[Roxy]

Don't know why I got thinking of this today, but I thought back over the goats I have had over the past years.

Must be 35 years ago (eek, that long!!)  I acquired a goat kid to bottle feed from a neighbour.  He had bought a milking toggie - and went out one evening and it had a surprise female kid.  He had milked her that morning, quite oblivious to the fact she was in kid.  Tanya, the kid, never had horns.  And Penny, a British Alpine was polled.  I remember taking her two kids to the vets and him commenting on the fact the kids had no horns, which he found rather unusual.
Her subsequent kids, were all polled.

I have it in the back of my mind that apparantly polled goats are none breeders - not sure if this applies to cows etc. too.  Penny bred ok, but come to think of it, one of her daughters, a very large girl called Heidi, was polled, and we never managed to breed from her.

Never seen any polled goats for years.

[wytsend]

No that is NOT correct....polled goats are breeders....I have a polled Saanen male deliberately.

The problems come when a pedigree contains TOO many polled members, i.e.  more than 30% in an ideal world.  The risks are hermaphrodite kids, which are intersex and non breeders.

It is easy to tell at birth if a kid is polled.... the hair rosette on top of the head is quite different... normally there are 2 twists of hair where the horns would be.  With a polled kid the head is quite smooth.

Hope this answers your query.... good add much more but might get boring.

[Roxy]

Thank you for your reply Wytsend - very interesting ....It would also be interesting to see who on here actually owns a polled goat

[Crofter]

We have a polled Golden Guernsey cross Nanny goat. Last time she kidded she had 3 horned kids to a horned billy, this time she has had two billy kids with horns and a polled nanny kid. (To the same billy)   I think there's a section on this in Mackenzies "Goat Husbandry" too.

Dave

P.S.  My picture is of her first kid (a single) who was a polled billy kid.

[ballingall]

I find polled goats quite interesting...... I like the genetics behind it too. I would never keep a polled male though.

My "S" line of goats (all the ones whose name's begin with S) are descended from a first generation Anglo-Nubian. She had a horned mum and a polled dad and was born polled. From her- I have had 6 generations of goats. Nearly everytime, despite always mating to a horned male, I get a polled female kid out. Never had one of them that didn't breed. Sometimes I get a horned female as well, and if there is a male born it will always be male- so the gene does seem to be different in males to females.


Beth

[Roxy]

Beth, why would you never keep a polled male?

[Hopewell]

If two polled goats are bred together there is a very strong possibility of breeding an intersex animal, which can't breed. We used to have some polled golden guernseys but always bred them to a horned or disbudded male. On average you expect half of the offspring to be polled and half horned. The polled gene is dominant so you wouldn't expect to get polled goats from two parents that are both horned.

[ballingall]

I suppose it's because I have the polled line in my S line of goats. I would never want to risk mating two polled goats together, and obviously as a male is 50% of your herd, he has a big impact. Also, the next generation of goats is likely to have more polled kids. Although the majority of polled goats are properly identified as such- I have known polled goats who have been disbudded (incorrectly) and of course could be mated to a polled female unintentionally. I have had this happen previously- I ordered a very well bred male kid out of a polled female, but specified I wanted a horned male. The male kid duly arrived, having been disbudded, he still had all the gory burn marks. But sure enough he had been disbudded incorrectly. Fortunately we spotted it, and he wasn't used on my polled female- but instead of course I had to go out to stud for her!

Beth

[Anke]

This year I had a polled male (now castrated) GG boy, as my disbudded female was mated to a polled male. I was assured that he always throws horned offspring, but Ella has polled goats in her pedigree too. There was a second male kid, unfortunately born dead, and I didn't investigate the horns.
(At least this made keeping and rearing the boy for meat a more econommical choice, as no disbudding was needed, however a recent visit to the vets and antibiotics for a tummy upset have paid to that already!)

I think as long as you know the pedigree of your goat and take her to someone who can do the same for their male using a polled male is not out of the question. Mackenzie discusses this all, but actually it is a bit too scientific for me....

[ballingall]

Being polled does save on them needing disbudded- to the extent that I know people who try and breed polled goats only. However, for me the fact that 25% of kids could be hermaphrodites is too big a risk.

Beth

[Anke]

And with some of them you don't know until you cannot get them into kid.... I have heard of people trying to breed polled to polled, and definitely had hermaphrodite kids as a result.

[wytsend]

Back to what I said earlier.... when planning matings, make sure that the 5 generations preceding the proposed kids does not contain more than 30% polled.  This way you will not get hermaphrodites.

Study pedigrees carefully.... it is all online on BGS site now.
So even if you are not a member, most people will know somebody who is and can access the info.   
Better still join !!!!!!    No I am not doing a membership campaign but access to all that info , can only be good.