred a hereford bull with angus cows that you always got the white face can someone explain?
hereford bull all black calves
- Thread starter jfraser
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randiliana
Well-known member
There can be a couple of explanations for this, first off is as sooknortex said.
Secondly, it could be that the bull only carries one copy of the gene that gives the white face. What does your bull look like, lots of white or just a bit of white?
I presume you bred him to solid colored cows?
Secondly, it could be that the bull only carries one copy of the gene that gives the white face. What does your bull look like, lots of white or just a bit of white?
I presume you bred him to solid colored cows?
The bull is pure hereford I know the guy where I bought him and the bull was born and raised there. all he has is herefords. He doesnt have the white strip on top of his neck he is a redneck bull, and yes he is bred to solid black cows.
ALACOWMAN
Well-known member
course the black cow with the hereford color calf has a red gene. you'r second calf crop might have bald faces ive had this happen. ive gotten bald face out of homo black bull's and solid black out of brangus. that bald face can leave you scratch'in your headjfraser":32305dyk said:
randiliana
Well-known member
jfraser":2smyisw3 said:
It is very likely that your bull only carries one copy of the white face (or Hereford Marking) gene. Here is some more info on how these genes work.
http://easygenes.blogspot.com/2008/02/spots-or-not.html
How old a bull is it? I have notice the younger the bull, the more the cows take over on color til he matures more. Are these cows older? Just something I have noticed thru the years with different bulls and cows.
ALACOWMAN
Well-known member
i have never seen that situation in my lifetime, like to hear moredouble v":3fsc4c8m said:
Caustic Burno
Well-known member
I have ran a Hereford bull for years on Brangus, Simms, Angus, F-1 Tigers,Gelviehs, Herefords etc and to this day never failed to get a motley face or a baldy calf. You sure there aint a little Angus digging under a fence somewhere.
I ran a blonde d Aquitaine bull for years as a young bull the cows color was dominant, as he got older we had more red calves even from the cows who through dark color calves before. Had the same with some black bulls the only time i didn't have this is when we used homo black bulls. I was just saying I have seen this too, not that its the standard each and everytime.
Caustic Burno":2bfd3rrs said:
Our first cross calves run anywhere from a true baldy look to a brockle face. Never have seen a first cross that didn;t have significant white on the face. We had one F1 red baldy that when bred to any solid bull the calf was solid, not a white hair anywhere. Bred her back to a Polled Hereford and got the most traditionally Hereford marked calf imaginable. Bred that tradtioanl marked heifer to a solid red bull and got a brockle faced calf. The white face markings are pretty variable, but in the first cross there is alwasy white.
HEREFORD ROADHOG
Well-known member
double v":2j3pmk1a said:
if you keep him for 15 years you will probably get gray & white calves then huh ?? :mrgreen:
don't think i'll buy that explanation.
Caustic Burno
Well-known member
jfraser":22gvvm2e said:
Post a picture of these calfs lets see if there is some ear and dewlap on them.
If your neighbor has a Brangus I will bet a dollar against a doughnut hole there is your gene pool for black.
novatech
Well-known member
Brangus bulls have a habbit of going where the girls are. My brother had one untill the neighbor gave him a trip to the sale barn.
Used a Hereford bull on black cows for years. Never know what your gonna get. Last year we had a lot of solid blacks, the year before (same bull, same cows) only one of the 25 calves in that herd was all black. Comes down to it,....a big ole healthy calf is fine for me, I'm more concerned with size than color come auction day.
Caustic Burno
Well-known member
You better go back to whoever you bought that Hereford bull from because he was missing a white face gene.
http://animalscience.ag.utk.edu/beef/pd ... K-2004.pdf
http://animalscience.ag.utk.edu/beef/pd ... K-2004.pdf
ALACOWMAN
Well-known member
from reading a litte about the blonde cattle it says the color is not dominant. and in your case, the off springs color will pretty much be on the maternal side.im assuming their another breed ;-)double v":2k7ylcv2 said:
Jeanne - Simme Valley
Well-known member
Double V - whether a bull breeds at the age of 9 months or 9 years old - his genes DO NOT change with age. He may pass different genes with each breeding, but they do not "tend to pass on certain genes" with age. That's just like "the ole wifes tale" - use a young bull on heifers for light birth weights :shock:
Is your Hereford bull registered??? I would venture to guess he is not purebred OR as others say, you had a visitor. Even if the seller of the bull only runs "hereford looking" cattle, there may be a "odd gene in the woodpile".
Is your Hereford bull registered??? I would venture to guess he is not purebred OR as others say, you had a visitor. Even if the seller of the bull only runs "hereford looking" cattle, there may be a "odd gene in the woodpile".
