Polled or not?

[Issy]

I have a calf that was born at the beginning of June. I have registered her as not polled because neither parent was polled. The cow was A.I.'d and didn't have access to another bull. In August we had our anual TB test and I asked the vet to dis-bud her at the same time - there was nothing there. I have checked her again today and although I can feel lumps under the skin there is just a bald bit where there should be horn. Can anyone offer any suggestions - could she still grow horns? and what do I do about her registration? Any advice would be more than welcome. ???

[Inger]

Sometimes cattle (and sheep and goats) can grow scurs, which is different from horns (its on a different gene). Scurs, if an animal grows them, take much longer to come through than horns would. You would only notice them on a polled animal because if an animal grew horns, it would mask the scurs. So I would still register her as polled. If she were a horned animal, you should be able to feel horn buds by 4 months of age I would think.