Race, Colour, Descrimanation

[frostback]

This is probably not about what you thought. Does anyone else have a problem with black and black baldies showing heats(jumping ) coloured cows. We have mostly black and black baldie cows but also have some Chars and Shorts. The problem is the blacks wont help show a colour cow in heat. I have Heatwatch so I dont have to heat detect like most. I do walk through my cows and know when a lot of them are coming in. Like this morning I knew that a shorty was coming in so tonight when I got home I checked the computer and nothing, no jumps, so I went out there and got them all up and milled them around. She tried to jump some but nothing was even sniffing her, not even the bull calves. I then went to the other pen and I knew a Char was coming in but same thing. So then I put said Shorty in with some other shorts and the Char. She was not in the pen for a minute and another shorty rode her. Go figure. By the way these were all pretty much born and  raised together except the Char.

 

[BCCC]

This is probably not about what you thought. Does anyone else have a problem with black and black baldies showing heats(jumping ) coloured cows. We have mostly black and black baldie cows but also have some Chars and Shorts. The problem is the blacks wont help show a colour cow in heat. I have Heatwatch so I don't have to heat detect like most. I do walk through my cows and know when a lot of them are coming in. Like this morning I knew that a shorty was coming in so tonight when I got home I checked the computer and nothing, no jumps, so I went out there and got them all up and milled them around. She tried to jump some but nothing was even sniffing her, not even the bull calves. I then went to the other pen and I knew a Char was coming in but same thing. So then I put said Shorty in with some other shorts and the Char. She was not in the pen for a minute and another shorty rode her. Go figure. By the way these were all pretty much born and raised together except the Char.

Actually I figured it would be about something of this nature. Yes I have noticed this with our commercial cow herd. we have a bunch of chars and herefords come in and aren't bred, how ever if we watch them we see them come into heat and if we AI them they stick. However we also run only hereford bulls, so when the herfords cows don't get bred it isn't really discrimination, its more like ONCE YOU GO BLACK YOU NEVER GO BACK!!! ;D ;D

 

[ELBEE]

A few years back I was called upon.to AI a (black) 4-H project heifer. This was a single bovine, hobby, family unit. They purchased 1 (one,uno) unit of semen (all by itself in a shipping container, with no other frozen semen within 20 miles). Of course, when I arrived the whole neighborhood turned out to see the spectacle, including several teenage girls and little boys much under the age of understanding. Me being the bigshot AI tech was explaining all the dos and don'ts of my profession, just as I inserted the catheter, the heifer let out a blood-curtling scream and mule kicked with both back legs (kids scattered like a covey of Quail). This heifer was defiantly not impressed with the AI tech. Once the smoke cleared, and some of us got back on their feet, we started the search for the catheter. It was about 20 feet away stuck in the mud like a yard dart. After wiping down the catheter, reintroduction was a little more carefull and quiet. (I wasn't quite as big a bigshot) When I finished I apologized to the Dad, and said "It really doesn't happen this way very often!"

Guess what? She stuck, and the next year at the fair the young lady showed a "cow-calf" pair.
                                                                  <cowboy>

 

[cattlejunky]

I haven't noticed the non riding, but we have had some discrimination.  We have had one or two herefords mixed with our black show calves for the last 3 or 4 years.  The Black calves seem to beat the heck out of them and exclude them.  We thought it was just our calves for some reason.  I guess there is breed profiling.

 

[shortyjock89]

Our Shorthorns and Shorthorn-looking appendix cows try to beat up on my black and white appendix cow. Good thing she's a scrappy little gal.

 

[kanshow]

When we put the kid's Char. heifers out with with the others (blacks & reds) for the first time, the black & red cattle were all spooky & snorty about those strange white animals.    Then a few days of mud and being together - there is no difference.    We've actually noticed more difference in heifers that have been out of the herd for a long time and by themselves...  they always seem to be loners.  When I was younger, we  had a neighbor kid that always had one show heifer and then they'd bring her over to be bred the following year - yes this was back when the rule was to breed at 2 years of age.    His heifer would spend 2 cycles in our pasture and the majority of that, she would spend off by herself - odd. 

 

[Dusty]

Of course, when I arrived the whole neighborhood turned out to see the spectacle, including several teenage girls and little boys much under the age of understanding.                                                                  

AI'ing a show heifer in a blocking chute in the aisle of the cattle barn at county fair will also tend to draw a crowd of spectators......

 

[red]

I love it how certain cows are the heat detectors or just ride one special cow themselves. I've got a heifer that is the first to start the process. Also have 2 cows that will only ride each other. They actually chase off others so they can't join in!

