Do Female Cows Have Horns? Everything You Need To Know

Cows are an essential addition to livestock.

Whether or not you live on a farm surrounded by cows, there are some facts we think anyone would find fascinating as they are incredible animals. After all, they provide us with our favorite dairy products, such as milk and cheese.

But did you know that these amazing animals also have another extraordinary power? Cows are the only mammals, male or female, to grow horns. This is because their horns represent an extension of their skull bones; no other mammal has a bony horn in the same way a cow does.

After reading this article on the relation between horns and the life of female cows, also check out that do female moose have antlers and do female deer have antlers.

Do female dairy cows have horns?

This article will answer many questions, starting with, 'Do female cows have horns'?

The answer to your question is, yes, female cows are also cows with horns. Especially in a longhorn cow, irrespective of gender, calves (longhorn calves) sprout horns within the first three weeks.

Regardless of gender, a Texas longhorn can have horns up to 100 in (254 cm) in length. These cows are native to Texas, U.S., and therefore this is where they derive their name.

These long horns help it save itself from predators as these cows make an easy target for predators. Surprisingly, though, most of this gender(dairy cows) are dehorned early in life by farmers who keep a herd.

Though their horns may never grow to be very long or sharp, to facilitate more efficient management of their herds, dairy farmers generally prefer that they lack horn growth altogether.

From when the cow is born, it takes about three to four years for her horns to develop fully; therefore, farmers prefer dehorning them as a calf as later it can be painful. They grow slowly in year one but gradually get longer, thicker, and sharper over time.

By the time the cow turns six, its horns are usually fully developed.

With female cows, though, this is not usually the case. While they start outgrowing slower, by the time their horns are fully developed, female cows have longer and thicker horns than male cows.

This difference may be due to a lesser need for males to fight for dominance and mate with females. By the time a female cow reaches the age of three to four years, her horns maybe 2-3 in (5.08-7.6 cm) long and 1 in (2.54 cm) thicker.

They lose their horns by the age of six years, and the growth usually starts again by the age of three years in a female cow. Other cows that grow horns are the Danish Red and the White Park.

Do all female cows have horns?

No, not all dairy cattle grow horns when they mature. Some cow breeds do not develop any significant horn development at all if they are born female. These cows are called polled (pronounced 'pōld'), which is short for naturally polled cattle.

These naturally polled cattle cannot grow horns because these polled cattle carry a naturally occurring gene variant that prevents horn development at all (although they can pass this allele on to their offspring). These cows can be either male or female.

Though it is a fact that female cows have horns just like male cows do, not all dairy breeds have them.

The difference in horned or polled (hornless) cows does not matter, but there is one breed, in particular, that tends to be more naturally hornless than the rest: the Jersey cow. The species of  female cows who have horns are explained below:

Ayrshire: Ayrshire is a breeding dairy cow that can also be used as high-quality beef. These cows can grow short, small horns, but they tend to be more conventional.

Brown Swiss: Brown Swiss are breeding dairy cows, which are also used for high-quality beef. These brown dairy cows tend to have horns that are long, twisty, and large; they only tend to curve back on themselves, though, not pointing forward as the horns of bulls do.

Guernsey: The Guernsey cow is a breeding dairy cow that is also used as high-quality beef. It has a unique coat color and also milk with the highest butterfat content of all male and female cattle breeds.

One characteristic typical of these male and female cattle is their large horns which point straight out from the head to appear almost horizontal.

Holstein-Friesian: These black-and-white spotted cows have been bred for high milk production since 1868 when the breed was first standardized. Their horns are small, pointed, and dark in color, with yellow, white, or light pink rings around the base.

Jersey: Perhaps most famous for their rich milk, these cows have smaller horns than that point inward toward each other instead of out from the head like in some other breeds.

Milking shorthorn: This breed of the dairy cow has short legs and a large udder. They typically have white skin with red or black patches on their skin and also a brownish-red coat that is lighter in young calves than full-grown cattle.

Interestingly, not all female cows grow horns. In some breeds such as Holstein-Friesians (the most common dairy cow), only about 10% will end up growing horns despite both parents having them.

