calf born with crooked tail

[thepoorfarm]

Has anyone had a calf born with a crooked tail? Is there anything that can be done about it? I thought that maybe her tail had gotten broke during the birthing process, but when I checked it, the bones are fused together in a slight U shape. You would really have to look to notice it now, but I know as she gets older , it would be way more noticable, she is a nice heifer (well from what I can tell as a 2 day old) , and I would hate for something cosmetic knock her in the show ring. Thanks so much ;D

 

[Ruebush Shorthorns]

I have a WHR Sonny cow that has a tail that has been messed up since birth.  I bought her for a pretty good deal because the other person thought he would not be able to get her sold for a supreme price at any sales or off the farm.  She has had 4 calves not and none have had the same tail issue.  One of her calves was kept as a herd bull by one farm.  The original owner kept a replacement out of her and the calf she just had looks to be on track for good things also.  She has been both pasture serviced and AI with no problems and she calves unassisted everytime.  In the summer the flies are hard to keep off of her becasue her tail does not function and her rear end stays pretty dirty because she can't lift it.  I have strugled with trying to decide if I should dock her tail now for about a year.  This must be some form of mutations ans I have heard of other with the same issue.  It probably wont get better and I don't know how much of an issue it would be in the show ring.  I was at a sale this weekend where people were bidding on steers with blue eyes that were poping out of there heads.  I t was hard to comprehend why they wasted the money on calves with bad eyes.
What is the breeding of the calf? Is it a shorthorn?

 

[knabe]

did the bug eye'd calves have stinger in them?

 

[thepoorfarm]

The Dam is a Maine X out of Kadabra, the sire is a Reg Angus bull. We also have a another cow like that ( out of strictly business), I always thought that she broke her tail before we bought her and it set wrong, never had this problem in our own calves. That cow has calves with "normal " tails, is it a fluke, somthing that happens inutero, or genectic flaw?

 

[Ruebush Shorthorns]

I don't think so.  It appeared they had a bad case of pinkeye that was uncorrected.  The sale was Teets Farm in WV.  They didn't want to sell the calves in the sale but they had been asked by several people they were interested in them so they decided to sell them.  They had already started cocking their heads and looking to the side so they could see straight ahead out of their good eye.  One went for $1800 and the other for $1,000.  I was lost for words on why they would consider this.  One was the best steer calf in my opinion but that eye problem was not going to get better.  They calves were black hided.

 

[Ruebush Shorthorns]

Yeah all of the calves my cow has had have had normal functioning tails. 

 

[SKF]

We just had a shorthorn calf born with a crook at the end of her tail. Luckly she has lots of hair so its really not to noticable but we you feel her tail you can feel it. This is the first one we had born this way but I am not to worried about it. I can't imagine that it would make a big difference in the showring.

 

[renegade]

The only way I could see maybe to fix it is to break it and set it but there is no way its worth that

 

[daydreamingacres]

Different subject but I used to milk a cow that everytime she calved she would eat the tail off of the calf if you didnt catch her fast enough. I think that there were three or four females out of her in the milk herd all with chewed off tails.I think that even one of her calves did the same thing. Ones name was Chewie...they all had "chewed off tail" theamed names. Sorry like I said differnt subject but still having to do with tails!

 

[Doc]

I've been told before that they laid wrong in the cow & it fused that way. DL might be able to give some insight. I had a Quarter Horse mare that 2 colts & both colts had crooked tails & there was a name for it(can't remember it) , it was a genetic defect related to her spine.

 

[Diamond]

I don't think so.  It appeared they had a bad case of pinkeye that was uncorrected.  The sale was Teets Farm in WV.  They didn't want to sell the calves in the sale but they had been asked by several people they were interested in them so they decided to sell them.  They had already started cocking their heads and looking to the side so they could see straight ahead out of their good eye.  One went for $1800 and the other for $1,000.  I was lost for words on why they would consider this.  One was the best steer calf in my opinion but that eye problem was not going to get better.  They calves were black hided.

I Purchessed a steer from them last year that did have the same problem, and was blind in his ring side eye , however he never got knocked for it in the ring nor did he cock his head to the side.

 

[braunvieh]

I had a calf born once with a tail that was crooked right at the tail head. The tail worked but it hung to one side. The steer never grew out of it but the tail functioned otherwise.

 

[Steer Boy 101]

I have seen a calf with a ripd up bloody tail get second in the hereford nationals so if three is a lil hair to cover it (is it a knot or worse??) i wouldnt really worry about it, HEY WHOS KNOWS IT JUST MIGHT GET THE ATTETION AT THE RIGHT TIME EH? (lol)

 

[thepoorfarm]

Thanks to everyone for your advice... I guess I tend to over analyze everything. With her breeding we may show her a little and then keep her as a replacement, I love her Momma's temperament,and this one already looks like she would crawl up in your lap Thanks again...  (thumbsup)