Would A blue bull on black calves make a blue calf?

Help Support Steer Planet:

box6rranch

Well-known member
Joined
Dec 11, 2008
Messages
604
Location
Larkspur, CO
We bred a PB Angus to a PB white Shorthorn bull and got a true blue roan heifer. Everything else we bred him to we got roan or black with white socks and belly. We did get a cool dark red heifer with frosted butt and tail and white belly when bred to a black Maine cross.
Should be getting 9 calves on the ground in the next 30 days from all black PB Angus. Should be interesting to see what we get.
 

oakbar

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 20, 2008
Messages
1,458
Location
North Central Iowa
The calf in the attached picture was out of a Full Force X Angus cow and Double Stuff.  We also had one with very similar markings out of Double Stuff and an all black Habanero cow.
 

MYT Farms

Well-known member
Joined
Oct 28, 2008
Messages
1,061
Location
Peyton CO
Phew, my head hurts!  :D Well, in any case, I guess I'll just stick in some good semen and regardless of what color I get make sure I breed for a good one.
 

shortyjock89

Well-known member
Joined
Mar 6, 2007
Messages
4,465
Location
IL
MYT Farms said:
Phew, my head hurts!  :D Well, in any case, I guess I'll just stick in some good semen and regardless of what color I get make sure I breed for a good one.

Finally!
 

MYT Farms

Well-known member
Joined
Oct 28, 2008
Messages
1,061
Location
Peyton CO
Olson Family Shorthorns said:
MYT Farms said:
Phew, my head hurts!  :D Well, in any case, I guess I'll just stick in some good semen and regardless of what color I get make sure I breed for a good one.

Finally!

OK, OK, Justin, take it easy. I just have to be convinced that there is no other way first.  ;) BTW, check your e-mail, please.
 

shortyjock89

Well-known member
Joined
Mar 6, 2007
Messages
4,465
Location
IL
I'm just glad you came to your senses before you bred to an ugly bull just because of color.
 

farmboy

Well-known member
Joined
Apr 21, 2007
Messages
5,652
Location
south webster ohio
oakbar said:
We bred a red neck roan(light roan) heifer to Who Made Who last year hoping for a blue roan but we got a solid black bull calf.  I think the roan gene must be one with "varied expressivity"  meaning you don't ever really know what you're going to get.   We've also had blue roan calves out of black cows and red/wt patterned Shorthorn bulls that didn't look very roan.   The roan cow pictured is bred back to Who Made Who this year so we'll see what happens next week.

and i believe you are exactly right. OH breeder can weigh in more about the randomness of the roan gene but you are on the right path
 

Jill

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 20, 2007
Messages
3,551
Location
Gardner, KS
I can't speak for any other bull, but Dusty is correct, we flushed a purbred Maine to Vegas and ended up with 7 beautiful blue roans.
 

cpubarn

Well-known member
Joined
May 24, 2007
Messages
674
Location
Sheffield,IA
The blue roans that we have liked are out of a white or red neck parent and a black but not solid black parent.

For example, white bull on a black cow with a little chrome, if you want a "louder" color.

Mark
 

OH Breeder

Well-known member
Joined
Feb 14, 2007
Messages
5,954
Location
Ada, Ohio
I have read several articles trying to understand Roan expression. Many times you have a roan but don't know it. Some shorthorns are mistake for red and white when in all actuality they are roans. Mixing of the red and white hairs is what creates the roan. When a pure white bull or cow is mated to a pure black bull or cow a blue roan may be created.

Below is the easiest explanation I have found to date because I am not that bright. Knabe is better at cell biology than I am.

Breeds of cattle known for roans are the Belgian Blue and Shorthorn. Among the former, coat color may be solid black, solid white, or blue roan; the latter may be solid red, solid white, or red roan. Belgian Blues also typically exhibit spotting patterns, which are genetically separate from roan. As a result, most roan cows exhibit blotches of clearly colored and clearly white hair, with roan patches.Some "cryptic" roan cattle appear solid, but upon close inspection reveal a small roan patch.Roan cattle cannot "breed true" but breeding white cattle to a solid mate will always yield a roan calf. The white color typical of Charolais and White Park breeds is not related to roan.

Roan in Shorthorns and Belgian Blues is controlled by the mast cell growth factor (MGF) gene, also called the steel locus, on bovine chromosome 5. Part of the KIT ligand (=stem cells), this region is involved in many cell differentiation processes. Mast cell growth factor promotes pigment production by pigment cells [26], and without it, skin and hair cells lack pigment. With two functional MGF genes (homozygous dominant), cattle are fully-pigmented; without any functional MGF genes (homozygous recessive), they are white. MGF-controlled roan occurs when cattle possess one functional and one non-functional MGF gene (heterozygous), resulting in a roughly even mixture of white regions and colored regions.
 

LoVeShOrThOrNs

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 21, 2009
Messages
56
Our pure white shorthorn bull Tommy Boy made some pretty awesome blue calves this past year.
 

Doc

Well-known member
Joined
Apr 13, 2007
Messages
3,636
Location
Cottontown, Tennessee
You can't ever tell. I bred a blue roan Black Impact dtr to my red neck roan Improvers Stride bull & got a solid red hfr with a little white on the belly.
 

MYT Farms

Well-known member
Joined
Oct 28, 2008
Messages
1,061
Location
Peyton CO
Doc said:
You can't ever tell. I bred a blue roan Black Impact dtr to my red neck roan Improvers Stride bull & got a solid red hfr with a little white on the belly.

Well, I guess not! I reckon I'll stick with my homo black cattle and those I show might get a little chrome. Of course, a good cow is never a bad color.  ;)
 

andy

Active member
Joined
Mar 1, 2009
Messages
33
Would love to post pictures of some blue calves but can't figure out how to do it.  Anybody care to help a computer idiot out????  Pictures are stuck in my computer and I need somebody to tell me precisely how to get them posted.
 

MYT Farms

Well-known member
Joined
Oct 28, 2008
Messages
1,061
Location
Peyton CO
andy said:
Would love to post pictures of some blue calves but can't figure out how to do it.  Anybody care to help a computer idiot out????  Pictures are stuck in my computer and I need somebody to tell me precisely how to get them posted.

Sure, send 'em on to me if you can! If not, here's how. Go to post a reply and you will see a white arrow next to a block of blue text called "Additional Options...". Click on that. Then, hit "Browse Files". Look through your computer files until you see the pics you want. Click on the pic and its title will show up where the "browse" button was. To add more than 1 pic to a post, click on "(more attachments)" and choose as many as you need.
 

andy

Active member
Joined
Mar 1, 2009
Messages
33
Thanks MVT Farms.  I just know enough about computers to be dangerous.  This heifer is out of a homo black Simmental bull I used.   On Shorthorn cows, he threw about 50% blue calves.  Used on roan cows, I'd get good blues pretty well every time.
 

andy

Active member
Joined
Mar 1, 2009
Messages
33
Whoops.  See if this picture makes more sense.
 

Attachments

  • September 2007 083.jpg
    September 2007 083.jpg
    87.7 KB · Views: 668

MYT Farms

Well-known member
Joined
Oct 28, 2008
Messages
1,061
Location
Peyton CO
OK, the brown boxes didn't make sense :D , but the blue heifer on a halter did. VERY nice! Really cool color pattern too.  (welcome)
 
Top