It has been theorized that this may be because hornless animals require less energy spent on calcium regulation of the body. The naturally hornless cows end up calving more easily and produce more milk in their body.

What is dehorning?

Dehorning is the cutting of horns off a cow.

It can be done by several different methods related to stopping the growth of parts of the horn (called 'horn buds') on young cows(calves). Usually, dehorning is done when calves are between one and three months old, as doing it later makes dehorning harder and requires more anesthesia for pain control.

Before dehorning, some farmers like to do blood tests on the herd of cattle because if they have anemia or low levels of white blood cells, this surgery could cause even more long-term problems for cows.

Dehorning is important in preventing injury because bovine horns are sharp and pointed, which could cause injuries such as skin cuts from accidental contact with them. This is why most of the farmers owning a cattle herd make sure that they are dehorned.

Also, there is a risk of concussions, eye injuries, and even death if cows run into each other head-on.

Dehorning should only be done through proper anesthesia, or it can cause permanent pain to the cow. For dairy cows, this is often done with local anesthesia so that they are sedated but still awake during the surgery.

A veterinarian usually performs dehorning on young females before a calf is two years old. There are several methods for making a calf horn-free; the most common include caustic paste, hot-iron branding, and burning where horns will not grow back.

Another technique involves using farm equipment (a dehorn tool) that removes part of the sharp point off of one side of the horn bud that will then never grow horns. This process can be done in several different ways:

Disbudding: When using a hot iron, caustic paste, or rubber bands to cause the horn bud to fail to grow horns, the tissue is burnt off with electric de-horners. Processes related to these are called disbudding.

This process uses a de-horner ( caustic paste, hot iron, or rubber band) to cut off the blood supply so that the horn bud will not develop into horns at all.

Polled: Removing the entire developed horn. It is a critical process to ensure the health and safety of cows.

It is done because they are less likely to cause damage without horns when they fight, play, or when territorial disputes arise. There is also a risk of injury if they accidentally hit an object (or another cow) hard enough with their horn(s) to cause injury.

Also, dehorning prevent injuries such as poked eyes and skin tears from getting dirty.

Is dehorning painful?

Dehorning is painful for young cows both during and after the dehorning procedure; about one-tenth of the animals struggle to escape during dehorning, which can be very stressful since it requires sedation.

There are a few possible reasons why dehorning could be painful. Inflammation could lead to infection due to releasing of cells that are part of the cow's immune system into injured tissue.

Interference with the blood supply to the horn bud causes the death of some cells, which may result in pain for up to three weeks after dehorning if not given adequate analgesics.

Nerve damage via pressure on nerves by surrounding structures due to swelling. Pain receptors remain even if horns are removed because keratin (animal hoofs and human hair) contains information about painful stimuli.

Furthermore, it has been found that the number of nerve endings at or near an injury site can remain unchanged or can increase before an area is healed, resulting in more pain perception than if there were no nerve endings. There may also be discomfort from the anesthesia used in the process.

Prevention/Solution: Consider getting your cow or dairy cattle dehorned if they have problems getting along with other livestock. For dairy cows, this is often done with local anesthesia so that they are sedated but still awake during the surgery.

Before doing this procedure, farmers should do blood tests on cattle because if they have anemia or low levels of white blood cells, this surgery could cause even more long-term problems for cows.

There are several methods for dehorning; the most common ones include caustic paste, hot-iron branding, and burning where horns will not grow back (most popular). Another technique involves using farm equipment (a dehorn tool) that removes part of the sharp point off of one of the horn buds that will never grow horns.

In conclusion, female dairy cows do not have horns compared to males because they are removed very early on by farmers, even before they grow horns out of horn buds.

This prevents future problems such as injuries and potential fights among territorial animals that might damage objects (or other animals) or their bodies when they play on farms as a calf.

It is not uncommon to dehorn the horns of dairy cows. It helps ensure the safety of the cow and allows them to live long, productive lives without causing potential damage to themselves or others when they play on farms as calves.

Research is going on to find noninvasive techniques that could be used in place of dehorning to produce results similar to those from dehorning horns while minimizing pain for cows after removing the horns.

Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly facts for everyone to enjoy! If you liked our suggestions for do female cows have horns, then why not take a look at do elephants have teeth or cow facts?