Aaron":rcv3q58f said:
farmguy":rcv3q58f said:
This question is not to cause bad feelings. But I would really like to know. I raise Herefords in Central Minnesota we have many coyotes and the largest wolf population in the continental US. Plus as everyone knows lots of snow and cold. We raise our cattle pretty much like everyone else, my cows never see grain and hardly ever see a building. I have never seen a horned Hereford outside of a showring. In fact a horned bull of any breed is unheard of and I don't think anyone would buy it. I of course speak of the area here and places I have visited. Also I do realize that decades ago there was a limited selection of polled stock. Today the AI service I use has one token horned bull and another I checked for semen has no horned bulls. I do not have a long history with the Hereford breed, ten years. So my question is in that we are talking Herefords here why is there such animosity by some against the polled animals? Thank you and I want to really understand.
Without getting into the specifics between the two, to get the quality of Polled Hereford that I want, I can no longer afford them (I am very picky). I can get the same and greater quality in a Horned bull for 1/2 the price. I can dehorn a lot of cattle for the thousands extra it would cost me to go get a Polled bull.
Come north. I will show you around a bunch of Horned Hereford herds in my area. All have done the Polled deal, went Horned and never looked back. :cowboy:
Aaron, as a novice Hereford guy, I don't want to get into the horned vs polled quality discussion.
My novice question is what is it about a horned animal that makes you want to dehorn them? Potential injury to people? Potential injury to each other? Shipping injury?
I did hear where packers felt there was more waste due to shipping injuries withhorned vs polled cattle.
Complete dehorning, I am told, can be a very severe procedure. I have seen horned Herefords with just the tips of the horns cut off. And I see a lot of photos, maybe mostly out west, with the horns left completely intact. Why do folks do any/all of the above?
Thanks for any information/opinions. Jim