# Red Angus



## wheelsville (Jun 5, 2013)

I have a what seems to be a red angus calf that came from a black angus cow, she was bread with a black angus bull.... I'm in my first year of farming and was looking for some answers.

Thanks,


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## ontario hay man (Jul 18, 2013)

Must have red close back in both families it can happen. He looks good


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## wheelsville (Jun 5, 2013)

Cool,

I think I'm going to keep her...which I'm trying to keep all my heifers from this year.


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## wheelsville (Jun 5, 2013)

Red Angus have all of the characteristics of Black Angus. The cows are hardy, and grow quickly. They produce marbled meat like that of the Black Angus, and their meat is also highly desired in butchers, supermarkets, restaurants, and in the home. While the Red Angus is different in color, their meat is no different from that of the Black Angus. - Wikipedia


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## ontario hay man (Jul 18, 2013)

Ya they are exactly the same. You guys have 2 different registries down there but they areball in 1 here.


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## Bonfire (Oct 21, 2012)

Are the sire and dam registered Angus? Or are they black animals from the sale barn?

Sure looks like something homozygous resecive happened.

Any chance the bull is a black Limousin?


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## Tim/South (Dec 12, 2011)

Nice heifer.

The color genies can pull one out of the hat sometimes.


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## hog987 (Apr 5, 2011)

I once had a black sow solid black and she always had pink piglets. Didn't matter what color the boar was. Color can be a funny thing sometimes.


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## ontario hay man (Jul 18, 2013)

Its like my grey mare I bred to a chesnut stallion the colt came out dark brown lol. Also bred a dark brown mare to dark brown stallion and got a chesnut. Its all back in the family somewhere.


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## Vol (Jul 5, 2009)

Appears to be getting the "color" from the mother if that's her beside the calf. She has the "burnt" black look to her instead of the typical "raven" black of purebred black angus. Noticed the calf has what appears to be a chocolate coloration on the muzzle.....could very well end up being chocolate in color.

Regards, Mike


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## Fowllife (Sep 10, 2010)

I dissagree with these guys. I think what you have there is a freak of nature. I think it is some weird genetic desease, or something like that. I'm afraid to say that I think you need to get rid of her & get her off your farm ASAP. Just to make it easier for you, you should bring her up here to my farm so she doesn't infect any more of your cows.....


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## wheelsville (Jun 5, 2013)

The bull that my step dad had in with these cows was a black bull, no papers to my knowledge. The bull I have now is a registered black angus, he has been in this heard since last november.


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## wheelsville (Jun 5, 2013)

If the bull I have now has been in for almost a year when will his calfs start popping out?


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## prairie (Jun 20, 2008)

I have heard lots of old ranchers tales, misconceptions and plain wild speculation on color inheritance, most of them not true.

The base color inheritance in cattle is very simple, and follows Mendel's law of inheritance. I don't know about horses and hogs though, but I would assume Mendel's law still would apply.

Basically both the cow and the bull carry one red gene and one black gene for color. Because both carry a black gene and black is dominant over red, they are black in color. But when mated either or both could pass on a red gene, but the calf will only be red when both pass on a red gene.

The mating of this cow and bull will give the following gene combinations:

50% Black/Red color will be black, referred to as Heterozygous black

25% Black/Black color will be black, referred to as Homozygous black

25% Red/Red color will be red, referred to as Homozygous red

Other color patterns such as spots, brindle, dilutions, etc., all have there laws of inheritance, but are more complicated and I don't remember exactly what those rules are anymore.

The Simmental association used to have a brochure that did an excellent job of explaining color and horn/poll/scur inheritance.


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## prairie (Jun 20, 2008)

By the way, nice looking calf, she looks like a potential replacement heifer to me.

And besides, she is the *right *color!


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## prairie (Jun 20, 2008)

wheelsville said:


> If the bull I have now has been in for almost a year when will his calfs start popping out?


275-290 days is a general range of gestation period for most English and Continental beef animals. It can vary by breed and genetic lines within a breed. Bos Indicus (Brahman type) breeds can go as long as 310-312 days


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## wheelsville (Jun 5, 2013)

I really appreciate all the help!


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## bluefarmer (Oct 10, 2010)

I had a homozygous black limousine cow, and was homozygous on both sides, I Ai'd her to a Hereford and got a red motly bull, and he is a dandy, calves are muscled and grow like a limousine but have the disposition of a Hereford


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## prairie (Jun 20, 2008)

bluefarmer said:


> I had a homozygous black limousine cow, and was homozygous on both sides, I Ai'd her to a Hereford and got a red motly bull...


I am guessing that by "motley" you mean brindle and/or very dark red/brown color.

Limousin, Tarentaise, and a few other breeds have what I have heard referred to as a "wild gene" that gives the brindle or very dark red color, or brown backed look. The base color is still black, but the wild gene modifies it somehow. I certainly don't understand how it works, but I don't think the wild gene inheritance and expression predictability is as well understood or set in stone like color inheritance.

Those wild gene calves usually get darker with age. They usually will appear black later on, sometimes by weaning time, and almost always by the time they are a yearling. While they appear almost black, the brindle stripes are usually visible under the right light conditions. The calves who are very dark red at birth usually turn nearly black, but will have a reddish tinge to them. The brown backed calves will also get darker with age, but usually retain at least some of the brown coloring across their back, poll and muzzle.

We have some Tarentaise influence in our herd and see these color patterns on a regular basis. Many times a calf marked as dark red or brindle will need their color notation updated to black by 7-8 months of age. Most of the brown backed and a few of the dark red calves will be will be brown backed at maturity. A very few of the brown backed calves will turn almost completely black.


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## Vol (Jul 5, 2009)

bluefarmer said:


> I had a homozygous black limousine cow, and was homozygous on both sides, I Ai'd her to a Hereford and got a red motly bull, and he is a dandy, calves are muscled and grow like a limousine but have the disposition of a Hereford


Is the bulls face motled with color ?

Regards, Mike


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## prairie (Jun 20, 2008)

The following are some links that will probably tell most of you more than you want to know about color inheritance in cattle.

http://homepage.usask.ca/~schmutz/colors.html

Inheritance of Color And The Polled Trait - American Simmental *...*

www.simmental.org/site/userimages/simbrah_*color*/shalles_mod.pdf‎

Inheritance of Colour in Cattle

www1.foragebeef.ca/$Foragebeef/.../crossbreeding*colourinheritance*.pdf‎


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## bluefarmer (Oct 10, 2010)

Sorry, he is dark deep red with motly face!


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## bluefarmer (Oct 10, 2010)

Is the bulls face motled with color ?

Regards, Mike. He is deep dark red with motly face


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