Charolais cross cattle with skunk markings

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Does anyone know much about the skunk marked Charolais cross cattle that seem to show up.  Are there carrier bloodlines?  Thanks
 

RyanChandler

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I don't know if it's a bloodline deal or not but I'll occasionally get a skunk tail calf w/ my Char bull.  I had never heard of it until I started getting calves and looked it up. 
 

Rocky Hill Simmental

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One of my first cows was a yellow 1/2 charolais 1/2 simmental with a skunk stripe. I still have skunk tails pop up in her bloodlines even with a bunch of simmental and angus in the mix. I showed one two years ago and everyone kept asking if she had pinzgauer in her. She was only 1/8 charolais and was black with a skunk stripe and she showed in the simmental class.

I asked one of my professors about it back when I was in college and all he said was that there were some charolais lines back in France that weren't as pure as what they were said to be.

 

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Freddy

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From the history I got on this is that in WORLD WAR 1 THE CHAROLAIS AND THE SIMMENTAL herds were let loose for a time during the war !!!  Was told this by Helen MICHALEIS  from that herd !!!

Not sure how it works those genetics but use to have some of this and if you use Wyoming Wind he will whiten them as quick as any thing I have used ....
 

RyanChandler

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It's tough for a Char breeder to select against it as well as on a diluted animal, the white markings are nearly impossible to distinguish.  If you'll look when their real wet,  you can sometimes see whiter spots are some chars that will throw the skunk tail. 
 

ds

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You can breed away from these skunk markings, our commercial bull buyers don't want them in their calves either. As a previous poster said you have to look at them close after a rain to notice the pattern on the skin. WCR Prime Cut & JWK Impressive D040(although Thomas 0641 cow seems to not have the skunk marking gene) are two of the main ones I know of that have this. Some of the older French lines will throw some body spots.
 

Mark H

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We had problems with the french bulls throwing spots but not sunk tails or white line backs on other breeds.  The interesting thing is that many red factor cattle mark like red Holsteins or Herefords.  It it is not usual to see a buckskin coat calf with white Hereford markings since so many cattle were upgraded from them.  The bloodline worst for this was the Bull Onaway Stonewalker.
The French cattle were ran up into the Alps in WW II nor WW 1 as France wasn't over ran in the first war.  The darkest bull when he got wet was the French bull TEE Anchor Aiglon.  Many people through he was a Pie Rouge bull when they saw him for the first time since he was so reddish.
 

RyanChandler

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None of which express the skunk tail.  I don't think the skunk tail marking has anything to with them being bred up using other breeds. 
 

knabe

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seems to be a developmental thing that lost/changed pigment after a certain point in the spine area.
 

Mark H

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The Hereford feather neck can be seen as a shortened line back.  Many old British and American breeds  had lineback markings see the old American lineback dairy breed.
 

crystalcreek

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I had a guy come out to look at some bulls....he had previously run a Camp Cooley-bred bull over his commercial cows in his operation and was getting calves with "longhorn markings".  I think this must have been what he was referring to.  He said after two calf crops, and with said markings being more prevalent in the second crop, he sold the bull because he couldn't afford how much the calves were getting docked at the sale barn for being marked that way. 

I was interested in the genetic source of the markings and wanted to be sure I didn't provide a bull that would give him the same problem.  So when you said Prime Cut/D040, I really started paying attention.

Please keep talking about this.
 

bim1986

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Charolais are known to carry a form of the pinzegaur spotting gene which can cause skunk tails.
 

dimebag

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She's only 1/4 Charolais and has skunk tail markings , i would take 50 more of them if i had the room .
 

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dimebag

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Thanks Mr Fred , she has done well for us in the ring and now in the pasture .
 
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