# How can you tell if they are polled?



## QoTL (Jun 5, 2008)

Just wondering... 


It's time to disbud the newest babies, but one of them has no horn buds at all. Granted, the other little girl has only very small ones, but still.


IS that how you tell? I thought there was also something with the hair..


The farm they came from never mentioned it beyond saying they were going to disbud them but decided to wait and let me do it 

Adding- if she is polled, what percentage of future babies from her might also be polled? I'm only planning to keep one of these girls long term, and that might add to her worth


----------



## BackfourtyMI. (Sep 3, 2007)

The hair around where the horns would be reminds me of a cowlick sort of. I would hold off disbudding the one doeling in question for a little while to see if she's just slow with the little horn buds starting to form.

I have a polled doe & so far I've never got a polled kid from her. I think I've read a post before that said 50% would be polled but I can't remember for sure. Doesn't work that way for my girl though.


----------



## QoTL (Jun 5, 2008)

Backfourty-

The baby with buds has something like.. little hair horns LOL. Is that what you mean by 'cowlick'? Looks like she actually has horns, but it's just hair.


Interesting about your girl never throwing polled. Must be a recessive trait. Wonder if your girl's grandchildren ever come out polled?


----------



## BackfourtyMI. (Sep 3, 2007)

The hair kinda swirls around almost like a little curl. I know I'm not describing it very good. Hopefull someone else will be able to descibe it better.

That's an interesting point you brought up about my doe not throwing polled kids & her grandkids. Never thought about that before but we already decided if she has a doeling this year were going to keep her so maybe we'll find out in a few years.

Hope your little one turns out to be polled.


----------



## dosthouhavemilk (Oct 29, 2004)

Polled is dominant. You can't get polled without one parent being polled.
About 50%, over the lifetime, will be polled, but there are always animals where it simply doesn't work that way. Our buck has thrown about 50/50 so far. Some of his polled daughters are batting higher than that on their own kids. Then you run into cases where goats that are actually polled get "disbudded" because they are rough polled with the bumps.
If either of her parents were polled, or you just don't know, I would hold off on the girl that doesn't have any points yet. I wait until I can feel definite points before I burn kids that have the potential to be polled.
Also, the hair will lay smooth and straight on polled kids and have the swirls if they will grow horns.


----------



## QoTL (Jun 5, 2008)

Now I'm even more confused.

Rough polled- not sure what that means? My 'budded' kid has bumps but no points. Should I hold off? She's 2 weeks and a bit.. and definitely not as big on the buds as my last kid was by this time. But she DOES have 'devil horns' with her hair. Neither kid has that sorta.. part in the middle that I'm used to seeing on babies who have growing horns. 



Now I'm all confused. Ack.

Adding.... if it helps, here are the two little heads in question:

This is the one I believe is polled:









This is the one with the 'bumps' and the hair-horns:


----------



## dosthouhavemilk (Oct 29, 2004)

Unfortunately, pictures don't do me any good in this case. Our monitor is too dark to see anything on those pretty black heads. I'll maybe get to a computer today where I can actually see.
Rough polled, simply means they are not smooth headed. They get bumps, hich some people mistake a the beginnings of horns and burn. I think it is a cow term and not a goat term. Giraffe and medium polled are goat terms. these indicate how tall a bump the polled goat has.
I'm pretty sure we had some Polled kids burned my first year. He went through and burned just about everything. Now, since I have the luxury of doing the burning myself, I just hold off on kids I suspect. I check them each time I go through burning kids. If, after a month, they still don't have points, I leave them be. I can generally tell at birth at this stage though.
I've had horned doelings not have horn points show for close to three weeks. I knew she should have horns but they just weren't popping through. They did eventually and I burned her at that point.
Keep feeling for horn points. Some doelings take longer to pop through than others.


----------

