[sanhestar]

Hi,

I use both horned and polled (no de-horning for me) goats. The polled goats mostly for demonstration or working with small kids, old people (retirement homes) or handicapped people - less danger of someone getting hurt.

But I do like the regal look of an older, horned buck or wether!

 

[sanhestar]

Steve,

I can't wholeheartedly agree with your experience that horned goats are dangerous to people who aren't used to being around goats.

I had in the last two years several groups of people here that didn't have any experience with goats. Most of our herd are horned and the goats act considerate and respectful around the "newcomers". It's more that they drop to a more unrespectful behaviour as soon as they sense that people are used to horns and goats.

The most dangerous goat we had (died last spring) was a hugh, polled Saanen wether who would climb up on people and children and/or try to butt children and adolescents. He had been raised on a chain and hadn't been socialised properly.

 

[sanhestar]

I wonder how much more developed their horns would have become if we'd waited another month or two before castrating? (we opted to do it now because they were really starting to smell "goaty").

Horn development after castration at different ages:

top left: castrated with 2 years, now 4 years old
top right, down left: castrated with 1,5 years
down right in front: castrated with 6 months but now 8 years old

As you can see, the wether that has been castrated with 2 years has already longer horns than the 8 year old wether that has been castrated much younger.

Should you wonder about the arrows pointing - I've posted these pictures on another forum where we were discussing how/if/what one could detect from the growth lines in the horns. I found that all of my late castrated wethers have this "knob" that more or less corresponds to the age (and length of horn) when puberty set in.

 

[sanhestar]

and if you look closely here - this could be a marker of the castration: 3 of these wethers (top right, below right and left) have been castrated approx. 3 months and the one in the foto top left 1,5 years before I took these pictures. If you take the horn growth into consideration, castration could explain why all of them have this mark.