Possibly Polled?

Stacykins

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Just to start off, I know the only true way to find out if the lad is polled is to breed him and see if polled kids pop out. But I am interested to hear your thoughts on if he is potentially polled or not!

I just added this little Nigerian Dwarf buckling to my herd, to bring in some new genetics. His dam is a fantastic milker, and 3 out of 4 of his 'grandparents' have reached champion status. Anyway, his dam is polled and often throws polled kids. She is not a homozygously polled goat, though.

He and his brother were born without the usual swirls that signal a goat will be horned. At four weeks of age, they then showed signs of horn development. The area where their horns would be got more prominent, though no skin was broken. It was like buds started to grow, but late. Can horn development start that late, especially on little bucklings? For example, a buckling born here this year needed to be disbudded at three days, his horn buds were so big! But I am sure different lines grow in different ways.

So at a month old his breeder disbudded him, just in case. It has now been five weeks since he was disbudded. The burn area looks great, though it looks kind of unique. I will have to get a picture. There is a little node where each horn would be, not a true cap per say, like on disbuddings I've seen (copper or white ring, cap popped off). I'll have to get a picture to explain what I mean. No signs of horn growth, so if he was horned, the disbudding worked.

Until I get a closer picture of his head, here is the little lad! He is jet black except for a tiny white tuft on his head. And his icy blue eyes contrast so beautifully with his dark coat! Not to mention, he is a lover!







Sleeping in my lap. He's just so adorable!


Also, anyone have any name suggestions? I am so terrible with thinking up names!
 

OneFineAcre

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I think he is probably polled. Polled animals get a "knot" where the horn would be.

I've never seen a buckling whose horns would not have broken the skin at 4 weeks old. We can usually feel a horn on a buckling when he is a week old. We had two that we could not do until they were two weeks old, and after we made the first burn, there was a 1/4" horn we cut off with hoof trimming shears.

If he was horned they would have probably been an inch long at 4 weeks old.
 

Stacykins

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That definitely gives me hope that he is polled! Him being polled with just be extra icing on the cake!

Here are the pictures of the horn area. Bumps, but not horns. Kind of looks like bone, actually. If he was polled, I guess those would be the 'knots'?

Distance picture!


Closer, one side


The other side
 

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