Polled cattle have been around for over 100 years and in fact it is thought that originally cattle were polled; cattle have evolved the horned gene as a defence mechanism for survival. So why don't we already have polled Holsteins? Unfortunately, this is because in the past the benefits associated with polled genetics have also come with one major negative; the genetic production potential of animals with the polled gene have been much lower than the production potential of animals carrying the horned gene. Indeed, while it may be a welfare issue to dehorn calves; unlike the rest of the breed polled Holsteins were lagging behind in terms of milk production, but conversely they have developed good health traits. So why has there been such an increase in interest in the polled genetics market? Clearly there are savings to be made by not having to dehorn calves. The cost of dehorning is estimated to be less than £10 a calf, followed by the unquantifiable, but real, cost of the setback in the calf's development. Calves that have been recently dehorned are more susceptible to disease, especially respiratory diseases such as pneumonia, and growth rates are likely to be affected albeit for a short time after dehorning. However, these costs alone are not enough to cause the raised awareness of polled genetics internationally.
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