De-Horning ?

[bigbluegrass]

I have a young polled bull I will be using from now on.

Polled by itself doesn;t really do much. Homozygous polled is what's needed

He is a purebred red poll so he should be homozygous polled. Of course my "angus" cow should be also :bang:

 

[Jeanne - Simme Valley]

OK - that statement makes me ask. Are Red Polls fullblood or are they upgraded???
Never mind. I got curious & went to their site. These were two statements:
"An animal, embryo and/or semen imported from any country whose progenitors trace on
both sire's and dam to up-graded stock shall carry an asterisk (*) in front of the Herd
Book Registration Number, to be entered in the American Red Poll Association
Appendix Registry Herd Book."
"As of January 1, 1986 initial entries of 3/8 Red Poll blood concentration level or higher
will be accepted into the Appendix Registry Program."

So, the statement that he is a PB Red Poll does not mean he will produce polled cattle. He would have to be DNA tested or pedigree verified homozygous polled.
Angus cattle are not UPGRADED and will not allow upgraded import stock. So, all the Angus cattle are homozygous polled (including the Red Angus).
Since the Simmental Assn was built on upgraded cattle, I am VERY aware of these trait issues.

 

[dun]

OK - that statement makes me ask. Are Red Polls fullblood or are they upgraded???
Never mind. I got curious & went to their site. These were two statements:
"An animal, embryo and/or semen imported from any country whose progenitors trace on
both sire's and dam to up-graded stock shall carry an asterisk (*) in front of the Herd
Book Registration Number, to be entered in the American Red Poll Association
Appendix Registry Herd Book."
"As of January 1, 1986 initial entries of 3/8 Red Poll blood concentration level or higher
will be accepted into the Appendix Registry Program."

So, the statement that he is a PB Red Poll does not mean he will produce polled cattle. He would have to be DNA tested or pedigree verified homozygous polled.
Angus cattle are not UPGRADED and will not allow upgraded import stock. So, all the Angus cattle are homozygous polled (including the Red Angus).
Since the Simmental Assn was built on upgraded cattle, I am VERY aware of these trait issues.

1A classified Red Angus

 

[Jovid]

OK - that statement makes me ask. Are Red Polls fullblood or are they upgraded???
Never mind. I got curious & went to their site. These were two statements:
"An animal, embryo and/or semen imported from any country whose progenitors trace on
both sire's and dam to up-graded stock shall carry an asterisk (*) in front of the Herd
Book Registration Number, to be entered in the American Red Poll Association
Appendix Registry Herd Book."
"As of January 1, 1986 initial entries of 3/8 Red Poll blood concentration level or higher
will be accepted into the Appendix Registry Program."

So, the statement that he is a PB Red Poll does not mean he will produce polled cattle. He would have to be DNA tested or pedigree verified homozygous polled.
Angus cattle are not UPGRADED and will not allow upgraded import stock. So, all the Angus cattle are homozygous polled (including the Red Angus).
Since the Simmental Assn was built on upgraded cattle, I am VERY aware of these trait issues.

You answered your question correctly. Red Polls have fullbloods and they also have appendix registered cattle. There are very few appendix cattle that are registered.

 

[Hoppy72450]

So Black Angus cattle do not have horns at all ? thats what I am getting from this thread is that right ?
Whats the easier breed to work with thats more docial if I spelt that right..lol And no horns at all ?

 

[dun]

So Black Angus cattle do not have horns at all ? thats what I am getting from this thread is that right ?
Whats the easier breed to work with thats more docial if I spelt that right..lol And no horns at all ?

Correct, pure angus are homozygous polled, i.e. 2 polled genes. There are any number of breeds that have homozygous animals, and there are docile animals within most every breed.

 

[Hoppy72450]

alright thanks dun

 

[Caustic Burno]

First and foremost - it's best to breed the horns off. (use a Homozygous polled bull)
If you already have an animal born with horns, it's best to dehorn as young as possible. Two options if done young.
#1 There is a caustic paste that you apply to and around the shaved buttons.
#2 Dehorn with an electric burning tool.
But, both these options need to done maybe before 2 months?? (others may have a better time frame)
After that, you have to use a scoop or Barnes Dehorner to cut them off. Very bloody/nasty.
Dehorning is one of the worse cattle management chores - IMO.
Yes, you can leave them on - yes, you get docked when you try to sell them.

Amen to dehorn at conception.
I have dehorned with almost everything you can think of hacksaw, electric chain saw, commercial
dehoners ,and the suave.
Those days are over and long gone for this old man, out of everything to do with cattle I hated dehorning the most.

 

[dun]

out of everything to do with cattle I hated dehorning the most.

Kind of funny you should feel that way. We had a heifer from a hetero polled bull and a hetero polled cow that had horns. The vet used the scoop on her at weaning. Wasn;t even the messiest dehorning I've seen, very little blood and no hole into the sinus. Vets comment was that anymore he hates dehorning the most of anything that he has to do.

 

[CattleHand]

take some baler twine wrap around the horns under the vein , cut them off and remove the twine two days later. Hardly any blood this way !

That's solid advice with the baler twine. We do the same thing. It pinches the vein and eases the bleeding, just wrap it around a few times and tie it off. Few days later use a pocket knife and just cut the twine real fast. No hassle.