# I love horns



## Violetmoon (Nov 14, 2013)

I have read many articles about how horns are needed by goats. How disbudding is cruel and sometimes after disbudding they can grow back disfigured. I had a Nubian with horns years ago and his horns were never a problem. I think horns are beautiful on a goat.


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## sweetgoats (Oct 18, 2007)

I so agree with you. I love them they are born with them (most are) and I am glad I got into goats that HAVE to have them.

Yes they can be hard on the fence but I just make the fence for them, and yes you have to be careful around kids but really goats will not use them on you unless they are scared or threatened. (Or a buck in rut sometimes).

I know some have to disbud them for show.


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## Cedar Point Kikos (Oct 16, 2013)

Horns also help in cooling the goat down, and as self-defense. By de-horning, you are taking away some very important things.


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## nchen7 (Feb 25, 2013)

I love horns too! we recently borrowed a buck for breeding, and he doesn't have any horns. he looks weird compared to my other ones.......


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

I too, love horns on goats. Wouldn't have it any other way. 

To those who don't like horns and remove them for show or safety reasons, we do respect you. 
Each breeder has their own preferences and likes. Please be aware, this Topic is "I love Horns" and just to make it clear, we don't need any debates on dehorning, disbudding ect. However, if you want to comment about something "on Topic" feel free. :thumb:
Keep it friendly, keep it fun.

Horns are my preference, I love how they look, they are a good radiator in summer, cooler in winter, makes it easy to grab a Doe, if you want to catch her quickly and yes, being able to protect themselves.


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## J.O.Y. Farm (Jan 10, 2012)

I think horns are pretty on some breeds and look odd on others (like LaManchas :lol: ) 
But, for us, Hiram just don't work  but I do think they are pretty  esp on Fiber breeds! I love how their horns look


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## J.O.Y. Farm (Jan 10, 2012)

J.O.Y. Farm said:


> I think horns are pretty on some breeds and look odd on others (like LaManchas :lol: )
> But, for us, Hiram just don't work  but I do think they are pretty  esp on Fiber breeds! I love how their horns look


Mine get to pretend they have horns  :laugh:


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## peggy (Aug 11, 2010)

Cute pictures. Love it.


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## Wild Hearts Ranch (Dec 26, 2011)

I love the ones I have with horns. I won't be doing any more disbudding - even though I have dairy goats and people think it looks weird, lol.


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## eqstrnathlete (Mar 16, 2013)

I love horns but just can't risk it. I think they are beautiful.


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## Jessica84 (Oct 27, 2011)

I do like the looks of horns and the idea if need be they can use their horns to protect themselves. But I do disbud since I'm sick of opps horns to my leg or head in the fence. A lot of my does have horns but some need to go. So as much as I like horns I like no horns a tad bit more


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## janeen128 (Dec 31, 2012)

I prefer without, but I do like the looks of horns, and I know it's probably better for the goat to keep them.


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

Love the pics of the goats without horns, pretending they do have, so cute.  :thumb:


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## janeen128 (Dec 31, 2012)

Love the pics!! So cute


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## Pats_Perfect_Boer_Goats (Oct 24, 2013)

J.O.Y. Farm said:


> Mine get to pretend they have horns  :laugh:
> 
> View attachment 50600
> View attachment 50601


Those are antlers, but we'll accept it. :wink: :wink: LOL :smile:


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

HaHa, yep, we will let it slide.


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## ThreeHavens (Oct 20, 2011)

I love goats, with or without horns! But horns are gorgeous. My registered stock will probably always be disbudded, so they can be shown and find more home options, but we are going to try out having horns on wethers ... I want to give it a good attempt.  They are natural and lovely, and I do understand both sides.

Ps. I love that this is a horn appreciation thread! That's pretty rare, lol! Love it.


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## NyGoatMom (Jan 26, 2013)

Love horns! My nubian girls do not have horns because one was purchased as an adult already disbudded and one is polled. My wether and my buck and my saanen doe all have horns, as do any offspring here


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## sassy (Nov 29, 2013)

I love horns too. The males look so prominent with gowns. All my goats are horned. But they sure can do damage when the want to with there horns.


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## sassy (Nov 29, 2013)

merry Christmas from my horned goat. Cupcake.


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## janeen128 (Dec 31, 2012)

Cute;-)


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## sassy (Nov 29, 2013)

Thanks


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

Handsome dude with horns. :snow:

Merry Christmas.


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## uglywon (Dec 21, 2012)

How else would you catch and hold them? ;-P. Awesome Pics!


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## Jessica84 (Oct 27, 2011)

sassy said:


> I love horns too. The males look so prominent with gowns. All my goats are horned. But they sure can do damage when the want to with there horns.


Totally agree there!!! Without horns at least on a Boer buck looks funny and I don't disbud any bucks I think k might sell as breeders.


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## Trickyroo (Sep 26, 2012)

Love the horns on some breeds too  I think they make them look regal . I know they serve a purpose too .


