Hair coat is the best indicator of animal health and well-being. A healthy beef animal will have a vibrant-looking hair coat – slick and shiny in the summer and cuddly-looking in the winter. In contrast, an unhealthy animal will have a dull, dead-looking hair coat.
An animal’s ability to shed off quickly and completely in the spring is a very important trait to select for. The late Jan Bonsma had much to say about this subject. Among other things, he said, “In selecting livestock for functional efficiency there is no single factor which can give such positive results as early hair shedding. Animals can shed their hair early in the spring only if they are well adapted to their environment, are in good nutritional status, and have the correct hormonal balance.”
If you live in a hot, humid environment, you can start evaluating animals for early shedding as early as March. Mid-May through early June is a good time to evaluate hair shedding in cooler environments. Many producers in northern climates mistakenly believe they don’t need to select for hair coat. Animals that are best adapted to their environment will be the ones with the healthiest hair coat – no matter where they are located.
Since hair shedding is a moderate to highly heritable trait, we have been observing and scoring hair coat for most of the past 30 years. The fall of 2006, however, was the first time we put hair coat scores in our sale catalogs. A 5-star hair coat is as good as they get. A 3-star hair coat is about average. If you live in a hot, humid and/or fescue environment, hair coat is a trait you should pay special attention to. Bulls with a 4+ to 5-star hair coat will work very well in those environments.