Post by kansasdexters on Dec 4, 2013 7:55:12 GMT -5
Sheri,
It may be the toughness of their skin, and not the color of their coat, that determines which cows have the most flies. The cows with thicker, rough hair coat, and tougher skins don't seem to attract the flies as much as the cows with the finer hair and tender skins. We do the "tough or tender" test, every time we give vaccinations. If an animal has a tough hide, it's harder to stick a needle into it. In our herd, we have one dun cow that has fine hair and tender skin (easy to stick with a needle), and one that has rougher hair and tough hide (hard to get the needle in). It's the same with the black cows, some have a tender hide (they get the flies) and a few with tough hide (they don't attract as many flies).
Since we've been selecting for tender meat, and a tender hide is an indicator of a more tender meat, we've found that the red, dun, and black cows with the tender hides get about the same amount of flies.
Patti
It may be the toughness of their skin, and not the color of their coat, that determines which cows have the most flies. The cows with thicker, rough hair coat, and tougher skins don't seem to attract the flies as much as the cows with the finer hair and tender skins. We do the "tough or tender" test, every time we give vaccinations. If an animal has a tough hide, it's harder to stick a needle into it. In our herd, we have one dun cow that has fine hair and tender skin (easy to stick with a needle), and one that has rougher hair and tough hide (hard to get the needle in). It's the same with the black cows, some have a tender hide (they get the flies) and a few with tough hide (they don't attract as many flies).
Since we've been selecting for tender meat, and a tender hide is an indicator of a more tender meat, we've found that the red, dun, and black cows with the tender hides get about the same amount of flies.
Patti