"Oh, how cute!" the visitor said, "So that must be a little bull -- I see the horns starting."
Nope.
In cattle, horns have nothing to do with sex. Some breeds have them -- like Jerseys.
Clover is a Jersey.
Usually they're removed, as
was the case with Silverbell and Marigold, our Jersey cows.
Big Red, our herd bull, is naturally polled (meaning he never had horns.)
This is true for most of our Beef Devons . . .
This one in front, though, she's what our neighbors would call 'a horny cow.' Again, nothing to do with sex. She probably carries some Milking Devon genes -- the Milking Devons have horns.
In the local terminology, a cow without horns is 'a muley cow.' (Because mules don't have horns? I don't know.)
12 comments:
Horns, or not, she's adorable!
They're obviously contented cattle, with or without horns.
Fascinating. So the phrase 'poll axed' may have originated with horn removal?
cute pics of the cows...holds about true with life you know....some have horns some dont...smiles...
I hope the cows aren't confused....
That's very interesting, for a city bred gal who's glad to learn a bit about your cows. And bull.
As a kid I was raised on the farm with hereford cattle with horns. It bothered me that the Angus didn't have any. I like seeing all the animals from your herd.
I was reminded of a group of Boy Scouts, all city kids, on an orienteering course in Cades Cove. They came back without one of the flags. We asked them if they hadn't found the post. They had, but it was in a field with "a herd of bulls." They obviously hadn't looked for other anatomical clues.
Happy looking cows- horned or not!
Don't they have beautiful eyes? Have a wonderful week! Cathy
I just love cows. They are so pretty and when I see them laying in the pastures, it looks so serene. Great pictures!
Vicki, not for the first time, you've shown beauty, and also increased our knowledge.
I think that the young of just about any animal or even plant is beautiful, perhaps because of its softness, of its potential to grow. In my senior citizen-dom, I continue to search for beauty in all ages of all that's in our world.
Pollyana?
xo
Post a Comment