Polled Holsteins

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Polled Holsteins are cattle born without horns but only occur in a small portion of Holstein cattle. The Holstein breed can go through selective breeding to produce polled calves. Polled is a natural trait for Holsteins but have not been bred for specifically. That is why a very small percentage of Holsteins are naturally polled. [1] Bulls and cows can both carry the polled trait and pass it on to the progeny. [2] Previous testing for polledness were not completely accurate because it was not looking for the gene directly until later discovered. [3] Polled, also known as ‘hornless’ can result in the growth of scurs which are small loose horn growths that do not develop. [4]

Contents

Origins

One of the first polled Holstein was a bull named ‘Lophelias Prince’ born in April, 1889. He was found in Massachusetts, US. This particular bull was the first recorded but there had been reports of polled Holsteins previous to the records. Not fully aware of this trait, polled Holsteins were often classed differently than horned Holsteins. [1] After being recognized, polled Holsteins became more popular in European countries then in America. [5] Most of polled Holsteins living today originated from Elevation Sophia EX93 from Pennsylvania, US born in 1974. [6]

Genetics

In Holsteins the polled trait is a dominant allele over the horned trait. Thirteen single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) are connected to the polled trait in Holsteins. [7] SNPs went through polymerase chain reactions and digestion to determine that SNP AC000158 is highly correlated with polled Holsteins. [8] If a Holstein is horned it has two copies of the recessive gene which can only be achieved when working with horned parents both carrying the recessive gene. A test cost $80 to check for polledness in a Holstein and can be sent to the Holstein Canada laboratory, [9] or $25 if sent to the Veterinary Genetics Laboratory in California. [10] Holsteins only carrying one copy of the dominant allele and one copy of the recessive allele will still be a carrier of polledness to pass on to the progeny and will express polledness themselves. [11] Any homozygous dominant bull carrying two copies of the polled allele will have polled progeny. [10]

Reasons for polling

Polled Holsteins are becoming more popular and frequently seen. Farmers understand the polled trait more and often benefit from having polled Holsteins in their herd. [12] Horned Holsteins require dehorning at a few months of age to prevent growth of horns which can pose a threat to farmers and cattle handlers. Dehorning costs about $2 per calf. [13] Holsteins with horns can also be more aggressive to fellow cows and cause severe injury to other cows within proximity. Dehorning Holstein calves costs money so having polled cows will save money. [14] Another reason farmers prefer polled Holsteins is for the consumers. Consumers view dehorning as a painful process to calves and often animal welfare issues may arise or public intervention. Having polled Holsteins removes stress of consumers which ultimately benefits farmers. [11]

Development of polled strains

Polled Holsteins were not fully recognized in the 1800s and were often placed in different categories then horned Holsteins. When record keeping began, polled Holsteins became more aware of and the understanding of the polled trait grew. The first polled Holstein sires used for artificial insemination (AI) started in the early to mid 1900s. [1] After polledness was understood, farmers bred to these polled sires. Burket Falls Holsteins bred and got Burket Falls Elevation Sophia, a polled black & white Holstein. This particular cow has more than eight generations of polled progeny that has been spread through numerous farms. [11] She herself had two daughters, Magnetic Susette, and Ca-lil Silver-ET and a bull Dispacher-ET. [15] Both daughters produced calves and the son sired 400 calves. [16] Having this specific polled Holstein with a large number of progeny greatly increased the amount of polled Holsteins present in the dairy industry and AI industry today. [1] 38 polled bulls born between 1995 and 2004 were found in the artificial insemination breeding database in 2009. These bulls have polled progeny so the number of polled calves continues to increase. [17]

Geography

Polled Holsteins are not very common today but are expected to increase rapidly. In the USA polled registered female Holsteins increased by a factor of 10 and in 20 years is expected to have 50% of heifer calves being born polled. [5] Polled Holsteins had been seen more regularly in countries such as Germany, Egypt and Great Britain before accumulating in the Americas. [18]

See also

Related Research Articles

An allele is one of two, or more, forms of a given gene variant. For example, the ABO blood grouping is controlled by the ABO gene, which has six common alleles. Nearly every living human's phenotype for the ABO gene is some combination of just these six alleles. An allele is one of two, or more, versions of the same gene at the same place on a chromosome. It can also refer to different sequence variations for several-hundred base-pair or more region of the genome that codes for a protein. Alleles can come in different extremes of size. At the lowest possible size an allele can be a single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP). At the higher end, it can be up to several thousand base-pairs long. Most alleles result in little or no observable change in the function of the protein the gene codes for.

Red Poll Dual-purpose cattle breed

The Red Poll is a dual-purpose breed of cattle developed in England in the latter half of the 19th century. The Red Poll is a cross of the Norfolk Red beef cattle and Suffolk Dun dairy cattle breeds.

Holstein Friesian cattle Breed of dairy cattle

Holstein Friesians are a breed of dairy cattle originating from the Dutch provinces of North Holland and Friesland, and Schleswig-Holstein in Northern Germany. They are known as the world's highest-production dairy animals.

Dairy cattle Cattle bred to produce milk

Dairy cattle are cattle bred for the ability to produce large quantities of milk, from which dairy products are made. Dairy cattle generally are of the species Bos taurus.

Ayrshire cattle Breed of cattle

Ayrshire cattle are a breed of dairy cattle from Ayrshire in southwest Scotland. The adult Ayrshire cow weighs from 450 to 600 kilograms. Ayrshires typically have red and white markings; the red can range from a shade of orange to a dark brown. They are known for their hardiness and their ability to convert grass into milk efficiently. The breed's strengths today are traits of easy calving and longevity.