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## Scottyhorse (Feb 11, 2013)

I have mixed feelings on horns. Boers, IMO, look weird without horns. But dairy goats look odd with horns to me, since they stick straight up. They are also a pain for milking because they get in the way of the milking stand. I will be disbudding all dairy stock and Boer wethers, while Boer breeding stock will be left with horns


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

I agree.


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## J.O.Y. Farm (Jan 10, 2012)

Pats_Perfect_Boer_Goats said:


> Those are antlers, but we'll accept it. :wink: :wink: LOL :smile:


LOL! Shhh! Don't tell them that  :laugh:


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## usamagoat (May 2, 2013)

LLNkikos said:


> Horns also help in cooling the goat down, and as self-defense. By de-horning, you are taking away some very important things.


i really do agree!:wahoo:


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## goathiker (Apr 14, 2011)

I've had many goats with regal horns. Now they are a health hazard to my not so sure on his feet DH. If he fell while using a goat's pack saddle to help him up a hill...I just shudder to imagine. 
I do agree that Boers look weird without them though. I wish dairy horns grew back and flat the same way. It would completely change the ability to keep them.


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## MsScamp (Feb 1, 2010)

Jessica84 said:


> ...or head in the fence.


I had this problem very regularly when I first started in goats. One day I was cussing a goat for being stupid enough to stick her head through the cattle panels and get stuck several times in one day, and the light dawned! I took a step back and rethought the situation. We regularly cull for other undesirable traits, why not for repeatedly getting their heads stuck? Funny thing is, I found out completely by accident that it appears to be heritable. My girls have 3 chances to either figure out how to get their heads out of the fence by themselves or figure out not to stick their heads through the fence in the first place - I don't care which. The 4th time I have to get their heads out of the fence, they are out of here. I rarely ever have a head stuck in the fence since implementing the practice. :wink:


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## TDG-Farms (Jul 12, 2013)

Nada, cept on the pack boys. And even then if I could go back and remove em, I think I would. If for no other reason to stop Legion from "knocking" on the barn door with his horns. You can go in there with him watching or its "bang, bang, bang".

On a side note, if you can, never show your goats where you keep the grain. They will always remember


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## milkmaid (Sep 15, 2010)

LOVE LOVE LOVE horns. My wether Hans has them and I think he is the handsomest guy in the world!








I now disbud all my kids for two reasons. First, though Hans would never intentionally hurt someone, several times he has hit me completely by accident, and nearly gotten me in the eye. There are small children in the family and I want to minimize the chances of a bad accident. Two, if I were to sell a goat and it were to turn mean, horns could compound the problem and result in its being neglected or abused.

If it weren't for those two reasons, I would leave the horns on.



> I do agree that Boers look weird without them though. I wish dairy horns grew back and flat the same way. It would completely change the ability to keep them.


If someone had the time and resources, they could probably breed for the horns to do just that.


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## TheMixedBag (Oct 16, 2010)

Horns all the way for me, even on dairy goats. Of course, right now I only have a boer buck and a kiko buck, so they were both bought with horns, but I don't own a disbudding iron and do not plan to buy one. Horns have saved my kiko's life, and given the temps that we can reach during the summer, he's probably better off with them anyway. My boer's horns are the kind that grow back and out away from the neck (none of the issues with rubbing the neck later in life) so he's definitely keeping his.

Another reason I keep horns on my guys-if they need to be tethered, it goes on the horns. They can't choke themselves to death and they learn to obey when you have a hold of them off the rope. They've both learned how to tether without getting tangled and I don't have to worry about them getting seriously hurt (they're not usually on it for long, but it's still nice to have the peace of mind-as soon as we went to build their fence we got a week long ice storm. They're still perfectly OK).


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## Texaslass (May 15, 2013)

I totally agree with Milkmaid. 
It has been a hard decision, but I decided to disbud all of mine. :/
I love horns, and maybe if it were just me, I would keep them on all my goats. But, in a family with small children (my younger siblings), it's just too much of a risk, sadly. I've been smacked (or maybe gouged would be a better word, lol  ) under my eye by a young goat with horns, and lemme tell you that was scary! 
Besides, even if it was just me, I wouldn't want little kids who might visit to be in any danger from my goats, so it just makes sense to disbud them.
Also, like Milkmaid said, it is easier to find them homes. 
I love how horns look- I have a ND buck right now with really cool horns.  They make great handles too! He's in my avatar, bit here's a bigger pic:


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## milkmaid (Sep 15, 2010)

WOW, nice rack!


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## ThreeHavens (Oct 20, 2011)

All very good reasons stated ... I've enjoyed reading.


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## sassy (Nov 29, 2013)

I don't understand how anyone can take horns off. Doesn't it hurt them?? They are dangerous I agree but isn't that all they have for protection. I know where I live There are a lot bears and I feel somewhat better knowing my goats have some defense


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## Scottyhorse (Feb 11, 2013)

I think if a bear goes after a goat, horns aren't going to keep the goat alive honestly.


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## TheMixedBag (Oct 16, 2010)

Horns are a better deterrant for wayward dogs than they are coyotes or bears. Unless they are super sharp and the goat knows how to use them very well, they're not going to do much good.

