The percentage of polled cattle in the Canadian Holstein herd is about 10 times greater than a decade ago.
Genetic selection for polled dairy cattle, cows born without horns, has significantly increased over recent years improving animal welfare and calf management on dairy farms. While the recent update to the Code of Practice for the Care and Handling of Dairy Cattle provides several requirements for the safe and effective removal of buds or horns to minimize animal stress, it also strongly encourages breeding cows to polled sires. Leveraging polled genetics avoids the need for disbudding or dehorning and the associated costs, making it a desirable trait to many producers.
In the last decade, the proportion of Canadian Holsteins estimated to be carriers has risen from 1.5 per cent to roughly 12.5 per cent. This has largely been driven by the increased availability of polled sires in artificial insemination that also rank high genetically.
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In the Canadian Jersey population, the upward trend began in the 1980s, peaking at 7.5 per cent in 2018.
This spike, however, has since declined in recent years due to a reduced number of high-merit polled Jersey sires. For Ayrshires, the rise in polled gene carriers began more recently, in 2013.
The growth for these breeds is partly driven by the widespread adoption of genomic testing, which includes polled status as part of the standard genotyping package, making it simple and cost-effective to identify carriers. Additionally, more polled sires have appeared on the top LPI and Pro$ lists. This has provided producers with additional opportunities to select high-ranking polled sires that align with economic breeding goals.
Inheritance of polled
The rise in polled carriers is also because the dominant inheritance of the polled gene makes selection for polled animals much quicker than genetic conditions controlled by a recessive gene. This means animals that have either one or two copies of the polled gene will be polled (hornless).
Moreover, once an animal is DNA tested and confirmed to carry two copies of the polled gene (POS), 100 per cent of its progeny will be polled, regardless of the polled status of the mate. This is the case for the April 2025 #7 LPI sire, Stantons Remover PP.
How to increase polled calves in your herd
With the increase demand for hornless sires, AI companies have expanded their offerings of polled sires without sacrifing selection for other traits. For example, nine out of the top 100 LPI Holstein sires were polled in the April 2025 genetic evaluation release.
Most of these sires, however, carry only one copy of the polled gene, which means not all progeny will be polled. For producers aiming to establish a completely polled herd, a continuous use of polled sires carrying two copies of the polled gene is optimal. Over time, as the polled gene frequency increases in the herd, other bulls may be used depending on the specific mating combination.
Because the number of high-ranking homozygous, or two copies of the gene sires is still relatively small, relying heavily on them without careful planning can narrow the genetic diversity of your herd. If polled genetics is part of your breeding strategy, it is important to monitor inbreeding levels and balance selection with other economically important traits.
Scurs vs. polled
Some polled cattle may also have scurs, but these should not be mistaken as normal horns. Cattle with scurs have horn growths that are loose and not attached to the skull. Scurs are controlled by a different gene than the one controlling horns.
Horned animals may carry the scurs gene and pass it on to their offspring, but scurs are only visible in polled animals that carry one copy of the polled gene. The presence of scurs on some polled animals can therefore lead to some confusion but they should be reported as polled.
Summary
The integration of polled genetics into breeding programs has increased in the past decade, representing a meaningful step forward in improving animal welfare and management practices. As the availability of high-ranking polled sires continues to grow, producers have more opportunities to select for this trait without compromising performance. By combining thoughtful sire selection with genomic tools and a long-term breeding vision, dairy producers can successfully incorporate polled genetics into their herds.
The writers are with Lactanet Canada.
