The horns of a goat are composed of bone, skin, keratin or epidermis?

Question

The horns of a goat are composed of bone, skin, keratin or epidermis?

Answer 1

I raise meat goats.  We have goats butchered on our farm every week.  I've seen the anatomy of more goats than I can shake a stick at.

When goats horns grow, part of the skull (bone) also grows up, in the same shape as the horns.  This is covered over by the part of the horn that you can see.  That part is called keratin.  Just like your fingernails, but much thicker, and stonger.  Goats horns are living.  They also have blood and nerve vessels under the keratin.

No epidermis on goats horns.  Epidermis is skin.

~Garnet

Permaculture homesteading/farming over 20 years

Raising meat goats since 1999

Answer 2

agreed with keratin

Answer 3

The horn of goats is different from that of deer; deer may shed the horns and are made like fingernails. Goat horns however are made as extensions of the frontal skull lobe, and contain their own blood supply, not so with deer or thick fingernails.  Taking horns off an adult goat is a very dangerous operation, when then remove the horns you can actually see down into the sinus (yes the nasal cavilty like when you get a cold this part gets stuffy). People have had luck placing bands around the base of horn to slowly cut off blood supply and it closes slowly and is less traumatic. See sources below for pix and explanations.

Answer 4

bone , cartilage

Answer 5

keratin, thats what hair and nails are made of too =]

Answer 6

Keratin.