frostback said:
So when someone askes for a list of homozygous polled bulls you think you would help instead of stating that would be the lest of criteria to build from.
Within the shorthorn breed it is. The Hereford breed, for example, has evolved to the point where there are equivalent both polled and horned bulls so there's not much justification for using a horned bull when there is a true, comparable substitute. Even within the Charolais breed, polled genetics have become the more superior specimens. This is not the case w/ Shorthorns as the gene pool is small, bulls like Bonanza have no comparable alternative and not until we've developed, again, comparable polled alternatives, should the direction be moved or selection protocols be put in place that put high importance on horn status.
That being said, there are still many management practices that can and should be used when dealing w/ horned genetics. I don't dehorn horned Shorthorn herd bulls as A) I like the way it looks and B) I don't know of any economical reason for doing so. Secondly, the horns on shorthorns, if not dehorned, naturally grow downward and, in my experience, the length of each horn doesn't cause the workability concerns cattle breeds w/ larger horns generally cause.
Knowing that there are economical issues with horns on feedlot calves in tight confinement: puncture wounds, bruised muscles, temperament- to avoid the invasiveness and obvious pain, calves could be dehorned when they're less than a month old and can be successful dehorned w/ paste or a scoop type dehorner as soon as you can feel the bud. Any method you use that isn't prolonging like the bands or that doesn't cut into the frontal sinus like keystones will do, or even how barnes will do if you let em get big enough is preferred. I've used a scoop like this below on calves that are from a few days old to a couple weeks old and many times it doesn't even bleed. For scurs that will fit in the opening, acknowledging that removing them would be for aesthetic reasons only, you could use these will very little pain.