Aberdeen angus cattle

[ouedtaria]

Are the breed of angus cattle born with no horns or are they removed as calves?

[mikewith]

There is an article on Aberdeen-Angus cattle at article 3350

[ksdffgljsdf]

They are born without horns, which means the are polled.

[New Forester]

Actually all cattle are born without horns, which grow later if they are going to. Anguses are naturally polled, and are often the original source of the polling gene in polled strains of normally-horned breeds. Polling is usually dominant over horns Quite a few other breeds are also polled -- Irish Moiled (that's what moiled means), Galloway, our own British Whites, Red Poll, etc etc. Sometimes polled cattle grow "scurs", which are little horns not joined to the skull. Proper horns have a bony core which is part of the skull. Most horned cattle in the UK are "disbudded" as young calves. However, though horns are required in some breeds to meet pedigree standards -- this is why Highlands, Sussexes, White Parks etc usually have them. The disbudding is done by burning out the horn buds with a thing like a giant soldering iron, under a local anaesthetic. Hornless animals are supposed to be easier to handle, and are less likely to injure each other when fighting (all cattle fight). Also, they cannot knock off their horns. On the other hand, they cannot defend themselves so well from dogs. That AB article is not exactly balanced! Anyone knows British White is of course the best breed by far....