Does anybody know why some cows have horns and some cows don't have horns?

First, horns on cattle have NOTHING to do with whether the animal is male or female. Just as many bulls (male cattle) have horns as cows (female cattle).





Here are some pictures to prove it. They are from the site of a breeder of longhorn cattle...first link shows cows, the second, bulls:





http://www.feylonghorns.com/cows.asp





http://www.feylonghorns.com/bulls.asp





Some calves (baby cattle) are born without horns. They call this being "polled." Some day you may pass a sign on a farm that advertises "Polled Herefords." Those are cattle bred to have no horns. If you breed two polled animals, all their offspring will also be polled (hornless).





http://cattle-today.com/poll_hereford.ht...





Dairy cattle are not usually bred to be polled (breeders select for milk production, conformation, and a few other qualities ordinarily since the horn problem is easily remedied) and almost all are born with little nubbins called horn buds. These are removed when the calf is very small so horns never develop.





The reason the polled Hereford was so much more desireable than the horned Hereford was because the Hereford is a meat breed and has to be shipped and herded and fed in relatively small areas where horns could hurt other cattle, get stuck in fencing, or hurt humans and horses--any protection the horns gave the Hereford from predators was more than outweighed by the damage the horns could cause.





If you want to know more, just email me.

Does anybody know why some cows have horns and some cows don't have horns?
cause some cows are girls (no horns).. some some cows (bulls with horns) are boys..
Reply:Most cattle (male and female) start off with horns, but they are de-horned when young, at the same time as they are branded and castrated.
Reply:The "cows" with horns are bulls methinks
Reply:I guess some are just hornier than others... Actually it's most likely to be a matter of breeding..some having maintained horns over the millenia of crossing by man and some not...
Reply:to do with dominant and recessive genes





bulls may have bigger horns, but cows can still have them, according to the breed
Reply:Male (bulls) have horns. Cows (females) dont.





I have a challenge for you: You can look long and hard and look everywhere, up and down.......all over the place. Go to a farm where the cows are grazing in the grass field, in the wild blue yonder.





You will NEVER be able to find a cow that has white ears. That's your challenge. This challenge will drive you crazy. Tell your friends too.............





If you do, that cow is worth a lot of money but you will never find it. Ha.........you thought you knew everything, didn't you?
Reply:Cows dont get the horn only bulls do
Reply:Cows with horns are boy cows, cows without horns are girl cows.





Boy cows with horns are the bulls which still have their "man bits" to help produce more cows - with or without horns.





Boy cows without horns have had their horns (in both senses) taken away and they become beef.
Reply:FOR EVERYONES INFORMATION THERE IS SUCH A THING AS GIRL COWS WITH HORNS. AND I GOT PIX TO PROVE IT!! DONT ARGUE WITH ME!!! IM A COW MILKER IN WISCONSIN.. I GOT SOME PICS ON MY SPACE ASWELL. SEND ME A MESSAGE AND ILL SHOW THEM TO YOU ... AND ITS NOT RARE TO FIND COWS WITH ALL WHITE EARS.. I ALSO GOT PICS OF THEM .. LIKE I SAID DONT ARGUE WITH ME ..
Reply:the cows with the horn are males, the ones without who gives milk are females....
Reply:they are called males and females, what are you 4 years old
Reply:All cows have horns. Some have big horns and some have small ones.





Calves are "de-budded" when they are very young to remove the 'bud' or vestige or horn that would otherwise grow when the cow is mature.



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