Red Angus Genes Dominent?

[Carnivore]

Am curious, if a Red Angus bull is bred to a different colored cow, will the calf be Red or is it still a crap shoot?

2nd Q. If one bred a Red Angus to a Black Angus, Red or Black, or a crap shoot?

 

[mnmtranching]

I have six Red Angus heifers, were bred to a Black Angus Bull last year, all had black calves. My Red Angus cows,, bred Charolais had either white calves or light brown. Red Angus Hereford will have red Calves with various amounts of white on their faces, and some white Hereford markings on other parts of their body, sometimes.

 

[VanC]

Am curious, if a Red Angus bull is bred to a different colored cow, will the calf be Red or is it still a crap shoot?

Depends on the cow. Do a search for "genetics of coat color" or something like that. There are a number of sites that can explain it a lot better than I can.

2nd Q. If one bred a Red Angus to a Black Angus, Red or Black, or a crap shoot?

This is a little easier. The Red Angus has 2 red genes for color so will automatically pass a red gene. If the cow is homozygous black( 2 black genes) she will automatically pass on a black gene. All the calves will be black since the black gene is dominant when the calf has one of each.

If the cow is heterozygous black(1 black gene and 1 red gene) she has a 50/50 chance of passing on one or the other. Therefore about half the calves would be red and half would be black. In your words, a crapshoot.

 

[toby]

I had a red angus heifer bred to a registered black angus and the calf was a very dark red. Same cow bred to a red/roan (2 white spots on belly) registered Shorthorn had dark red calf last night.

 

[randiliana]

I had a red angus heifer bred to a registered black angus and the calf was a very dark red. Same cow bred to a red/roan (2 white spots on belly) registered Shorthorn had dark red calf last night.

Then the black bull was not homozygous for the black gene. He had a red gene hiding under the black color. We had a Registered Black Angus bull that gave us a lot of red calves, but then again his mom was a Red Angus, guaranteed to have the red gene there.

 

[Carnivore]

So the, what you are saying is that Red Angus are the product of two recessive red genes?

The reason for the question, is that I am waiting on a calf which has a Red Angus daddy, and a 3/4 Shorthorn 1/4 Black Angus mommy, who is predominently white with just a tinge of red.

With that in mind, then this white heifer with a tinge of red cannot be carrying a black gene, or she would be black, correct? And, because the bull is a RA, he cannot have a black gene either, correct?

 

[Carnivore]

Then the black bull was not homozygous for the black gene. He had a red gene hiding under the black color.

What you are saying, is that a registered Black Angus bull can be the product of a Black Angus/Red Angus cross?

Whew, pretty confusing.

 

[randiliana]

Then the black bull was not homozygous for the black gene. He had a red gene hiding under the black color.

What you are saying, is that a registered Black Angus bull can be the product of a Black Angus/Red Angus cross?

Whew, pretty confusing.

Yes, as long as both parents were registered. The Black gene is dominant over the Red gene. Of course it depends on the rules in the registry, and I am not sure how the American Angus Association works, but up here I believe the two are considered the same breed, just different colors.

 

[randiliana]

So the, what you are saying is that Red Angus are the product of two recessive red genes?

The reason for the question, is that I am waiting on a calf which has a Red Angus daddy, and a 3/4 Shorthorn 1/4 Black Angus mommy, who is predominently white with just a tinge of red.

With that in mind, then this white heifer with a tinge of red cannot be carrying a black gene, or she would be black, correct? And, because the bull is a RA, he cannot have a black gene either, correct?

You got it. Black is dominant, which means that if the animal has the black gene it will be black. Unless of course the animal also carries a dilutor gene which will result in grey, or if the animal also carries the roan gene, which would result in blue roan.

Your calf will either come out red, or red roan. Possibly red with white markings.

 

[VanC]

What you are saying, is that a registered Black Angus bull can be the product of a Black Angus/Red Angus cross?

Whew, pretty confusing.

No, at least not in the US. Here they are considered two different breeds. A black Angus that has one or more red ancestors cannot be registered, at least that's the way I read it.

http://www.angus.org/pubs/2006brg2.pdf (Rule 103c)

Picture this: Two registered Black Angus each carry the red gene. If you mate them, there's a 25% chance they'll produce a red calf. If the calf is black, it can be registered as Angus. If the calf is red, it cannot. Same genetics, different results, depending only on coat color. However, I believe a red calf from this mating can be registered as Red Angus. Someone correct me if I'm wrong. Remember, there aren't too many registered Black Angus around anymore that carry the red gene, so this scenario isn't as likely as it once was.

There. More confused than before, aren't you? ;-)

 

[Red007]

Picture this: Two registered Black Angus each carry the red gene. If you mate them, there's a 25% chance they'll produce a red calf. If the calf is black, it can be registered as Angus. If the calf is red, it cannot. Same genetics, different results, depending only on coat color. However, I believe a red calf from this mating can be registered as Red Angus. Someone correct me if I'm wrong. Remember, there aren't too many registered Black Angus around anymore that carry the red gene, so this scenario isn't as likely as it once was.

You can register the calf as a Red Angus, you can even regester a black calf with the RAA so long as one of its parents was a regesterd red angus.

 

[KB]

Red Angus doesn't require either parent to have been "registered" Red Angus. They allow for "breeding up" and also allow for a Registered Black Angus calf (from registered parentage) to be Registered Red Angus. The calf from the latter would be considered 100%, but Category II due to a black hide color.[/quote]

 

[Shorthornguy]

:lol: :lol: What color is the niehbors Bull :lol: :lol:

 

[Carnivore]

Thanks all for your comments on this thread. Learned a lot.