Do Cattle Have Horns or Antlers?

Dairy cows are born with horns, and the same goes for most dairy cattle, including girls. Cow horns are not like deer horns, as they are an extension of the cow's sinus cavity and help them smell, identify and digest food. Both male and female cattle grow horns and cattle don't lose their horns seasonally. Horns are not the same as antlers, which fall off every year.

If you're new to the world of livestock, it can be difficult to keep bulls, steers, cows and heifers straight. Even though you may have thought that “cow” was a general term used for all livestock in all situations, you'll soon realize that there is a correct terminology. Don't let a bull's horns fool you; the breed of cattle determines if a bull has horns or not. The Museum of Life and Science explains that many dairy breeds have horns in both male and female cattle.

An ox won't be as muscular as a bull. Your shoulders won't be as big or muscular. Another way to differentiate between a bull and a steer is to check if the bovine has testicles. If it does, it's a bull; if it doesn't, it's a steer.

Sometimes it can be difficult to distinguish between steers and heifers. Heifers have a vulva under their tails, while steers don't. Don't rely on the appearance of cattle horns to determine if a cattle is a cow or a bull; instead, look between the animal's hind legs for the best view to determine sex. Cows have udders; bulls have scrotum.

Steers won't have testicles like bulls, but heifers have nipples but no visible udder like cows. Katie, I raise long-horned Texas cattle, and after several years of wondering if my long-horned steers have offspring this year, the answer is yes. You are a brave person trying to explain this and, once you have it all figured out, try to explain why some breeds, bulls and cows, have horns and some breeds don't have horns. So a heifer can become a cow, but never the other way around. A steer used to be a bull, but never a heifer or a cow. I was watching an old “Wells Fargo” western with Dale Robertson, where “steers” were driving, but with them was a young man familiar with “cows”.

Of course, the joke was: “Don't try to milk the steers”.Horns and antlers are terms that are commonly interchanged. Aside from the fact that both are on the head of the animal in question, horns and antlers are actually two very different things. Horns are permanent fixtures on cattle; they don't shed them like deer do with their antlers every year. Horns are an extension of the cow's sinus cavity and help them smell, identify and digest food. Cattle come in many different breeds and sizes; some breeds have horns while others don't.

Dairy breeds usually have horns in both male and female cattle while beef breeds may not have any horns at all. Bulls usually have larger horns than cows or steers do; however, this isn't always true as some breeds may not have any horns at all. It can be difficult to tell if an animal is a bull or steer just by looking at its horns; however, there are other ways to tell them apart such as looking between their hind legs for signs of testicles or nipples on heifers respectively. In conclusion, whether steers have horns or antlers depends on their breed; some breeds may not have any horns at all while others may have both horns and antlers. Bulls usually have larger horns than cows or steers do; however, this isn't always true as some breeds may not have any horns at all.