# Polled or Horned??



## lonestrchic23 (Jan 7, 2011)

My polled Alpine doe kidded with twin does today.....how do I tell if they are polled or not? Would hate to disbud if I don't have to.

There were three kids total.....one dead buckling and the girls. I compared the tops of all their heads....all three have one single hair swirl in the center of their heads. Didn't really know exactly what I was looking for, but was hoping at least one would look different so I could compare them, but with all identical, doesn't help much, lol 

Felt the heads as well, couldn't feel any bumps, but perhaps a few hours old is a bit too early to feel anything.

Is there any way to tell if they are polled without waiting for horns to start coming up?


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## NubianSoaps.com (Oct 26, 2007)

I never quite understood how anyone could not tell when folks talked about that they likely had disbudded a polled kid. Our polled kids were born with bangs, like Moe Howard of the 3 stooges, for the younger crowd Justin Beiber  LOL!!! Kids with horns obviously have cowlicks on top of their heads. They will certainly have hornbuds in a few days. Maybe it was just eaiser for us to see with all the horned goatlings who were nubian that needed disbudding in the other side of the barn!


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## lonestrchic23 (Jan 7, 2011)

LOL!

One baby is very hairy...fuzzy faced and everything. She looks like she has swirls on both sides but its hard to tell...they seem very far forward....

The other doe is sleeker, not wooly and I only see one definate swirl in the center of her head.....

Will get pictures in the morning and if all else fails, just wait it out. 

The mom is giraff polled (what Ive heard it called, dunno if the term is right) and has two rounded bumps and the swirl in the center. Her sister, from the previous year is polled too, but doesn't have the bumps...


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## Grumpy Old Buck (Feb 5, 2011)

The single centrally located (forehead vs. top of the head where the true horn whirls will be) whirl sounds like a polled aspect. Also, the skin over the area where the horns "would be" if the animal is polled will move when you put your thumb on it and wiggle around (back and forth). If you have actual spit-curls of hair where the horns should be then most likely they are horned.

Time will tell you for sure. Alpines should give evident horn protrusions within a very few days.

There are pictures of polled kid heads in the files section of "POLLED GOAT GENETICS" group on yahoo. Look for the * Elmhaven Polled * album.

The main page is:

http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/PolledGoatGenetics/


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## DostThouHaveMilk (Oct 25, 2007)

Vicki McGaugh Tx Nubians said:


> I never quite understood how anyone could not tell when folks talked about that they likely had disbudded a polled kid. Our polled kids were born with bangs, like Moe Howard of the 3 stooges, for the younger crowd Justin Beiber  LOL!!! Kids with horns obviously have cowlicks on top of their heads. They will certainly have hornbuds in a few days. Maybe it was just eaiser for us to see with all the horned goatlings who were nubian that needed disbudding in the other side of the barn!


 Heh. I have a polled doe who was disbudded...but not by me. She was disbudded by the guy that has been disbudding calves and goats for decades.
Admittedly when I would have him in there would be as many as 15 kids at a time to burn. I suspect that the first year my Polled Nubian buck had kids, more than one ended up being burned when they were really polled. I just went by what he thought. These were older kids who would have had their bumps by then, but no tips. The reason I figure more than one polled kid was disbudded is because out of 14 kids that year, only 3 were listed as polled, one of them added to the list this past kidding season when she delivered twin polled doelings by a dehorned Alpine buck. Every year since he has thrown close to the expected 50% polled each year. Most of the kids that first year were bucks who were castrated and sold for meat, so I won't ever know.

I wait for horn tips before I disbud.


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## lonestrchic23 (Jan 7, 2011)

Well.... I still cant tell....lol 

The fuzzy/wooly baby looks like she has 2 swirls, but at the same time it looks like fuzzy hair just sticking up....and the coloration doesn't help much either....

The sleeker baby who isnt as fuzzy looks to only have the one swirl.


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## Tim Pruitt (Oct 26, 2007)

Yes and you can wait up to about 2 weeks on Nubians. I wait that long especially on a small or weak kid.


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## Loden Farms (Dec 21, 2010)

I don't know if this will help or not, but this last year, my Buttercup, Polled Mini Nubian, had twins, buck and a doe. The doe was polled and the buckling was horned. I could tell at birth that one was different than the other, but I rub heads :lol The little girl's head was perfectly rounded and the skin moved all around on her head. The little boy, I could feel the little buds and the skin up there would not move. I don't know if you can tell much by looking, but I'm attaching pictures of them at birth, the girl is the darker of the two. I hope this helps! Congrats on the babies!


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