Red tinged black hides question

[Stocker Steve]

You see some rough coats on black animals where there are bleached out patches that look medium to light red. My neighbor has a couple "poorly adapted" cows like this but they seem to raise a calf very year.

You also see some slick "black" coats that have a red tinge to them. I have several stockers like this. What are some of the possible causes?

 

[Red Bull Breeder]

They may need copper.

 

[hillsdown]

I agree :nod: ,usually it means a mineral deficiency, does your neighbor have minerals out for his cattle?

 

[MrBilly]

It surely sounds like a copper deficiency. We had a lot of this on our black Angus cattle several years ago. This was despite always having a mineral available that contained copper. A nutritionist told us ( he was with Albion chelated minerals ) that we should try a mineral that contained the chelated copper - Oh sure. We did and the red tinge finally disappeared by the third year. I thought that during the second year it was reduced but still present and was thinking some of it was from our bright sun - but by the third year still on the chelated mineral it was gone.

Apparently some cows have difficulty absorbing the non chelated minerals. Despite our cows being on toxic fescue and in hot and drought stricken Georgia, they are shiny slick, black and always producing a calf every year. Fertility was never a problem. We are sticking with the chelates.

Billy

 

[Stocker Steve]

The neighbor uses salt blocks so I am sure some of his animals are not getting enough mineral.

I have some stockers dry lotted on a hay and wet cake ration. They have great hair coats.

I also have some stockers on 99% pasture. I used to supply the same mineral in a grain supplement, plus free choice mineral, but now only free choice the Land O Lakes "pasture gainer" loose mineral. I now have as poorer coats on average and a number with the red ting. I was blaming this on the lack of grain but they should look shiny with the quality of forage provided...

I have checked into custom minerals in the past but the local mills want to sell you bags from inventory. Sounds like I need to look farther for celated copper.

Why would it take 3 years to change a red tinged hair coat? Seems like it should only take months.

 

[dun]

Our angus all have red tinged coats, winter and summer, but so do the Hereford crosses. Suppose there is something wrong with them?

 

[TexasBred]

Chelated minerals are great but they too take time to have a real effect. Don't know about your soils, grasses, water and rations but iron is one element that will inhibit the absorption of copper. Might check into this but by all means keep the good mineral available and preferrably with some chelates in it. Will cost you a little more money but well worth it. A good worming program will probably help but you may have some that are just determined to be "redheads". :)

 

[Stocker Steve]

Chelated minerals are great but they too take time to have a real effect. Don't know about your soils, grasses, water and rations but iron is one element that will inhibit the absorption of copper. Might check into this but by all means keep the good mineral available and preferrably with some chelates in it.

I cann't keep stockers for 3 years till their hair coats come around ;-) but I will check into "iron". Minnesota has more than its share.

 

[Stocker Steve]

Our angus all have red tinged coats, winter and summer, but so do the Hereford crosses. Suppose there is something wrong with them?

Are they red angus?

 

[hillsdown]

Our angus all have red tinged coats, winter and summer, but so do the Hereford crosses. Suppose there is something wrong with them?

:lol2:

So do some of my Gelbvieh's, hey and two of my Holstein's.. :P

 

[dun]

Our angus all have red tinged coats, winter and summer, but so do the Hereford crosses. Suppose there is something wrong with them?

Are they red angus?

I thought real angu werered. Is there another color?

 

[3waycross]

I bought some registered Gelbvieh heifers this spring, and all 3 of the black ones had that red tinge. After they slicked off it was gone, and haven't seen it since.

Might just be different feed and mineral program or our soil which I know is higher in mineral than where I bought them.

 

[MrBilly]

The neighbor uses salt blocks so I am sure some of his animals are not getting enough mineral.

I have some stockers dry lotted on a hay and wet cake ration. They have great hair coats.

I also have some stockers on 99% pasture. I used to supply the same mineral in a grain supplement, plus free choice mineral, but now only free choice the Land O Lakes "pasture gainer" loose mineral. I now have as poorer coats on average and a number with the red ting. I was blaming this on the lack of grain but they should look shiny with the quality of forage provided...

I have checked into custom minerals in the past but the local mills want to sell you bags from inventory. Sounds like I need to look farther for celated copper.

Why would it take 3 years to change a red tinged hair coat? Seems like it should only take months.

To be fair there was a decrease after several months, but it didn't completely go away for a couple years. We have very high iron in our water too. Dun, that red tinge on yours might be their glow of happiness when they see you coming.

Billy

 

[rockridgecattle]

It sounds like a mineral deficency to me as well. You might want to try and change brands of mineral. All are not created equal. We discovered this several years ago.
We had changed from puratone to the co-op brand. Same 1 to 1 type. After a few months we could not keep a fence post on the place. Not a complete one anyhow. For some reason we got the brain wave of changing the mineral. Still 1 to 1 but with feed rite. We now have fence posts that stick around for a while.
We also noticed that during the drought of '03 we got red tinged coats as well as when the pasture went to crap late last summer due to lack of rain, and they were foraging hard for their food.
We bought a few mineral protien lick tubs, seemed to do the trick

 

[dyates]

Some of it is in the breeding. I have a couple black Heinz 57's who just carry a heavier coat than the other cattle. The hair in their ears makes it hard to read a tag in the middle of summer. Those cattle with the heavier coats seem to be the ones that show a tinge of red.