# determining if a goat is polled? photos?



## freedomstarfarm (Mar 25, 2011)

I have 2 goats that were sold to me as polled they are due to kid in August.

have heard that most goats have a swirl on their head and that polled goats don't have that swirl. 

Does anyone have photos of a polled kids head?

Is there a way to tell if a goat has been disbudded vs. polled and no disbudding done?


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## Jessaba (May 13, 2010)

Could be wrong, but last year we had a girl that was polled and her head looked normal, hair/fur all over...could definitely tell she was polled...I have a buck that is disbudded and you can tell he has been as he has two spots where the horns were and the hair/fur doesn't grow over it. This is my experience. The buck I bought the guy was telling me he was polled, but he wasn't..I could tell by looking at his head.


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## Devin (Feb 6, 2011)

Mine have been disbudded and they grow hair just fine over the burn site.


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## liz (Oct 5, 2007)

If I think of it tomorrow, I'll get a pic of my 6 year old polled does head....Chief was disbudded but he is in fact polled...I can get a pic of his too.

And...the 4 month old wether I have here was disbudded...his head has hair on it and he does have small scurs, so small you can't see them.


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## StaceyRosado (Oct 5, 2007)

polled heads when born do not have the swirl where the horns grow.

they do end up with bumps so the hair does grow up
Polled head on a couple week old kids

















polled head on a week old kid









horned head on a week or two week old kid


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## liz (Oct 5, 2007)

Those were some EXTREMELY good kids to be able to get those pics!! And they show exactly what to look for too.


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## freedomstarfarm (Mar 25, 2011)

Yes those photos are helpful! :thumb: 

All of my adults have hair on their whole heads unless they have been butting someone/something and wear it away a little. 

Liz I would love photos of your also! 
The more photos the better! I am starting to wonder if one of the kids I had disbudded was polled.


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## Hidden Waters Farm (Oct 3, 2010)

We have occasionally come across goats that are "polled" when in fact the seller got mixed up with them actually being disbudded. Is it possible the seller in your case is confused? or are they a knowledgeable goat person?


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## freedomstarfarm (Mar 25, 2011)

Hidden Waters if the question was for me... yes they have had goats for years and know the difference. 

I myself am still learning about polled goats and may have accidentally had kids disbuded this Spring that might have been polled. These kids parents papers say disbudded but I do know that the mistake is made probably quite often like I may have made.  
Once I get more familiar with it I hope to be able to better determine possible polled kids and maybe determine who is throwing them. 

I have 2 due to kid in the Fall that are polled and I want to not make that mistake with their kids.


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## liz (Oct 5, 2007)

Hidden Waters Farm said:


> We have occasionally come across goats that are "polled" when in fact the seller got mixed up with them actually being disbudded. Is it possible the seller in your case is confused? or are they a knowledgeable goat person?


Actually...I think there was confusion with my buck being disbudded by his breeder...I had my first polled kid born here 3 years ago and though she did have bumps at 3 days, they never grew to horns...same with the buckling born this year, bumps but never grew out, my bucks breeder disbuds at around a week old and I don't think he realized that polled kids could have bumps too....Chief has never scurred and all the goats I've seen from this breeder have scurs, and Chief has thrown a good number of kids to horned does that have been polled.


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## Hidden Waters Farm (Oct 3, 2010)

I had a few curious cases about polled vs horned this year, they turned out to be horned so they were disbudded late :/

That is the bad thing about polled goats I think, because if you wait to see if the horns are coming through you are usually past the 3 days-1 week for standard dairy goats.


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## StaceyRosado (Oct 5, 2007)

thats why learning what a horned and polled goat looks like when born is very helpful. I might have just born pictures of the above goats so you can see.

I knew immediately when the triplets were born who was polled and who was horned.


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## freedomstarfarm (Mar 25, 2011)

Oh yes the more photos the better! :greengrin:


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## StaceyRosado (Oct 5, 2007)

Read the descriptions with each photo to see who is horned and who is polled if you are unsure

click on the picture to see it larger

[attachment=6:208lqw4y]IMG_0096.JPG[/attachment:208lqw4y]

[attachment=5:208lqw4y]IMG_0099.JPG[/attachment:208lqw4y]

[attachment=4:208lqw4y]IMG_0080.JPG[/attachment:208lqw4y]

[attachment=3:208lqw4y]IMG_0100.JPG[/attachment:208lqw4y]

[attachment=2:208lqw4y]IMG_0071.JPG[/attachment:208lqw4y]

[attachment=1:208lqw4y]IMG_0069.JPG[/attachment:208lqw4y]

[attachment=0:208lqw4y]IMG_0075.JPG[/attachment:208lqw4y]


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## freedomstarfarm (Mar 25, 2011)

Thanks!!


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