# May have polled buckling -how to tell and what this means?



## cwatkin (Jul 9, 2012)

I have a buckling that I think might be polled. He doesn't appear to have any little buds coming out of his head. One other difference is that the other kids have always had a little corkscrew spiral in the hair where the horns would come out. This one doesn't have that pattern.

What does this all mean? He would be my first one. I understand that polled genes are passed by the male but that females can also be polled but won't pass on the gene. I understand that some want these and feel they are desirable. I also hear that you don't want to breed a polled male to a polled female.

Anything else important to know about this? Both his parents have/had horns so don't know where the gene came from.

Conor


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## scubacoz22 (Nov 27, 2013)

How old is the doe?
A polled boy usually has a round feeling where his horns are suppose to be. 
I have a polled buckling and doeling thus year.


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## deerbunnyfarm (Dec 14, 2015)

It's impossible for horned parents to have a polled kid. So he's not polled. 

Also, male and female can pass on the polled gene. 

And many people feel the polled to polled breeding is fine, there aren't very many concrete studies on it. Many many people do it with no problems.


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## cwatkin (Jul 9, 2012)

OK, good to know. I wasn't aware that if both parents have horns, it is impossible for him to be polled. I knew it was a recessive gene and thought they could maybe both still have it. None of mine have been polled in the past so this makes sense.

The mother is about 3 years old but don't see why that would matter. She had a doeling with this buckling and the doeling definitely has horns and the corkscrew spiral in her hair where they are coming in. There is no interruption in the pattern of the fur on the buckling. I read that this is one of the characteristics of a polled kid. Anyway, I guess there are exceptions to every rule. Interesting...

Conor


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## deerbunnyfarm (Dec 14, 2015)

Polled is a dominant gene.


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## cwatkin (Jul 9, 2012)

Ok, obviously I am not an expert on this. I found a chart online showing the various combos of polled/non-polled and it was interesting. Yes, it showed a ZERO chance of two non-polled parents having a polled kid.

I had found one of these previously about wattles and all the various combos on these. I had a buckling born a few days ago with wattles right under his ears. They look like earrings.

Conor


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## deerbunnyfarm (Dec 14, 2015)

It is always possible that previous home cut the wattles off at birth, many breeders do that.


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## cwatkin (Jul 9, 2012)

The mother has wattles so wasn't surprised about them being there. I was surprised about the location under the ears though.

Conor


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## lilaalil (Sep 5, 2014)

Are either of the parents disbudded? It is always possible that someone "disbudded" a polled goat by mistake. I've heard of it happening. Current wisdom, however, says that the polled gene is dominant, and that one parent must be polled in order to have a polled baby. 

Either parent can pass on the genes to make a polled baby (male or female does not matter). I have a polled doe who was bred to a horned buck, and had a polled daughter. 

Do a Google search. I find the polled genetic very interesting, and desirable. A polled goat bred to a horned goat should have a 50% chance of polled offspring, 50% chance of horned. Heterozygous polled (carrying both polled and horned genes) to heterozygous polled will have 75% chance of polled, 25% chance of horned offspring. With that breeding, you also get a 25% chance of a homozygous polled offspring (one that carries only polled genes). A homozygous polled goat will have only polled babies, no matter who they are bred to, 100% of the time. This is my understanding of it all, anyway. 

There is some controversy over whether the polled gene, especially in polled to polled breeding, is linked to a higher occurrence of hermaphrodites, but many say that the single study that "proved" this was faulty. I plan to try polled to polled breeding, and see for myself.


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## cwatkin (Jul 9, 2012)

Man, I went out and there is no sign of horns on this little guy. It is possible that his mother was disbudded by me for being stupid about this.

His grandmother came to me with no horns. I assumed she was disbudded as she was basically an adult goat. I had his mother disbudded at a young age. Maybe she was polled and I didn't even know it.

Either way, I will consider this inconclusive for now and let everyone know in a week or so. He is at least a week old and nothing. I think in another week it will be so obvious one way or another.

The father is horny and I mean that in multiple ways!

Conor


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## lilaalil (Sep 5, 2014)

cwatkin said:


> Man, I went out and there is no sign of horns on this little guy. It is possible that his mother was disbudded by me for being stupid about this.
> 
> His grandmother came to me with no horns. I assumed she was disbudded as she was basically an adult goat. I had his mother disbudded at a young age. Maybe she was polled and I didn't even know it.
> 
> ...


Yes, time will tell! I'd be interested to see photos of his head and his mom's. All the polled goats I've seen have kind of knobby bones there, whereas disbudded horned goats don't so much.


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## deerbunnyfarm (Dec 14, 2015)

Here's a picture of my polled doe's head, if it helps any.


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## FascinatingLady (Mar 6, 2016)

My 1 month old Alpine buckling that I've had for two weeks still has no visible horns. He has some bumps that are shorter than his short hair and today when I felt them they felt soft like the skin has not broken yet. I have no clue who his parents were since I got him from a large farm. I hope he is still able to have lots of offspring. I was depending on him. Is it possible he is horned, they are just growing slow? Seems weird for a buck. My other buck had to be disbudded twice and still has some spur left.


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## deerbunnyfarm (Dec 14, 2015)

Genetics and environmental factors make horn buds grow at different rates... And regardless of his horn status it wouldn't make him any better or any worse as a breeder.


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## cwatkin (Jul 9, 2012)

There are smooth bumps in that area. Maybe he is just developing a little slower than the rest or maybe he is polled??? The few day old bucklings have more horns than he does and he is a couple weeks old. We will see.

I will wait a few more days and then get some pics of him.

Conor


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## ThreeHavens (Oct 20, 2011)

I am totally uneducated about this, but hey I figure, the polled gene had to start somewhere right? How interesting if he ends up polled ... not likely but I'm interested to see.


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## lottsagoats1 (Apr 12, 2014)

What breed is he? My Nubian bucklings have slower rates of horn growth than the other breeds.


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## cwatkin (Jul 9, 2012)

I need to get a current picture of this guy but wanted to give an update. He is DEFINITELY polled if you ask me. There are no horns but bony prominences on his head where the horns would normally grow. He is now two months old and they always have horns popping out within days from my experience.

So, his grandmother was polled when I got her but assumed she was just disbudded. His mother was polled and stupid me had her disbudded. Then this little guy came along and since he was a male and they never sell for much, I didn't bother to have him disbudded. Then I waited and noticed this about him.

I am curious as to what these guys are worth. I plan on keeping him but he is a dairy mix and not a certain breed with papers, etc. He is a mutt, not a pure breed. They are really more pets to me and would rather have healthy goats. I am sure curious what he would be worth and his polled offspring would be worth.

Conor


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## cwatkin (Jul 9, 2012)

Here are some images I cropped out of pictures of all the goats where you can see his head clearly.

Conor


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## Dayna (Aug 16, 2012)

I have two polled mix breed bucks. Not worth much, worth more to me as breeders.


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## cwatkin (Jul 9, 2012)

OK, that is good to know. I will definitely keep him then.

Conor


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