Horn color question

[Deleted]

 It seems most horned Dexters I see pictures of have white horns with black tips,
some all white, and some creamy color. Our Dun has deep brown horns and this
has always concerned me, don't know why. Thought the color may change with
age then I saw Genes steer same age as Lucy. I am sure genetics play a roll
but what is the logic if any?

[Deleted]

what age?
when they are young they have a soft coating. As they mature that sheds off to reveal the horns that you are use to seeing in pictures

[genebo]

I have seen more duns with brown horns than with white horns.







And even a number of blacks with gray horns instead of white/black. It does seem to run in families, but not exclusively. I have seen cows with white/black have both colors of horns on their offspring.



Other blacks seem to have the dark color for a varying period of time before changing to white/black. Sometimes stunningly so.

Horns are one of the most expressive things about Dexters. A source of great beuaty, maybe. A sure-fire unique way to identify a Dexter, even from a distance.

A record of the Dexter's health is written in the horn.

[Deleted]

The third picture of Genes post likes alot like
Lucy. She is 16 mo. old.

[jamshundred]

She is not quite old enough to get her "adult" horns.  They change around 2 1/2 to 3 years old and the solid color of the young calf will change to the adult color. I can always tell the age of my calves by the stages of the horn. . . up to about three. Then. . . .they are supposed to be like trees. . . . with the rings telling a story of age but I have not been able to master the skill of reading the older animal's horns yet.

Judy

[lakeportfarms]

I'm perhaps a bit biased, but our girl Sunshine has about the most beautiful horns you've ever seen on a Dexter, though we have another girl, Dolly, that may be a bit better.  I don't have a photo of her horns though....

[Deleted]

They are beautiful and not to be a pest but why three colors?

[jamshundred]

I take lots of photos of horns.   This is Gentle Annie.

[lakeportfarms]

Sept 10, 2014 18:23:42 GMT Blessings Farms said:

They are beautiful and not to be a pest but why three colors?

I don't really know why the three colors, but they're striking aren't they?   I know the breeder and prior owner Ernie, (and we too), take very good care of our cattle, including always having good mineral available for them.  You can see her horns are so smooth they look like they are polished.  They are also a fair bit smaller than a lot of others that I've seen.  Her sisters have similar horns.  The black tips have a blueish tint to them, not really visible in the photo.

[Deleted]

are you referring to the base being darker? if so that is new growth it will turn white as it grows out.

[genebo]

My third picture is Jams Tralee Mahoney. He is a most wonderful little bull. With age, his horns have not lightened in color.

Horns have a lot more uses than just to be beautiful. They are tools similar to a Swiss army knife. A good Dexter can use their horns like a surgeon wields a scalpel. They can open a bale of hay or a gate latch. In 10 years, Brenn has not touched me with his horns, although we work very close together at times.

Horns are defensive weapons. If you have seen the pictures of buffalo herds in a defensive circle against the wolves, tails in and horns out, then you've seen what my herd looked like when the dogs got into the pasture.

They are natural radiators. They have a rich network of small blood vessels in the core and they can regulate the amount of body heat that they radiate from their horns. Tropical breeds tend to have larger horns, providing more cooling.

I like this thread.

[lonecowhand]

I do too! Genebo, What tale does the Dun Cow horned close-up tell? We can see that the newer(base) section is repairing or healthy now...

[genebo]

That is actually a traditional red cow.

The horn grows from the base. A bad experience will leave a reduced section in the horn at the location of the base at the time. Then the horn grows out.

That horn shows a cow that was healthy and well for the first half of her life. The outer half of her horn is beautiful. Then her health was not as good for a while. The next couple of inches are slightly smaller, with rough texture.

A couple of years before this picture was taken, that cow was caught in fence wire and trapped in mud for a few days, ripping her legs and udder. She nearly died. She recovered, but her period of recovery is recorded in her horn.

You can see that her health is good again, by the diameter and texture of the horn near the base. She went on to give birth to a couple of nice calves.

I'd love to see more pictures of horns that tell a story.

[Deleted]

Cattle horns should all be basic same make up , use , ect. So when
we useed to raise herfords I always understood two different shapes of
horns on same cow, usually result of injury or rubbing. Nobody ever
could explain why different shapes though. Exaple Genes striaght,
Judy's arched, Hans's circles almost touching head.

[genebo]

I once visited a farm that had 4 Dexter cows with identical horns, although the cows were different in other regards. The owner explaind that he had bought the 4 cows, and had looked long and hard to find them with exactly the kind of horns he liked best.

I can show you the different lines on my farm, out of different mothers. Their horns are similar, but still unique to each one of them.

My heifer calves either have Bambi horns, Eve horns or Doireann horns, with slight variations.

I had a cow here that had been badly dehorned and had a little stub horn that turned back into her head. I had to remove the stub when she was 2 years old, because it was pressing on her skull.

This is her daughter, wearing the type of horns her mama would have had, if allowed to have them.

[Donlin Dexters]

We have two half sisters (same dam - dehorned) who have exactly the same horn shape and colour.

The left horn tip has a slight downward turn to it and they are positioned more like a bull. Forward before curving inward and they are whiteish, not pure white with ‘faded’ black tips.

Another half sister via same dam is black in colour and horn position is more upwards sweep. Very white with dark black tips.
The fourth half-sister is about to turn 12 months and her horn development is a little slower than others so cant tell position or colour as yet.

The horns are so very interesting. Decided only this morning (after reading Judy’s dehorning post) to have a page on the website with our moos horns at different ages of both sexes with description of their use and purpose.

We would like to get the horn shape, position and colour Dexter perfect but horn consideration is at the very bottom of breeding considerations probably for the next decade.

In the meantime we will just enjoy the variations we have/are going to have.

[lonecowhand]

Donlin dexters, please take some photos of those girls' horns, and add them to Judy's Horn Gallery.

[lonecowhand]

Genebo, which cow daughter is that with the calf, she is a sleek looker! Sorry on the color mistake: colorblind! Where does Jams Traylee Mahoney reside?

[genebo]

That cow daughter is Rose of Paradise, who now resides at Fisher Bee Farm in Pennsylvania, with her daughter Kayla and Rose's new calf, Genie.

That's a pretty set of horns on Rose, don't you think?

[lonecowhand]

No Doubt, those are shore purty. Who has Traylee Mahoney?

[jamshundred]

I believe he lives on the Stewart farm in Virginia.     Here's the link to the Legacy online pedigree program.



legacydextercattleregistry.com/a_results.php    GOT PURPLE? ? ? ?    Every Dexter should wear purple!