Will Alias Throw Horns?

[NoEars]

Will a horned bull sire both horned and scurred calves?  Do both parents have to carry the horned gene?

 

[showsteerdlux]

If either parent is horned the calf can be horned.

 

[LN]

A horned bull has a 50% chance of siring a horned calf when mated to a heterzygous polled cow.

If mated to a horned cow=horned calf.

If he's mated to a homozygous polled cow= no horns.

 

[showsteerdlux]

A horned bull has a 50% chance of siring a horned calf when mated to a heterzygous polled cow.

If mated to a horned cow=horned calf.

If he's mated to a homozygous polled cow= no horns.

Correct me if I'm wrong but I'm pretty sure when mated to a homo. polled cow, if you have a horned cow you could still have a scurred calf.

 

[LN]

Yes you can have scurs when a horned animal is mated to a homo polled, but scurred animals are considered polled.

 

[Dusty]

I've got an Alias that we cut some pretty good sized antlers off of the other day. 

 

[clubcalve]

I've got an Alias that we cut some pretty good sized antlers off of the other day. 

I have a Alias X Angus And he had some scurs that I had removed surgically

 

[qbcattle]

A horned bull has a 50% chance of siring a horned calf when mated to a heterzygous polled cow.

If mated to a horned cow=horned calf.

If he's mated to a homozygous polled cow= no horns.

Correct me if I'm wrong but I'm pretty sure when mated to a homo. polled cow, if you have a horned cow you could still have a scurred calf.

the only way to be completely sure u will not get horns is by breeding to a homozygous polled cow, and you really dont know when u might get scurrs but this gene also correlates with the sex of the animal, meaning if your cow is not homo polled and u had a chance at getting horns, it would be a lot less likely for a female to have horns rather than a male.

 

[showsteerdlux]

Yes you can have scurs when a horned animal is mated to a homo polled, but scurred animals are considered polled.

Scurred is not considered polled in any breed. Sorry but I'll stick to my guns on that one. Just because some people register scurred animals as polled doesn't mean it should happen.

 

[shortyjock89]

Yes you can have scurs when a horned animal is mated to a homo polled, but scurred animals are considered polled.

Scurred is not considered polled in any breed. Sorry but I'll stick to my guns on that one. Just because some people register scurred animals as polled doesn't mean it should happen.

In the Shorthorn Registry, on the papers, the way to tell if the calf is horned or polled if if there is an "x" right before the number.  If there is an "x", the calf is polled. Scurred calves have an "x".  So, there is no way to tell a scurred calf from a polled calf by looking at the papers.  Shorthorns are probably weird, I know the Herfs go by Polled, Horned, Polled w/scurrs type of thing.   

 

[TJ]

FWIW, I've been told that homo polled animals can be scurred & that horn genes don't cause scurs.  I was always told that scurred = polled, just not smooth polled.     

 

[simtal]

what is the big deal about scurs anyway?  People get all concerned over them and I don't know why.

 

[qbcattle]

scurrs has nothing to do with horns....it is an entire different gene on a different loci.  Scurrs are a big deal here in texas because if u try to run a calf angus and he has scurrs there is no way he will get in.

 

[LN]

I don't like scurs because they're ugly. That's all I got.

 

[dori36]

what is the big deal about scurs anyway?  People get all concerned over them and I don't know why.

Well, it depends on what type/kind of cattle someone is raising.  If you happen to be raising reg. Angus, it's a VERY big deal as per this in the Angus Ass'n rules:

"SCURS

No animal with scurs (any portion of horny tissue attached to the skin of the hornset of a polled animal) is eligible for entry."

Dori

 

[klintdog]

In our part of the country, if you try to run a pen of commercial steers through the sales ring, you will get docked if they have horns on them. DOesn't matter if they're attached to the skull or not. I always thought this was stupid since you don't eat the horns, but our buyers will find any reason they can to discount a pot load of calves.

If I have two identical purebred bulls, one with horns and one without, the bull without horns will always sell first and will bring a premium over the other calf.

 

[LN]

In our part of the country, if you try to run a pen of commercial steers through the sales ring, you will get docked if they have horns on them. DOesn't matter if they're attached to the skull or not. I always thought this was stupid since you don't eat the horns, but our buyers will find any reason they can to discount a pot load of calves.

If I have two identical purebred bulls, one with horns and one without, the bull without horns will always sell first and will bring a premium over the other calf.

Do you mean they are both horned and only one has been dehorned?

 

[klintdog]

Nope, I meant if one was polled and one was horned. If it was the exact same bull otherwise - same performance, same EPD's, same pedigree, etc.

 

[LN]

Nope, I meant if one was polled and one was horned. If it was the exact same bull otherwise - same performance, same EPD's, same pedigree, etc.

Well that's easy, nobody likes to dehorn calves. I only use homozygous polled AI sires, that's how much I hate dehorning.

 

[Dusty]

Maybe its just me, but it seems like the best most consistant bulls, not just in the clubby thing but in the purebreds as well are the ones that have horns.  Same goes for the red gene.  A buddy of mine that raises Limousins and I were talking about it one day and his best bull a lot of times is a red one. 

I think a lot of it has to do with that a lot of these breeds before we started messing with them were red and they were horned.  I think that they are other traits that we lose by breeding the red and the horns out of these critters.  Kinda like the TH deal???  Or maybe it's just in my head.