My latest calf

[boyst]

I had a 116# steer calf born 3-13-13 (last Wednesday) and it came out looking a little funny. I was not worried; if it came out looking like Fig Newtons, though, I would have been.

 

So, I did some research and contacted plenty of people. The dam and sire are both 32/32 (his great great grandparents) full blood Charolais, and when I looked beyond the basics I found they were beyond 256/256 (his great, great, great, great, great, grandparents) white nosed, pure Charolais. That means that somewhere in his 40 chromosomes something old came back. I reached out to some geneticists, some record keepers and others in the community and found some cool stuff out that I thought I would share.

 

Back when cattle were first domesticated for agricultural/commercial purposes the common practice was to design remarkable cattle based upon appearance. Black to be Angus, Red - Simmental, red with a white face - Hereford, black with a white face - black baldy/short horn, white - charolais, etc, etc. For fun, check out the Belted Galloway - http://www.antietamfarm.com/images/belted_galloway_pic1.jpg . They are oreos.

 

So, Charolais Bos Taurus that originally came from the Charolles region of France still relate back to the the Aurochs, the original Bos species which cattle derived if you believe in Evolution. Aurochs were found across Asia, India, and Europe, and most commonly resemble the Spanish Fighting Bulls we see today. From Bos primigenius all cattle have originated and interbred - causing distortions in appearance that were common until farmers began selectively breeding traits of appearance. Somewhere in the chromosomes, that DNA was just enough of a trait originating back to Aurochs prior to Taurus splitting off to have created this pattern, a pinto linebacking coloration. According to the geneticist I spoke with it is due to one of the closest breeds to Charolais, the Semmintal, still having recessive genes in some of the lineal Charolais families dating back thousands of years. He said it happens more often then realized but it goes unnoticed because often times cattle are cross bred which do allow for easy identification of such occurrences, such as breeding a Hereford to a Charolais where it could appear as normal. Or that other traits shared to Aurochs would not have been noticeable in the appearance due to an Angus and a Longhorn being bred which would disguise some similar pattern markings in the appearance. One of the most common traits that are shared across all breeds originates from Aurochs is that each is prone to being a horned animal despite all efforts being made to avoid such traits from occurring.

 

Of course, this is mostly speculation due to the fact that there have been no blood samples of the animal to check what might be going on... but in all probability it is a direct result of Aurochs.

 

Here are three pictures of the calf, below is the one with his mother. The purple on the nose is the blue coat used to treat the navel.

http://imgur.com/NEkn30G,6c6MC3j,rIVysCP#0

 

[KD in CA]

Nice!

[San Jose Bills Fan]

Great stuff, J.

 

I know many presumed extinct dog breeds have been resurrected when some animals were found and used to "re-stock the cupboard" so to speak. I believe this is the case for the Hungarian Viszla and the Korean Jindo breeds. Other dog species were re-created by following "recipes" that were believed to be used when the breed was originally created.

 

As a former doberman pinscher owner (my male who was the best dog ever lived till he was 14) I became aware that Louis Doberman created the breed fairly recently, in the 1890's. He used Rottweiler, German Shepherd, Greyhound, Great Dane, Weimaraner, Manchester Terrier and others to create his new breed.

 

I'm wondering if because your calf has some Auroch characteristics he might have some breeding value to those interested in re-creating primitive breeds.

 

Anyways nice pasture. I see trees still holding their leaves which in WNY usually means oak, sometimes beech, and sometimes hornbeam. Also I'd be interested to know what kind of trees are in your stand and along the gulley. It almost looks like sugar maple or possibly ash.

 

I seem to think you live in Carolina which I always thought was mostly pine and coniferous. I'm pleasantly surprised to see land which looks very familiar to this Western New Yorker.

[Nanker]

Very nice story Jeff.

If you're certain the bull didn't jump the fence, then yes, I'd say you're dealing with matching regressive genes due to the selective inbreeding (of a sort). He is a handsome little critter though, but I think you're likely not to breed him. I'm sure the meat will be as tasty, and at that point, no one will be seeing his hide.

[Beerball]

He's very cute, you should name him Beerball.

[BringBackFergy]

JBoy - My friends raised Charolais for many years...do you like the taste of the beef as compared to Angus?? I thought it was pretty good, not as much marbling but that may be due to the fact they were in the pasture rather than penned up.

[mead107]

Name him , mead or wine.

[boyst]

I'm wondering if because your calf has some Auroch characteristics he might have some breeding value to those interested in re-creating primitive breeds.

 

Anyways nice pasture. I see trees still holding their leaves which in WNY usually means oak, sometimes beech, and sometimes hornbeam. Also I'd be interested to know what kind of trees are in your stand and along the gulley. It almost looks like sugar maple or possibly ash.

 

I seem to think you live in Carolina which I always thought was mostly pine and coniferous. I'm pleasantly surprised to see land which looks very familiar to this Western New Yorker.

The Auroch and older cattle are gone for a reason, their beef was not ideal like todays cattle. The bison, water buffalo, and other crazy African critters are more in line with what cattle used to be then todays fancy stuff.

 

The hard woods were removed about 3 years ago, there are still some smaller trees there. Most of the growth over 50 years old was removed. Oak, Beech, Poplar, maybe a few more, I do not really pay attention. A lot of it is stuff I just call crap wood, which grows up anywhere it can and grows ugly. Just out of few are a few persimmon trees.

 

NC is very similar to WNY, except that the trees are already starting to pop their buds. I have blueberries up close to the house that are already showing full foilage.

 

Very nice story Jeff.

If you're certain the bull didn't jump the fence, then yes, I'd say you're dealing with matching regressive genes due to the selective inbreeding (of a sort). He is a handsome little critter though, but I think you're likely not to breed him. I'm sure the meat will be as tasty, and at that point, no one will be seeing his hide.

There are only Angus in the area, and though they get out of their fencing they are not going to get in to mine. I build good, strong fences, unlike my neighbors. I banded him, I thought twice, but chose to band him. The only chance I would have had to have kept him as a herd bull would have been to remove him from my herd with his mother, who is my best cow since I lost my best last month. It is a lot easier buy a herd bull then it is to raise one. In regards to his hide, I am going to speak to the new packager I have and it is an option to purchase the hide back.

 

JBoy - My friends raised Charolais for many years...do you like the taste of the beef as compared to Angus?? I thought it was pretty good, not as much marbling but that may be due to the fact they were in the pasture rather than penned up.

If I could taste the difference between the species then I might be the only one in the world who could. The tasting differences noticeable may only attributable to breed characteristics, such as Angus having higher fat contents thus thicker marbling, and Charolais having naturally leaner meat with lower HDL and higher LDL contents.

 

I have an orphan steer, mother was removed in early Feb, and we are working on keeping him for ourselves. Every bottle is just another savory bite, every new bite of grass is just another "mmmm." I do kid, it will be hard to harvest him. He chases my mom and plays with her like a puppy, he follows us around the barn lot, he's just fun.

Name him , mead or wine.

He's very cute, you should name him Beerball.

I named this one, I seldom name them myself. Disco Pinto is his name. Another calf will be coming soon, you two can name them. Three more? this season to come.

[CowgirlsFan]

He's very cute, you should name him Beerball.

 

I think one got named Just Jackie

[Gugny]

If you don't name the next one Gug, we are FINISHED.

[Beerball]

I think one got named Just Jackie

That does ME no good.

If you don't name the next one Gug, we are FINISHED.

Promises, promises.

[Just Jack]

Name it "$1.99/lb"

[mead107]

Good grilling ?