Miniature Hereford Terminology: Polled and Horned

Two common terms you'll run across in cattle are "horned" and "polled". Horned obviously means the animal has horns. Polled means the animal naturally has no horns.

When you register a Mini Hereford, you will be asked if the calf is horned or polled. This information is shown on the registration certificate and is reflected in DNA testing. Many breeders seek out cattle that are either horned or polled for their herds. Some breeders prefer polled cattle while others like horns.  For all of these reasons, it's important to understand what the words mean. 

What if a calf was born with horns and you removed them? That calf is still genetically horned and it should be reported on the registration as "horned". This is where mistakes commonly happen. I've seen many Miniature Herefords posted for sale with statements along the lines of "polled - horns were removed". That is not the same thing at all. If a calf was born with horns, even if you remove them, the calf is still horned. 

What does "homozygous polled" mean? "Heterozygous polled"? These are clarifiers for the genes behind a polled animal. The following is a simple breakdown of the genes. Breeding two horned cattle together will only produce horned calves. Heterozygous polled animals are polled and have 1 gene for polled and 1 gene for horns. They can produce either polled or horned calves. Homozygous polled animals have 2 genes for polled and 0 genes for horns. That animal is polled AND they can only produce polled calves - even if you breed to a horned animal​. 

What if I only want polled cattle, how can I be sure what I'm getting? If it's important to you to have polled cattle, request DNA testing to be done on the calf before purchasing.