Horns or no horns?????

[~*Sweet Cheeks*~]

I am looking to purchase my first goats.

I have narrowed it down to mini nubian or kinder breeds.

I responded to a Craigslist ad for kinders and spoke to the breeder a few times.

When I asked if they had horns, the response was 'I will NEVER burn the horns off my goats - it changes the shape of their heads AND makes them stupid and I don't want 15 stupid goats running around my place'.

My questions:

Is it painfull to the little ones to prevent/remove horns?

Does it change shape of head to remove horns?

Does it make them stupid or change their personalities?

Thank you

 

[Bear Foot Farm]

I'm sure it's painful for a while
It wont "make them stupid"
It wont change the shape of their heads
It WILL make things safer for you and them

 

[redhen]

No horns here.. too much can happen. I'm not taking any risks..

Actually, my Nigi doe is naturally polled (hornless)...and so all her babies should be polled also..
therefore, i dont have to ever worry about de-horning another goat... (thats why i bought a polled goat..)

*edited to add..i hope i'm spelling polled right..

*

 

[txredneckmedic]

I actually prefer horns....Gives us big guys something to grab onto when they wanna be lil pains in the butts.

 

[whatknott]

I have all my goats dehorned too - they may not used them on purpose, but if you're bending down, or worse if a child is near by, and the goat swings its head, the horn can go in a child's eye and horns really hurt!! Not to mention the damage they can do. We still have a patch on the wall of our aluminum pole barn from the billy goat that we had 25 years ago.

I have some naturally polled goats too - but you will only get about a 50% chance of having babies that are polled.

 

[redhen]

Quote:
Really! Drat! The breeder said that her(my does) babies should all be polled..because its a dominant gene..but to never breed 2 polled goats together..i guess it could be fatal or something?.. Darn! i dont want to deal with de-horning!

 

[key west chick]

I have 5 nigis. All were disbudded at a few days old. I love not having to worry about horns. I think they are just as beautiful without them.

 

[~*Sweet Cheeks*~]

Anyone with experience with debudding causing them to be 'stupid' as is the breeder's belief?

 

[whatknott]

my billy goat is polled and about 50% of his babies will be polled. I have bred polled to polled and never had a problem. There seems to be a common thread that there will be problems when you do this - it is usually thought that you end up with a morphodite (half male, half female in reproductive organs); but recently other goat people are questioning that theory. I have never had it happen here. And I'm not into understanding genes - just that I have done it and have not had a problem. But do expect to be dehorning!!

 

[redhen]

Quote:

You've just ruined my life..

*okay..i'm just being dramatic..*

it does suck though..i thought i wasnt going to have to deal with de-horning.. *sigh* ooh well..