Dehorning

[BlueCoyote 0]

i'm asking this for my mom.

 

she has two yearling goats, both have a decent set of horns... is it too late to de-horn them? is there a safe way to do it?

i only know two methods used on cattle.... one is some kind of goop they smear on the calf's head when horns are just budding. and the other method is a painful procedure that involves something like a very hot ice cream scoop.. so i was told. never seen it done that way, but have seen pictures of the cows after the fact. it looks horrible..

 

my mom said when she was young they paid someone to lop the horns off the goats but didnt see how it was done..

 

 

so.... whats the best method? thanks

[whip 1]

i think you've left it too late,have to do them within a few weeks

[Tis TM 8]

i think you've left it too late,have to do them within a few weeks

 

You can dehorn later, but you need the right equipment....

Firstly, if the horns are well grown you need to cheese wire them off. You need to have someone experienced at this, as its important to get a good momentum going, keeping friction producing heat, which helps to quaterise as you go.

A de horning iron should then be used immediatley after the horn is removed to finish the quaterising, and not stopped till no more blood ouzes/spurts.

You then need to be vidgellent to keep flies off etc, and check for secondary infections..... purple spray works well.

I'm not sure about where you are blue, but over here we also use a local anesthetic which is injected just behind the eye, inbetween the two bones. Lignocain and adreanalin, about 1.5 - 2mls, depending on how big the animal........

[BlueCoyote 0]

well they arent my goats so their horns dont bother me. i personally think they need them around here, just for protection. but my mom is the type to OVER worry and OVER think things. i dont want her to take their horns off because as it is they arent a great danger to her because she isnt working with them 24/7.

they arent huge and in the way like some breeds. at least not yet - but funny as hell when they get their heads caught in the fence trying to ram the pig on the other side- my mom's concern is that if one tried to head butt one of my kids, or if someone bent over the same time the goat brought her head up.. could lose an eye.

my logic is.... you dont run with knives and scissors, and you dont let kids into the goat pen. and you dont bend over an unsecured goat. that should keep everyone safe and sound, right?

 

before posting here i told her just to tape a couple of tennis balls over the points of their horns - like you see on bulls - and be done with it..

 

i agree though. they should have been done when they were still small. spring is just beginning and we're already swarming with flies. with the way my mom runs her schedule there would be infections beyond belief.

 

thanks for info anyway!