Unterscheiden sich die Schädelformen von behornten und unbehornten Kühen?

Summary

173 skulls of Swiss Brown dairy cows (horned=65, disbudded=165) were osteometrically sized. The greatest post-orbital width and the longitudinal height of the foreheads were recorded. The shape of the frontal bone was scaled into three categories: waveform, pointed, and straight. There was no significant influence of age on skull narrowness. More narrow skulls could be observed in dehorned cows than in horned cows. Dehorned cows had more pointed skull shapes, less waveform shapes, and less straight skulls. Whether these anatomic variances affect the wellbeing of cattle and how this alteration is exactly proceeding during growth should be examined in further studies.