Norwegian Red – for profitable, polled genetics

While dehorning may be a routine operation on most dairy farms, there are significant costs associated with dehorning. These costs vary a great deal depending on the size of dairy, personnel employed to do the dehorning and equipment utilized. The most difficult cost to ascertain is the setback a calf goes through resulting from dehorning. Dehorning cattle via genetics using polled sires is a cost effective and animal welfare appropriate practice.

Homozygous polled (PP) NRF bull, 10553 Nordbø, is currently available internationally. Two additional homozygous polled bulls are available in some markets: 10632 Naxbie and 10558 Skjenaust. Every mating to these  bulls will dehorn all calves genetically. 

Dehorning by insemination

In cattle, horns are inherited as an autosomal recessive gene, polledness being dominant. Homozygous for the polled condition refers to a bull carrying two copies of the polled gene leaving all offspring hornfree. Because the polled condition is a dominant trait, all calves born to homozygous polled bulls will be horn free. One mating to a polled sire results in a minimum 50% hornless calves and could be 100%, if the bull is homozygous polled. These are much quicker results than breeding to get a red calf, for instance

The polled gene in the Norwegian Red population comes from three of the 8 local Norwegian breeds that were merged together over 75 years ago.

Utilize Norwegian Red sires in your dairy crossbreeding program for:

• Improved fertility
• Increased survival
• Improved mastitis resistance
• Improved calving performance
• Improved resistance to other diseases
• Increased percentages of fat and protein

10553 Nordbø daughter in Norway. All Nordbø's offspring will be polled.

Photo: Elly Geverink