# Did I wait too long to disbud?



## BeckyD

My kids were born on April 13th (a doeling and a buckling) and the buckling has pronounced horn buds already - at least a half an inch long! Did I wait too long to disbud? And if so, what are my options? I don't live close to a vet who will do disbudding or dehorning (that I've been able to find) so I must do this on my own. The doeling is just starting to get little buttons so I think I'm okay with her.

I also have a wether I purchased in Jan when I got my pregnant doe and he has 1-inch scurs that have grown inward (pointed toward each other) from both horn bases since we got him. The previous owner told me to just leave them, that they would fall off on their own when he head-butted other goats or rubbed them on something... but that's not happening. In fact, from what I've read, they can become problematic if I don't take care of them. So far they aren't poking him or anything like that but he does bump them periodically and a little blood flows. Can I just band them with elastrator bands?


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## StaceyRosado

yes you can dis bud the one younger kid BUT you have ot hold the iron longer and be sure to go all teh way through to the skull. 

sounds like the wether has scurs growing from a bad disbud job. Yes you can band them. Get real close to the base of the horns


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## KW Farms

I agree with Stacey. And when doing disbudding...it's best to do it as soon as you feel the little buds coming up. :thumb:


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## AlaskaBoers

agree


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## BeckyD

Thank - I'll take care of things this weekend!


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## Squires

you might try applying the iron as usual, wait to let it cool off again, apply again, wait to let cool again, and maybe a third time. I don't yet own an iron, and no one around here would tackle the buds once you could see them (people here prefer to do it at about 2-3 days of age). So I took the kid to a vet. They just gave it something to make it woozy and forgetful, and did the iron about three times. 

You want to let the head cool a minute or two between heatings, so that you don't broil the brain. Some people put ice -- the vets just waited a little. They were two large-animal vets and it was a novelty for them to hold something as tiny as a month old Nigie kid, but the dog and cat vets were too squeamish about dehorning irons, so the large animal vets decided that they should do it. In addition, I asked that they take a scalpel and try to scrape off the bud "cap" -- they got one, missed the other - -they had never heard of this, but when I was in 4H decades ago, it was considered essential to get the bud itself, which was like a burnt skin cap over the bud or including the bud. So . . . Later I saw a scab on a bud, pulled it off -- it was the "cap" that I remember from old days. Kid is now four months old and no horns or scurs. I really think it is important to make sure that the skin around the bud and any cap of skin on the bud is totally destroyed -- and removed. 

I have another kid I forgot to take to get dehorned -- will go back to the vets and let them see their handiwork on the first kid and do it again on this kid. Worth $30 again to have a good working relationship with these vets. BUT I will be buying my own deh9rning iron before the next kidding.

I think you could do it just fine yourself - just give the head a minute to cool off and repeat. Get it good the first time, and you won't be going back for scurs on a later date.


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## KW Farms

Since the kid in question is nearly 4 weeks old...I really would discourage trying to disbud it right now....it's very late to do so. Now a vet could do it surgically or you could band the horns later on, but disbudding by hot iron at this point wouldn't be a good idea.


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## peggy

I have to agree.....I think 4 weeks is too late to disbud. You would have to hold the iron too long because the horn bud is so developed and it could cause damage to the brain plus it may not take and you would have done it for nothing. Best to band. Just my opinion.


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## Squires

NO, seriously, you can disbud with a hot iron when the buds are visible, but, you need to do it two or three times in the same session. You avoid frying the brain by giving it a rest for a minute or two to cool off between applications. As distasteful and stressful as it is, it is worth doing something IMMEDIATELY.

Even surgical removal at a few weeks of age is nothing compared to what needs to be done in a few months when the bud has grown down into the sinuses, and then the sinus cavities grow up into the horn. That can be a nasty mess and DOES require a veterinary surgeon. 

If you are unfamiliar with this, then take it to your vet and let them make the call. If they do not do many goat kids, or have been getting a lot of scurs, remind them to make sure they get it good THIS time to avoid the stress of having to come back for scurs.

DO NOT DELAY.

If you do try the banding, a person who has done it a lot tells me to use a file or something to make a notch in the horn at skin level, so the band or dental floss or whatever you use does not slip. It has to stay in place for a long time in order to do the job.

Just a thought.

Chris


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## freedomstarfarm

I don't know much about this since my kids are done very young but I do know that the iron would have to fit over and around the bud.


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