Manure bleaching hair white on a red calf

[ShuterSunset]

Is it possible for manure to completely bleach the hair white over a big spot on a red calf? We have a really nice Red Angus heifer calf that has a big white patch on the back of her neck. Her momma wouldn't claim her when she was born and we would run a different recip cow into the chute and let this calf nurse on the back teats from the back while her calf nursed on the front two. Of course, when these calves started nursing at the same time, she would always take a **** on the shoulders/back of the neck of the calf in back. I would try to scrape most of it off but eventually it started building up on there. This went on for a few weeks until we had to turn the recip out. The heifer now has a great big spot of white hair on the top of her shoulder at the base of her neck, right where she was always getting crapped on. I have seen them get manure burns where their hair turns white in spots on their flank and leg area but never have seen anything like this. I'm afraid that the white will be a disqualifying characteristic with the Red Angus Associaiton, even though I am 99% sure that it is all from the manure.

 

[chippie]

Can you post a pic?

 

[ShuterSunset]

I will try to get one tonight.

 

[djinwa]

I would think the hair would grow out and be red again. How long since the manure baths ended? And how old is the heifer?

And how does the Red Angus Association know there is white hair? Do you send them a photo?

 

[sim.-ang.king]

Buzz it off...if it comes back red you're a-okay...comes back white you're out of luck.

 

[dun]

I would think the hair would grow out and be red again. How long since the manure baths ended? And how old is the heifer?

And how does the Red Angus Association know there is white hair? Do you send them a photo?

You have to report any disqualifying chaaracteristics, basicly the honor system. If you would sell an animals with disqualifying characteristics that isn;t on their papers you would be cheating the buyer.

 

[randiliana]

Cattle have been known to have birthmarks too. That could be what you are seeing. We've had a couple that have had white areas on what should have been a solid animal before.

 

[Chris H]

Never saw manure bleach red hair white on our Herefords. Got a few with greenish tinged white heads, haha.

 

[Ouachita]

I have a red cow that I don't know whats in the woodpile; sim, lim, beefmaster??????? We call her Crazy Eyes. At certain times (I never corrolated the timing with anything except shedding winter coat), she gets a whitish/gray patch on her left hip about the size of a dinner plate. It's not solid whitish gray. It still has some red in it. After a few weeks she's all red again. Never seen it on her calves

 

[greybeard]

Dunno anything about the bleaching properties of cow poop, but I would think cow urine would have a better chance of being the culprit than manure.

 

[djinwa]

I would think the hair would grow out and be red again. How long since the manure baths ended? And how old is the heifer?

And how does the Red Angus Association know there is white hair? Do you send them a photo?

You have to report any disqualifying chaaracteristics, basicly the honor system. If you would sell an animals with disqualifying characteristics that isn;t on their papers you would be cheating the buyer.

I see.

Though my first thought was the heifer might should be disqualified coming from a mother cow that won't claim a calf. But perhaps there's more to that story.

 

[djinwa]

Cattle have been known to have birthmarks too. That could be what you are seeing. We've had a couple that have had white areas on what should have been a solid animal before.

Possible, though would seem quite a coincidence to be on the top of neck given the story.

Either way if its a year later and the hair is white, out of luck.

 

[dun]

I guess the first question would be was she solid red at birth?

 

[Jogeephus]

Cattle have been known to have birthmarks too. That could be what you are seeing. We've had a couple that have had white areas on what should have been a solid animal before.

I have one like this. It started as a white spot in the injection triangle and it gradually grew in size and moved up toward the top of her neck. Its sortof like a ring. Only explanation I can come up with is its a birth mark of some sort and it just got bigger as the calf grew.

 

[dun]

Cattle have been known to have birthmarks too. That could be what you are seeing. We've had a couple that have had white areas on what should have been a solid animal before.

I have one like this. It started as a white spot in the injection triangle and it gradually grew in size and moved up toward the top of her neck. Its sortof like a ring. Only explanation I can come up with is its a birth mark of some sort and it just got bigger as the calf grew.

On a Holstein the olddairymen called that a milk spot. They claimed they would be strong milkers.

 

[randiliana]

 

[sim.-ang.king]

Looks like you got some blecher genes, randiliana. :lol:

 

[Chris H]

Cattle have been known to have birthmarks too. That could be what you are seeing. We've had a couple that have had white areas on what should have been a solid animal before.

I have one like this. It started as a white spot in the injection triangle and it gradually grew in size and moved up toward the top of her neck. Its sortof like a ring. Only explanation I can come up with is its a birth mark of some sort and it just got bigger as the calf grew.

I have a birthmark on the back of my head. My hair was very dark when I was young, except where it grew out of the birthmark it was pure white. Then sure enough, like your cows hair, all my hair has turned white! :wave: OK, the birthmark had nothing to do with my hair turning white all over!

 

[djinwa]

Interesting pics, Randiliana. Were they born with those markings? Did they nurse from the rear and get dumped on, lol?

Here's a theory just for fun.

If a calf had prolonged manure caking, might be an infection under it, and maybe that could damage cells that make pigment. I didn't find much from googling, but did read about freeze branding that works by the same idea. And of course, hair from freeze branding stays white for life, so maybe this calf's neck will also. From wikipedia:

Rather than burning a scar into the animal, a freeze brand damages the pigment-producing hair cells, causing the animal's hair to grow white where the brand has been applied. Freeze brands cause less damage to the animals' hides than hot iron brands, and can be more visible.

 

[randiliana]

I'm not sure about the cow. We got her as a yearling. But the calf was born with the marking.