How color works in cattle

[Rydero]

Here's a silver out of a black cow and a Charolais bull.

 

[Muddy]

The basic color is usually not too hard to get close to correct, but the patterns are really tough!

With Hector, it seems like he doesn't change the pattern.. how the cow looks is pretty much how the calf looks, perhaps a little darker on the roan cows

Cow with white socks had a calf with the identical white socks
Brocklefaced cow that has had many roan calves had a brocklefaced roan calf
Solid red cows all had solid red calves
White roan cow had a 50/50 roan calf today







This calf is more roan than she looks while wet here





Last bull was a bit different, though he didn't have MUCH white (just white socks), If the cow carried white, the calf would have more, it was kinda an additive formula

If I remembered correctly, you had several spotted calves in the past. Hard to predict when you'll get a spotted calf when both parents have a hidden spotting gene.

 

[Nesikep]

Yup, the shorthorns make that pretty tricky.. Last bull showed spots (white socks) and while a lot of his calves were solid red, cows with white had calves with more markings.. This bull it seems the markings are steady.. calf has what momma has, give or take.
This one was born friday morning.. Got mommas star and white socks, didn't get the white flanks though

 

[Jeanne - Simme Valley]

white on the head/face, bellie, tail, legs are a different gene - but some seem to be somewhat connected somehow. The body spot - white totally surrounded by color on the BODY is a separate recessive gene from all the others.