# horned sheep healthier then polled?



## Sydney (Nov 20, 2010)

i read an interesting article about how horned sheep and cows tend to be more parasite resistant then polled breeds.  i was wondering if anyone has noticed that their horned sheep tend to be healthier then the polled ones?


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## Bossroo (Nov 20, 2010)

NOPE !!! However horns tend to be more dangerous to your well being as the possessors of those appendages  tend to be more aggressive to all creatures big and small.  Why do you think dehorning is so popular?


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## patandchickens (Nov 20, 2010)

I've often read it. It may be so. Note that whether an animal has been artificially disbudded/dehorned has nothing to do with it, they should still have whatever genetic advantages there may be to "non-polled-ness".

Whatever advantage there may be could be actually related in some way *to* the polled genes, or could be coincidence in the sense that horned breeds are often closer to their original state (have not been selected *as* heavily for production traits as opposed to hardiness traits). 

I dunno. I have a grand total of five sheep -- two from crossing polled breeds, and the other Shetlands where ewes (including mine) are usually polled and rams (including ram) usually horned. My shetland wether is naturally-scurred (heterozygous for the polled gene). Radically insufficient for me to be able to say anything from experience 

Pat


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## aggieterpkatie (Nov 21, 2010)

I wouldn't say it's true.


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## RustyDHart (Dec 23, 2010)

Both sexes of my breed (Scottish Blackface) are horned...I kept over 160 last year and they all were pretty healthy....I have never had any other breed.   I know people can be hurt badly by rams...but it can happen from breeds WITH...or...WTHOUT...horns.  I never keep overly aggressive animals.....


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## Royd Wood (Dec 23, 2010)

This is news to me and both cows and sheep here are nat polled. No vet in 4 years


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## boothcreek (Dec 23, 2010)

I think the thought behind the horned=healthier stems from that any horned breeds are genetically closer to the original wild ancestor and there for have the wild hardiness/more varied genetics compared to polled breeds which, to get the polling, were selectivly bred/inbred to set the trait there for may not be genetically as sound as the horned varieties. 
Of course many of todays polled livestock wether its sheep or cattle have been selectivley bred for hardiness with the increased commercial use. 100 or more yrs ago polled flocks of sheep or cattle may have been so new in some breeds that a lot of inbreeding was done to keep the trait at the expense of the health/hardiness of the animal.

Today I would say most polled animals are just as healthy as horned ones.


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## BrownSheep (May 23, 2011)

no, horns don't make a difference either way. I actually like the fact my ram, a horn dorset, has horns. It makes it easier to manage moving and even stopping his "bad boy" behavior. I don't find my ram to be overly aggressive. He is a former bottle baby wich ruined his fear of us, so he likes to have a go to show off to the ewes.


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