Rattails

[MikeC]

The answer to eliminating rattails is to breed the continentals to a "RED" Angus or other red breed. The defect is attributed to a black gene.

 

[Frankie]

The answer to eliminating rattails is to breed the continentals to a "RED" Angus or other red breed. The defect is attributed to a black gene.

It's not attributed to the black genes of Angus. From what I've read, the Continental cows are the carriers. Are rattails a problem in any breed other than Simmentals? That's the only breed I've heard dicussed.

 

[MikeC]

The answer to eliminating rattails is to breed the continentals to a "RED" Angus or other red breed. The defect is attributed to a black gene.

It's not attributed to the black genes of Angus. From what I've read, the Continental cows are the carriers. Are rattails a problem in any breed other than Simmentals? That's the only breed I've heard dicussed.

Department of Animal Sciences and Industry, Kansas State University, Manhattan 66506, USA.

A form of congenital hypotrichosis, commonly know as the "rat-tail syndrome," occurs in a small percentage of calves produced by crossing some Continental cattle breeds with cattle that are black in color. These calves are characterized by short, curly, malformed, sometimes sparse hair and a lack of normal tail switch development. In our first study, performance of 43 rat-tail calves was compared with that of 570 non-rat-tail calves of the same breeding and contemporary groups. All rat-tail calves were sired by Simmental bulls and were from cows with various percentages of Angus breeding. The rat-tail condition had no effect on birth weight, weaning weight, or gain from birth to weaning. However, rat-tail calves had significantly lower rates of gain during the winter months from weaning to yearling than non-rat-tail calves, resulting in a 19 kg lighter yearling weight. Gains of steers from yearling to slaughter were not significantly different, but rat-tail steers were 36 kg lighter (P = .01) and 13 d older (P = .15) at slaughter than the non-rat-tail steers. In a second study, Angus-Simmental F1 males and females with the rat-tail condition were mated to produce 64 F2 offspring that were used to determine the mode of inheritance of this syndrome. Analysis showed that the rat-tail syndrome is controlled by interacting genes at two loci. Cattle that express the syndrome must have at least one dominant gene for black color and be heterozygous at the other locus involved.

 

[MikeC]

Frankie, There is an occasional occurance of rattails in the mating of Charolais to black cattle also. Especially BLACK ANGUS, but not in Red Angus. Limo's the same. It comes from the black gene.

 

[Dee]

I have a couple rats in my herd of F-1 Hereford x Angus. Bred them back Angus and 1 heifer out of 53 has a rat tail.

 

[Bez]

Have a couple of rats this year as well - BA bull on HH cows. They are good stout animals so we will eat them ourselves - too big a hit at the sale barn.

Bez

 

[4-H fanatic]

Sorry what exactyl is a rattail??????? I've never heard of them before....

 

[preston39]

4-H,
See Mike c's post above for technical.

 

[mtnman]

Rattail gene is linked to black, as in BLACK ANGUS, period. Never shows it's face in RED cattle, only BLACK. If only exposes itself in the presence of the dilutor from the Continentals, however.

mtnman

 

[4-H fanatic]

Ya but what does the tail look like then?? and how does it affect the growth rate??

 

[PNZMAN]

ive also heard somepeople say that senepol cattle have rat tails...im kind of like lost on this issue cause i use a angus bull on all my cattle and have never had a rat tail. but i think its a tail with short short hair and barely no switch.

am i right :?: :cboy:

 

[DOC HARRIS]

ive also heard somepeople say that senepol cattle have rat tails...im kind of like lost on this issue cause i use a angus bull on all my cattle and have never had a rat tail. but i think its a tail with short short hair and barely no switch.

am i right :?: :cboy:

For the most part yes - you are correct. MikeC and the U. of Kansas (above) is the scientific explanation of "Rattail" - called that because it resembles a rats tail - without the curly hair - but little or no switch. They have a tough time in fly season, which may explain why they don't finish out as economically as others. Also, very probably other physiological genetically influenced conditions are affected by the same gene loci conditions. But that is just an assumption on my part - I don't really have the facts to back up my hypothesis.

 

[myersfarm]

to me its just one of those things they can dock you on,,,,, so they do ....they still keep the flys beat off its the same length just not as full of hair...