Been through this many times and we all know how elkwc feels. farmguy
Excerpt from an article in BEEF MAGAZINE, dated April 1, 2000.
HORNED vs POLLED
by Joseph Stookey
Some producers tell me they prefer certain horned breeds because they are superior to their polled counterparts.
In 1996, Dr. Laki Goonewardene from Alberta and I collaborated on a project to compare the performance records of horned and polled Charolais and Hereford bulls. The bulls were kept at two test stations, one in Alberta and one in Saskatchewan from 1985-1993. We had access to the performance records of 578 Charolais bulls (329 horned and 249 polled) and 1,860 Hereford bulls (1,182 horned and 678 polled).
As shown in Table 1, we found very little difference between the horned and polled bulls in the traits that were measured. The polled Charolais bulls did carry significantly more backfat than their horned counterparts, but they were not different in average daily gain, adjusted yearling weight or in scrotal circumference.
The polled Hereford bulls in Saskatchewan had a significantly higher average daily gain compared to the horned bulls and tended to be larger yearlings. Polled Hereford bulls in Alberta also tended to have a greater average daily gain, but the difference was not considered significant.
Our findings were similar to other studies. Research by Lange in 1989 found no difference between polled and horned German Simmental cattle in growth, carcass yield, carcass composition, health and reproductive performance.
Work reported by Frisch and coworkers from Australia in 1980 - comparing various beef breeds - showed no difference between horned and polled crossbred lines in live weight, fertility and mortality rates.
Another encouraging finding was that the ratio of polled bulls at each Canadian test station over the time period had gradually increased as the number of horned bulls decreased. In other words, good polled bulls are becoming more readily available.
Historically, polled beef bulls may have been inferior, but there is no evidence that overall differences still exist today. Dehorning beef cattle via genetics is a welfare friendly practice that everyone in the industry should embrace and support.
Joseph Stookey is an associate professor at the Western College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Saskatchewan. Contact him at
[email protected].
Read more:
http://herefordtalk.com/thread/1538/hor ... z5EOvAlK3S