Red

 

[DiamondS]

The ranch I manage is primarily blacks and black baldies, but I have my own Herefords.  The Herefords are super docile and beat the tar out of our registered Angus cows.  But they have worked wonders on the Angus dispositions.  They used to segregate in the pasture but now they pretty much stick together.

However, my boss purchased a couple Charolais bulls, against my better judgement (argue).  We have two horses that booger at them on occasion.... Pretty minor.  The black bulls and Herefords don't bother them a bit, but I guess they don't think cows should be that color.....  But I had a cow that had a smokey calf and she knew it was hers, but she knew it didn't look right.  She'd lick it, look at it, beat it up and run it off.  I got her in and made her take it and now she's doing a great job with it.  I also had a charolais calf break its leg, so I have it in with his mother and when I combined all of my cows that I was AI'ng with her so I could get her bred, they all ganged up on him and chased him.  I really do believe that they thought he was a dog....

Yes, I guess I have racist cows.....   

 

[oakbar]

We have two or three cows that are involved in detecting and riding on every other cow in the herd.   Then there are a few "buddy"cows that will only mess with each other.  But as far as colors--I don't really see any racism going on!!  It seems that certain cows kind of cycle together for whatever reason because if I look back at my breeding records some of the same cows are usually bred about the same time, then calve about the same time, and the cycle repeats.   It probably goes back to those cows being synchronized together as heifers and standing in stalls together for months while we are showing them.

As far as "never going back once you go black".   My philosophy is that preference for black cattle is kind of like trying crystal meth.---it only takes once to totally screw up your perception of reality for the rest of your life.   Ha, Ha!!   Actually we lean toward Shorty mommas, but we sure like the crosses no matter what colore they are!!

 

[inthebarnagain]

A couple of years ago my sister brought her 8 or so cows to live with ours for a while.  Hers were a collection, herefords, a dark smoke and a couple of solid black cows.  Our cows were all black.  Her black cows went with ours and her "off colored" cows stayed by them selves.  PREJUDICE!!!

 

[Rocky Hill Simmental]

I have black simmentals and all kinds of colorful commercial cattle and they always seem to get along well (<--- see my picture - a black simme and a red angus  ;D). 

I laugh though. So far this year, we've had about 10 baby calves and all are black/black bady except for one.. he's snow white with only a black nose. He sticks out like a sour thumb. He gets along well with the other babies though. 

Something funny I've noticed about our commercial herd bull is he prefers the old cows. He's always standing by them and licking them even when they aren't in heat and when one of the younger cows comes in heat, he breds her and then starts hanging out with the two oldest cows on the farm.. a yellow limi cross and a red white face simmental cross.  (lol)

 

[oakbar]

Hey Rocky Hill,

There has to be a joke in there somewhere about your bull breeding the young heifers and hanging with the old cows.  I don't know what it is exactly--if I did I'm not sure I'm brave enough to post it--but it has to be there somewhere!!

Maybe someone else will have an idea!!

Oakbar

 

[Dusty]

Heres a joke:

An old bull and young bull are standing on a hill looking at the herd.
Young bull: "Hey lets RUN down and breed one of those heifers."
Old Bull: "Lets WALK down and breed em'all!!!!"

 

[JbarL]

I love it how certain cows are the heat detectors or just ride one special cow themselves. I've got a heifer that is the first to start the process. Also have 2 cows that will only ride each other. They actually chase off others so they can't join in!

Red

last year when our 2 heifers and 1 cow ( plus a 4 mo old bull calf)arrived.....we put the bull in with them with in a couple days.....( all blacks)....facaliteies were limited to barn and about a .75 acre corral.....as they all came in heat it it looked like a love fest for all the gals....eveytime one would come in....the other gals would ride them  rentlessely, sniff..bawl.......the bull had a hard time even getiing  a smell.....we used only visual/ and calander methods....and we thought we were  pretty clsoe on calving dates ( all within 10 days)....3 healthy calves.....no momma calf rejections or meanies....things were going just fine.....this year we used our 14 mo old herd bull  ( black).....figured no problem with heat dection for sure.....just wait for " girls gone wild" time.....nothing....notta.......had to really watch calanders.....no help at all from any of the gals.....no  simffing...riding.....nothing....the bull was the only one peplexely interested, ............needless to say untill we had them palpated 2 weeks ago....we really were only guessing.....never thought much about it till this post........was wodering if maybe the close quarters of last year/ vs the unlimited space of this yuear.....or the new bull?....or maybe cause they had calves at side this year?.....agian i never thought of it much til this post.....but it was really apples and oranges in heat behaviour last year and this year....thanks   jbarl