Calf Born Hairless

[tevans]

okay I had a calf born hairless the other day...here's a picture
I have never seen this before and Its a bit freaky
IS THIS A COMMON OCCURANCE? (cow) ??? ??? ??? ???

 

[OH Breeder]

NOT A VET HERE....BUT

http://www.merckvetmanual.com/mvm/index.jsp?cfile=htm/bc/182315.htm


Thyroid gland enlargement (goiter) is the first sign of an iodine deficiency. Signs of a deficiency may not be seen for >1 yr on low-iodine diets. Iodine deficiency may be seen in cattle that are consuming an “adequate” level of iodine if they are also consuming fairly large quantities of crops of the cruciferae family, such as turnips or cabbage. Affected cows may give birth to hairless calves

 

[rasor club calves]

definatley doesnt have TH

 

[Gargan]

definatley doesnt have TH

Nice 1!! u def get a karma point for that 1!!  (lol)

 

[LN]

A friend of mine in North Dakota had a hairless calf born last spring, said it developed completely normal other than being hairless. He doesn't know why it happened either.

BTW, I love that you are calling it Smeagol!

 

[DCB70]

That one won't be on the show string (dog)

 

[DL]

okay I had a calf born hairless the other day...here's a picture
I have never seen this before and Its a bit freaky
IS THIS A COMMON OCCURANCE? (cow) ??? ??? ??? ???

I don't know what breed this calf is but hypotrichosis (hairlessness) is a genetic condition seen in many breeds with a variety of associated other (sometimes lethal) abnormalities.

Your calf, if it should live, will be very susceptible to weather, heat, wet, cold  - ie sunburn, cold stress etc and susceptible to skin infections and injury. In addition many times there are no sweat glands in calves born with hypotrichosis, so if exposed to heat he may be unable to regulate his temperature by sweating -  a hairless calf has the potential to have some problems down the road

 

[CANsteer]

That one won't be on the show string (dog)

could show him as a slick steer  ;D

 

[everybreedcounts]

i have no idea.....but Smeegle is a perfect name hahaha

 

[Shady Lane]

Isn't there a deffect for hairless calves that is somewhat common in polled Herefords?

 

[simba]

Isn't there a deffect for hairless calves that is somewhat common in polled Herefords?

Yes, it's called Hypotrichosis. My neighbor had a calf born with it a while back. The calf looked normal except for having extremely short kinky hair. Poor little guy died a few days after birth.
According to the Canadian Hereford Website there are 266 known carriers registered in Canada. I copied the below from the Canadian Hereford Website:
"Partial to almost complete lack of hair. Affected calves are often born with very short, fine, kinky hair that may fall out leaving bare spots or areas particularly susceptible to rubbing. The condition may vary in expression as the animal matures and is usually less noticeable in older animals. The haircoat color will sometimes appear "frosted" or "silverish." Tail switch may be underdeveloped."

 

[justintime]

I would suggest that you talk with Dr Beever at AgriGenomics. A few years ago, I was talking with him, and he said that he would be driving right past my place the next weekend., and if I had any blood samples to be tested, he would stop in and pick them up.  He said that he was coming up here, for two reasons. The first was to pick up samples from a herd that had several hairless calves born and the second reason was to see some Polled Hereford cattle that he was a partner in. He may be able to give you more information.

 

[HerefordGuy]

It doesn't appear to me that the calf in the picture has any Hereford ancestry. The Hereford congenital hypotrichosis is a recessive trait, meaning both parents would have to be carriers, and likely both would need to have significant Hereford ancestry.  I am not a veternarian or a pathologist, but my guess is that this calf has hypotrichosis, but has a different underlying cause than the Hereford form of the abnomality.
Here is a link describing the process of mapping the mutation underlying Hereford hypotrichosis.
http://www.reeis.usda.gov/web/crisprojectpages/0213533-identification-of-the-causal-mutation-for-hypotrichosis-in-hereford-cattle.html

 

[Charo]

We had one hypotrichosis 10 years ago. A purebred charolais born in February (cold climate), she lived until slaughter around 18 months later with a normal weight.

 

[tevans]

thanks everyone for the replies it gave some great insight! Sadly she died a couple of days ago from overexposure, its kinda sunny in Alabama.