Spring is here.. warning pics

[inyati13]

Just an observation: It appears to me that there is a mineral deficiency (Copper specifically) in their diet. They appear to be growing well at this age. If I were selecting for either Terminal OR Maternal stock I would prefer to see less leg length and more masculinity in the bulls.

DOC HARRIS

I'll call you Doc Holliday, because on this one, I think you are shooting from the hip. Mineral deficiency is a serious topic. But looking at the pictures above and having observed the coat color characteristic of many breeds of black cattle during the first 20 months in age raises the question of whether what we are seeing in the pictures is a mineral deficiency or the result of the natural transition to the adult black coat. The brown, reddish, or rusty color is common in immature Simmental, Angus, Simangus, etc. I looked at some information on copper deficiency and acknowledge that retained coat and reddish color are symptoms but not all cattle with those symptoms are copper deficient. In my opinion, the reddish color in these particular animals is natural and not related to a mineral deficiency. 3way is probably closer to the target than your hip shot.

PS. in regard to rough coat, what I see is a residual immature fuzzy coat often curly. I think that is natural and not symptomatic of a malady. I see these characteriestics in everyone's herd here in KY. Of course, only a blood test will determine a copper deficiency, but if this is as common as I think it is, everyone will be worried about testing for copper that may not need to.

 

[jscunn]

inyati,
I think you are spot on, the only cattle we have with the rough winter coats are the calves. If they are like every other calf crop in the last 40 years then they will shed off by June and be fine. The bred heifers are all fine and the cows are fine. The other symptoms of copper defeciency dont fit either, low growth, low fertility, hoof problems,etc. I could go into details to defend my agrument but I wont. You can pick those rough coats out by the sires of the calves as well. It might well be an endocrinologic (sp?) problem, but I dont think it is a mineral problem.
Sometimes you have to listen with an open mind to see if they are on to something.

 

[inyati13]

inyati,
I think you are spot on, the only cattle we have with the rough winter coats are the calves. If they are like every other calf crop in the last 40 years then they will shed off by June and be fine. The bred heifers are all fine and the cows are fine. The other symptoms of copper defeciency dont fit either, low growth, low fertility, hoof problems,etc. I could go into details to defend my agrument but I wont. You can pick those rough coats out by the sires of the calves as well. It might well be an endocrinologic (sp?) problem, but I dont think it is a mineral problem.
Sometimes you have to listen with an open mind to see if they are on to something.

jscunn, you have some very fine cattle. They look very similar to mine. Look at this Oct 24, 2012 calf:

 

[jscunn]

Nice Calf, I just love this time of year. All the hard work of the winter looks like it pays off.

 

[DOC HARRIS]

js-

No "argument" from me. Only suggestions. I have been under the impression that CT is for helping - not arguing.

Your choice.

DOC HARRIS

 

[jscunn]

sorry doc, used wrong word. maybe defend my position or point would have been a better way of saying it. did you notice the open mind statement.. i wasnt being defensive, i guess it came across that way. i apologize.

 

[Taurus]

I would agree with 3waycross and Inyati13, it's very common in young black-hided cattle that has rough winter coats. Most of our calves has red tint on them when they were young then become completely black when they get older as most animals on our property can be traced to a red angus cow.

 

[Nesikep]

It is perfectly possible for the animals to naturally be off-black in colour, but I am glad that I did blood tests on a cow at least once in the 20 years I've had them, and it should probably be done a lot more often... I suggest doing it on a mature cow who's a heavy producer, about 3 months after calving.

Doc - Anyone who wants a copy of that writeup can PM me their email and I'll send it to them... I have yet to find a good place to put it for easy download.