Limousin cattle French breed of cattle

The Limousin, French: Limousine, is a French breed of beef cattle from the Limousin and Marche regions of France. It was formerly used mainly as a draught animal, but in modern times is reared for beef. A herd book was established in France in 1886. With the mechanisation of agriculture in the twentieth century, numbers declined. In the 1960s there were still more than 250 000 head, but the future of the breed was not clear; it was proposed that it be merged with the other blonde draught breeds of south-western France – the Blonde des Pyrénées, the Blonde de Quercy and the Garonnaise – to form the new Blonde d'Aquitaine. Instead, a breeders' association was formed; new importance was given to extensive management, to performance recording and to exports. In the twenty-first century the Limousin is the second-most numerous beef breed in France after the Charolais. It is a world breed, raised in about eighty countries round the world, many of which have breed associations.

Polled livestock Hornless livestock

Polled livestock are livestock without horns in species which are normally horned. The term refers to both breeds and strains that are naturally polled through selective breeding and also to naturally horned animals that have been disbudded. Natural polling occurs in cattle, yaks, water buffalo, and goats, and in these animals it affects both sexes equally; in sheep, by contrast, both sexes may be horned, both polled, or only the females polled. The history of breeding polled livestock starts about 6000 years BC.

Shetland cattle Breed of cattle

The Shetland, known natively in the Scots language as Shetland kye is a small, hardy Scottish breed of cattle from the Shetland Islands to the north of mainland Scotland. The cattle are normally black and white in colour but there are smaller numbers in grey, red and dun.

Livestock dehorning The process of removing the horns of livestock

Dehorning is the process of removing the horns of livestock. Cattle, sheep, and goats are sometimes dehorned for economic and safety reasons. Disbudding is a different process with similar results; it cauterizes and thus destroys horn buds before they have grown into horns. Disbudding is commonly performed early in an animal's life, as are other procedures such as docking and castration.

Australian Friesian Sahiwal Dairy cattle breed

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A scur is an incompletely developed horn growth. In cattle, scurs are not attached to the skull, whereas horns are attached and have blood vessels and nerves. Scurs may also occur in sheep.

Canadienne cattle Breed of cattle

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Black Hereford (crossbreed) Breed of cattle

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Norwegian Red Breed of cattle

Norwegian Red is a breed of dairy cattle developed in Norway since 1935. Since the 1970s, breeders strongly emphasized functional and production traits resulting in excellent production combined with world-leading performance in health and fertility traits. Norwegian Red cows can have either a red and white or black coat and have a high proportion of genetically polled animals.

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Bull Male individual of cattle

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Swedish Friesian Breed of cattle

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Red Brangus Cattle breed

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Specht, Larry W. "Polled Holstein History". Pennsylvania State University.
  2. ↑ Hunt, Murray. "Polled dairy genetics: the cold hard facts". The Bullvine.
  3. ↑ Van Doormaal, B. "Selection for polled dairy cattle". Canadian Dairy Network.
  4. ↑ Dorshorst, B. "New tools for breeding polled Holsteins" (PDF).
  5. 1 2 Dorshorst, B. "Half of Holstein heifer calves could be polled by 2034". Progressive Dairyman.
  6. ↑ Hunt, M. "From the sidelines to the headlines, polled is going mainline". The Bullvine.
  7. ↑ Cargill, E. J.; Nissing, N.; Grosz, M. D. (December 2008). "Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms Concordant with the Horned/Polled Trait in Holsteins". BMC Research Notes. 1 (1): 128. doi: 10.1186/1756-0500-1-128 . PMC   2615027 . PMID   19063733.
  8. ↑ Glatzer, S.; Merten, N. J.; Dierks, C.; Wohlke, A.; Philipp, U.; Distl, O. (June 2013). "A Single Nucleotide Polymorphism within the Interferon Gamma Receptor 2 Gene Perfectly Coincides with Polledness in Holstein Cattle". PLOS ONE. 8 (6): 67992. Bibcode:2013PLoSO...867992G. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0067992 . PMC   3689702 . PMID   23805331.
  9. ↑ Crowley, C. (March 2013). "Rewarding for Excellence in Breeding". Info Holstein (120).
  10. 1 2 Anon. "Veterinary Genetics Laboratory". UC Davis Veterinary Medicine.
  11. 1 2 3 Medugorac, I.; Seichter, D.; Graf, A.; Russ, I.; Blum, H.; Gopel, K. H.; Rothammer, S.; Forster, M.; Krebs, S. (2012). "Bovine Polledness". PLOS ONE. 7 (6): e39477. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0039477 . PMC   3380827 . PMID   22737241.
  12. ↑ O'Leary, F. "Polled Dairy Cattle Grow In Popularity" (PDF). Dairy & Livestock.
  13. ↑ Hendricks, F. "Polled Dairy Cattle".
  14. ↑ Meyer, C. "The pros & cons of polled genetics". Alta-Dairy Basics.
  15. ↑ Anon. "Burket-Falls Elevation Sophia HOUSAF8900345". Holstein Canada.
  16. ↑ Anon. "Burket-Falls Dispacher ET HOCANM370071". Holstein Canada.
  17. ↑ Windig, J. J.; Hoving-Bolink, R. A.; Veerkamp, R. F. (September 2015). "Breeding for polledness in Holstein cattle". Livestock Science. 179: 96–101. doi:10.1016/j.livsci.2015.05.021.
  18. ↑ Schafberg, R.; Swalve, H. H. (2015). "The history of breeding for polled cattle". Livestock Science. 179: 54–70. doi:10.1016/j.livsci.2015.05.017.
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