Reasons We Disbud:
1. Safety for the other goats in the herd. When horned goats fight, head-butting into their side can mean death. Horns also tear up udders.
2. Safety for the goats themselves, because they can get their horns caught in a fence and die.
3. Safety for the people. A goat can unintentionally swing its horns into someone's face, especially a child's and cause major damage.
4. Horns are not allowed in show rings (for safety reasons, both human and goat.)
5. Disbudding is so much nicer than a de-horning. A de-horning is done to full grown horns and basically involves cutting them off at the base and cauterizing the bleeding. It takes months to heal and the skin to grow back.
6. Goats with horns often use them to destroy fencing or gates or shelters. They have a lot of strength behind those hard horns.
Reasons against disbudding that DON'T apply to us:
1. Our goats have plenty of shade from buildings and trees, so they don't need their horns to cool off.
2. Our property is well-fenced and wild predators are not an issue for our area, so our goats do not need their horns to protect themselves.
1. Safety for the other goats in the herd. When horned goats fight, head-butting into their side can mean death. Horns also tear up udders.
2. Safety for the goats themselves, because they can get their horns caught in a fence and die.
3. Safety for the people. A goat can unintentionally swing its horns into someone's face, especially a child's and cause major damage.
4. Horns are not allowed in show rings (for safety reasons, both human and goat.)
5. Disbudding is so much nicer than a de-horning. A de-horning is done to full grown horns and basically involves cutting them off at the base and cauterizing the bleeding. It takes months to heal and the skin to grow back.
6. Goats with horns often use them to destroy fencing or gates or shelters. They have a lot of strength behind those hard horns.
Reasons against disbudding that DON'T apply to us:
1. Our goats have plenty of shade from buildings and trees, so they don't need their horns to cool off.
2. Our property is well-fenced and wild predators are not an issue for our area, so our goats do not need their horns to protect themselves.
First of all, we have the luxury of being able to sedate (xylazine) and nerve block (lidocaine) or numb their heads while we disbud, so we can place the iron exactly where we want it and they don't scream or even flinch. Sedation means they are asleep, as you can see in the pictures. The nerve block means they don't feel it. We also give a painkiller for when they wake up (Banamine.)
Unfortunately all of that requires a veterinarian and one who knows the correct drugs and dosages for goats as well as where to correctly place the nerve blocks.
We also tattoo at the same time.
We recommend burning bucks at 5-7 days old and doelings at 7-14 days old. Sometimes we have disbudded as late as 2-3 weeks old and if they are does or wethers, you may get away with that. It's not so much how old they are as making sure you burn a wide enough area. However, the smaller the horn buds, the less surface area you have to burn. If you can feel them, you can burn them.
Horns grow because of the blood supply in the skin around the base of the horn. If you kill the skin, you kill the blood supply and the horns can't grow.
To kill the skin, you want a nice copper color, but that usually only means 4-8 seconds max on each side with the iron.
When you cut off the horn bud, after burning, it shouldn't bleed. If it does, you haven't burned long enough somewhere around that bud.
For most bucks I've seen with scurs, people aren't burning in front of the bud. It's kind of like a figure 8 when we are done. But there's a ridge that comes out from the horn bud and goes towards the front of the head. You have to burn that whole ridge.
To prevent tetanus, it is recommended that you vaccinate your dams at 3-5 weeks before they are due. Only 1 booster is needed if they have already been vaccinated. If not, go ahead and give one dose, then a second that corresponds with 3-5 weeks before they are due to kid. This ensures the colostrum provides tetanus immunity to the kids. Then kids need their CD&T vaccines at 5, 8, and 12 weeks old.
If you have kids whose dams were not vaccinated, you can either give "tetanus antitoxin" which provides immediate immunity (but is hard to find) or you can give a CD&T vaccine (and a booster 3 weeks later) and hope for the best.
Unfortunately all of that requires a veterinarian and one who knows the correct drugs and dosages for goats as well as where to correctly place the nerve blocks.
We also tattoo at the same time.
We recommend burning bucks at 5-7 days old and doelings at 7-14 days old. Sometimes we have disbudded as late as 2-3 weeks old and if they are does or wethers, you may get away with that. It's not so much how old they are as making sure you burn a wide enough area. However, the smaller the horn buds, the less surface area you have to burn. If you can feel them, you can burn them.
Horns grow because of the blood supply in the skin around the base of the horn. If you kill the skin, you kill the blood supply and the horns can't grow.
To kill the skin, you want a nice copper color, but that usually only means 4-8 seconds max on each side with the iron.
When you cut off the horn bud, after burning, it shouldn't bleed. If it does, you haven't burned long enough somewhere around that bud.
For most bucks I've seen with scurs, people aren't burning in front of the bud. It's kind of like a figure 8 when we are done. But there's a ridge that comes out from the horn bud and goes towards the front of the head. You have to burn that whole ridge.
To prevent tetanus, it is recommended that you vaccinate your dams at 3-5 weeks before they are due. Only 1 booster is needed if they have already been vaccinated. If not, go ahead and give one dose, then a second that corresponds with 3-5 weeks before they are due to kid. This ensures the colostrum provides tetanus immunity to the kids. Then kids need their CD&T vaccines at 5, 8, and 12 weeks old.
If you have kids whose dams were not vaccinated, you can either give "tetanus antitoxin" which provides immediate immunity (but is hard to find) or you can give a CD&T vaccine (and a booster 3 weeks later) and hope for the best.
Equipment links:
- Disbudding Iron- https://www.jefferspet.com/x-50-electric-calf-dehorner/p
- 1/2" adaptor tip (do NOT get the pygmy size; it's too small) - https://www.jefferspet.com/1-4-adapter-tip-for-the-x-50a/p?skuId=16397
- tattoo kit - https://www.jefferspet.com/300-pet-tattoo-4/p?sku=STT5
- green ink - https://www.jefferspet.com/green-tattoo-paste-1-oz/p?sku=5IG2
- tattoo letters - https://www.jefferspet.com/300-set-of-letters-a-z/p - don't forget to get extra letters for your herd tattoo and the year.
This picture (above) shows the frontal ridge coming out from the horn bud. If you shave them before you burn, it's really obvious. However, their hair protects their skin from blistering. So we don't shave anymore; we just feel for the ridge with our fingers.
1. First burn right around the horn bud in the pictures below. Notice the nice copper color. Don't press down; let the weight of the iron do the burning. To kill the skin, you want a nice copper color, but that usually only means 4-8 seconds max on each side with the iron.
2. Now we cut off the horn bud. I don't know if that's necessary but it usually shows you if you burned long enough if it bleeds. You can use your iron to stop the bleeding or touch up an area that is not copper colored.
3. For breeding bucklings and older babies that have a strong ridge in front of the horn bud: These two pictures show the second burn or "figure 8." But you also have to burn all the skin in between the two rings because that skin can also cause horn growth. Occasionally we have found little knobs of horn that got missed between the two rings.
4. Then we also burn another ring towards the back and center that is supposed to burn the scent glands so the bucks aren't as stinky. I honestly don't know that they stink less. But I will try anything to keep the smell down. Lol.
For wethers and does and really small kids, we often don't need to burn such a large area. The picture above shows a much younger kid's head when finished.