Breeding Out Of Characteristics

[Mags22]

Just been watching a tv programme where it said that horns on some bulls have been bred out for safety - how is this done?

[rsvp]

The usual way of bringing about any alteration in a species is to continually breed from only those animals who show the desired 'change' - however, polled cattle (hornless) have been around for many years so maybe these animals were used in some way. I'm by no means an expert and am sure others with better knowledge than me will answer your question,

[Clanad]

Naturally occurring hornless (polled or the more archaic "muley") cattle have been around (as indicated by rsvp) for probably thousands of years. The polled cattle have occurred on every continent and, genetically can be traced quite a ways back. The original stock were Aurochs, which were the European variety of wild cows that seemed to have been domesticated at the same time as the Zebus or humped Indian cows... maybe 8 to 10 thousand years ago. Again, naturally occurring polled varieties most likely were produced throughout the centuries, introducing and carrying a gene for 'hornlessness'.

Intentional breeding of cattle for the hornless varieties always began with the use of the naturally polled varieties though.

Ironically, here in the western U.S. many breeders used to raising the "Black Ballies" (Angus cows crossed with Herefords to produce a whiefaced black cow) have bred these back to our original Texas Long Horns (Horns sometimes 6 feet long. The cross produces a cow, the females of which are then bred back yet again to the longhorns, which produces a good beef cow and yet withstands the rigors of calving and can walk farther than the standard black cow. The walking is valuable since they have to walk a long ways to watering holes, both natural and man made here in our arid west...

The horns are removed shortly after birth (maybe 3 months) to assist in easier handling of the crossbreed...