So to start I will just put this out there. This is going to be based off of my experiences and research and a lot of it is just my opinion.
So you plan on getting goats... Do you get polled? Disbudded? Horns? What do you choose? What is the difference? Lets start there.
Horns... So this is going to be your basic goat. This is natural.
Polled... This is also natural. They are naturally hornless. Born without horns.
Disbudded... This means the goat is horned naturally but the horns have been burned off at a very young age. This is the most controversial option and many people frown upon it as "animal abuse" so lets go over it shall we.
What are the pros of disbudding your goats?
1. They are considerably less likely to injure their herd mates.
2. They wont be getting their horns stuck in the fencing.
3. They are less destructive to their housing and your fencing.
4. In bucks the process of Disbudding also removes one of the scent gland on their head (this will NOT affect breeding season) and this makes your handsome guy considerably less smelly during the rut.
5. You will not being getting hooked by horns every time you mess with your goats (trimming hoofs, checking their bodies etc... trust me I have horned goats and it hurts even when its an accident)
What are the Cons of Dissbudding?
1. It hurts... I'm not going to lie. The make a lot of noise while its happening and it absolutely breaks my heart.
What are the Pros of owning Horned Goats?
2. The horns can serve as a way to keep the goats cool in the summer time and without them, they have one less way to cool down.
3.The horns can serve as self defense in a time of need. Sadly, even horned goats don't stand much of a chance against predators.
4. NO SCURS. I hate scurs (the remnants of the horn buds that didn't die during disbudding. This is unsightly and usually looks like hard tabs on their head that needs to be trimmed often)
5. They are cute. That's my opinion lol
What are the Cons of Horns?
1. They get stuck in fencing... And since goats are not the most clever (at least not all the time) they can actually hang themselves and THAT is heartbreaking.
2. They can hurt each other. Nothing is worse then going to milk and finding one of your does has been gored in the udder. It is truly awful... You will being milking blood for a while and the milk production goes down. Not to mention the pain that poor girl is in.
3. They can and will destroy your fencing and housing. Have you ever seen bucks? They rub and headbutt and thrash anything they can get their head on! I have found since we have had disbudded bucks we have had less "breaches" in the fence.
4. It is a disqualification in the show ring through ADGA. Except in some 4H rings.
Pros of Polled Goats?
1. They are cute with no scaring or scurs because they never had horn buds to begin with!
2. All the same Pros of having Disbudded goats Minus the pain.
Cons of Polled Goats?
You might think wow! How could their be any cons!!! But behold...
1. Research has shown that the majority of polled goats with a double polled gene are male and potentially sterile.
2. Research has shown a high number of still born or hermaphroditic goats born from two Polled goats (thus creating the double polled gene)
3. For safety and to prevent the risk of a double polled goat it is better to breed horned to polled and not polled to polled.
Here are some Web links to learn more about how the Polled gene works.
http://europepmc.org/articles/pmc1209274/pdf/51.pdf
So with all this being said what is my preference?
I would PREFER to have naturally polled goats but as I stated above it is unsafe to breed polled to polled for risk of creating genetic abnormalities! So I'll stick with Polled and Disbudded goats. Why not horns? Well, for all the reasons I listed above. I have two horned goats in my herd and four disbudded goats as of right now. I would say I just prefer the horns to be absent. It has made my life easier and since I'm starting to show its very important that they be hornless since ALL DAIRY breeds require it.
If you have any questions feel free to contact me! I LOVE talking goats!
Thank for Reading
~~~Alicia~~~
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