Tennis balls and duct tape (bubble wrap too if the goat is particularly rambunctious) work wonders for if you might have kids in with the goats but not exactly on a regular basis.


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## sassy (Nov 29, 2013)

. These are my smallest goat dinkys horns.


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## Violetmoon (Nov 14, 2013)

Sassy your little goat has gorgeous horns!!! He is very pretty!!


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## sassy (Nov 29, 2013)

Thanks violet moon. He's a little guy but mighty. He has big horns and knows how to use them lol


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## Bambi (Jun 10, 2012)

J.O.Y. farm those are very cute pictures. All of our goats have horns except for Sweet Pea . She was born naturally polled. Horns are very important for working goats because they help to keep them cool. But with horns comes responsibility of being careful around them and not get a horn to the face.


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## Bambi (Jun 10, 2012)

Wow Dinky has some beautiful horns. Nice looking!


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## sassy (Nov 29, 2013)

Thanks Bambi. All my goats have horns. I never knew that's what kept them cool! That's good to know.






this is my boy snowboots. He's a big guy and has huge horns too!


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## springkids (Sep 12, 2013)

I love horns too. I do have some does that are naturally polled but we tend to keep everyone natural.
As for what my husband refers to as "head-hangers" we have 1 strand of electric around our fences about 18'' inches off the ground and that does the trick. Me and my husband both work away from home so I would hate to know that somebody was hung in the fence all day.


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## sassy (Nov 29, 2013)

What I did to keep them from going to the fence is I have put in posts. So when they wanna bang they bang away. Also I have a huge pine tree in the yard. They love slamming that.  I guess it's easier when ya only have 6 goats. I couldn't imagine having more then that.


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## Physcoandy (Nov 29, 2013)

^^^


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## thegoatgirl (Nov 27, 2011)

I don't really like horns,my first goat had a single horn and was really mean. She used them to hurt me, my fsmily, friends, and broke countles fences and gates. JMHO.


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## Wild Hearts Ranch (Dec 26, 2011)

A mean goat is a mean goat. I wouldn't keep one even without horns.


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## ThreeHavens (Oct 20, 2011)

Yeah, I had a hornless goat who was nice to people, but a horror to her fellow goats. I had to let her go. Any bullies here don't stay, just too stressful. I understand tussling now and then, and over food, but anything too rough or persistent, I just can't allow.


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## sassy (Nov 29, 2013)

I agree three havens I do not allow the


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## sassy (Nov 29, 2013)

Oops got away from me before I done I don't allow them to be rough. If they get wrestling. I just walk out with the broom. And they go running. Lol


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## thegoatgirl (Nov 27, 2011)

Lol!


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## DancingHoovesFarm (Nov 18, 2012)

I really don't think horns help them protect themselves at all. I have seen as many horned goats get killed by predators as dehorned ones. I have LGDs to protect my herd so they don't have to worry about predators. All my goats are disbudded or polled and they have no problems keeping cool. I have been hurt with horns to many times to have or sell any with horns. Also since I raise show quality dairy goats they have to be disbudded to be able to show. So if I didn't disbud I would loose half of my customers. 

Just my 2 cents.


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## TheMixedBag (Oct 16, 2010)

As I said, horns are more of a deterrent than they are protection. A nice set of horns is a bit harder to eat than a small set or no set, and they're a *little* less likely to be killed in a mixed herd setting. However, if you're relying solely on horns to protect your goats, expect a few to die from predation, because not much short of traps, lgds and/or guns will truly do the job.

Choosing whether or not to have horned goats relies heavily on what works best for you. I don't recommend it around kids (though my boys do just fine around kids, they're all old enough to watch out for horns and not to be out with the goats without supervision), I definitely don't recommend it in dairy herds. Goats who are bullies, whether horned or not need to be gone.

Got better pictures of the horns in my "herd". Magnum is close to 2 years old, Demon is only about 6-7 months old.


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## Deschutes Dawn (Sep 24, 2013)

You are probably right, Sydney, but at least that bear might have a second thought before taking on another goat! A 2 year old bear might be scared off easier because of inexperience. That's at least something. Or even if those horns can buy enough time for you to get a shot off-doesn't take me long to load and get off an arrow at close range!


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## OakHollowRanch (Jun 6, 2013)

Mine are disbudded for show, but I do agree that they can look beautiful.


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## TheMixedBag (Oct 16, 2010)

Our biggest issue is stray dogs, and I've watched Magnum tear into one pretty good. He was off tail between his legs before I could even pull a gun. I have no doubts he could and would kill a dog if it came to it, but not without injury to himself.


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## sassy (Nov 29, 2013)

Wow. Themixedbag your goats are beautiful. I guess it's a matter of opinion whether horns are good or not. I personally love the looks of the horns my goats are really good at not using there horns on people. When I first started raising my goats I remember the lady I got them from said do not allow your goat to play with you using there horns... Not to allow them to think that bucking you is a game. So I never had that problem with them. I guess I don't raise them to show. Or eat. They are my pets like my German Shepard is.


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