Question on selling at sale barn (horns n testicles)

[Angus86]

I bred my mixed angus (all polled black heifers) to a commercial polled angus bull. Good looking bull but I have calves growing horns. Got rid of him and got a registered angus bull.

I have some calves I never got to Banding and some steers with little horns.

Question is do you all recommend cutting the bulls and cutting the horns before I send them to the sale? Does it make that much of a difference in price? I'm talking tiny 5" horns. I'm thinking with the price of a dehorner and the trouble cutting them now by myself does it make a difference?

Thanks for any input

 

[TennesseeTuxedo]

Take your beating and sell them "as is". I hope this registered bull gives you better results.

 

[Jeanne - Simme Valley]

Unless you had not planned on selling your calves for a few months, I would not castrate or dehorn close to sale time.

 

[Buck Randall]

Don't cut them if you can't/won't keep them until they're healed up.

Check with your local barn to see what prices are like for bulls with horns. Around here you'd probably give up $30/cwt, but the difference isn't as steep everywhere.

 

[Lbass]

I wouldn't mess with the horns unless they will be around a while. And unless you are going to keep having horned calves, (which is sounds like you've remedied) I wouldn't invest a way to dehorn. My vet would do it for 10-12/head, or that's what they charge at the barn when I bring stockers home. I'ld also wait until the flies are gone. Probably better off to ship this crop the way they are.

As for the testicles, That's easy money to make up. Band, shot, and wait 3 weeks. They won't gain much in the meantime but the price difference will more than make up for that.

Of course if something happens and you lose a calf...

 

[Hippie Rancher]

depends - like others say, if you can't keep them around until healed don't do it. around here I don't notice much benefit to dehorning, but castrating pays for sure. young weaners won't get docked like a bigger animal but it does pay to do it most of the time.

 

[Dave]

Depending on the size the horns won't cost you nearly as much as the nuts. At 400 pounds there isn't much difference. At 600 it is 25-30 cents. Band, give them a shot, and wait about a week. Run them back in and cut everything off about an inch below the band.

 

[gcreekrch]

Elastrator bands work well on that size of horn too. Make sure you get the band to the hair line.

 

[Lucky]

I've found that the cow is usually the carrier for the horns. Try finding a homogeneous polled bull. Unfortunately most commercial "Angus" cattle end up being the offspring of a cow of some color being bred to a black bull and resulting in a "Black Angus" heifer.

As others have said I wouldn't cut or dehorn unless you plan on keeping them for awhile. There's a good reason you get docked for either at the sale.

 

[Jeanne - Simme Valley]

Lucky - the cow AND the bull have to carry the horn gene in order for the offspring to be horned. The calf MUST inherit the horn gene from BOTH parents. Takes two genes to express the horns.
So, he now knows his cows (or some of his cows) carry the horn gene, so he just has to get a homozygous polled bull. No calves will have horns.

 

[Lucky]

Lucky - the cow AND the bull have to carry the horn gene in order for the offspring to be horned. The calf MUST inherit the horn gene from BOTH parents. Takes two genes to express the horns.
So, he now knows his cows (or some of his cows) carry the horn gene, so he just has to get a homozygous polled bull. No calves will have horns.

I didn't realize both had to be a carrier. I figured since I ran registered Angus bulls for years the horned calves were probably coming from the crossbred black mother cows. I bought a couple of homozygous polled hereford bulls a few years back and haven't noticed any horns on their calves, that's why I recommend The homozygous polled bull. I guess the registered Angus had the horn gene? I honestly don't study to much on that stuff.

 

[Jeanne - Simme Valley]

I guarantee you the bull AND the cow have to carry the horn gene for the calf to be horned. Polled is the dominant gene - 1 polled gene and the animal is polled. I would be questioning the pedigree on the "registered Angus bull".