# Help Needed with Goats Deformed Horn



## CrazyFarmChick (Jan 23, 2013)

Hello,








Unfortunately, due to a disbudding botch job by a vet we no longer use, 3 or our goats horns grew in and are deformed. These are not your typical spurs..these are thick, sturdy horns which grew in crooked. Two of the goats are OK as the horns are just unsightly but the 3rd goat which I have attached a pic of, is in need of help. This pic was taken of the back of his head to show you where the horn is a problem. Poor guy.

He is a 2 1/2 year old whether..his horns were in a safe position up until he was a year old when suddenly one of them started growing straight down the nape of his neck. Luckily, the end of the horn started turning outward so we didn't have a problem with the tip growing into his neck however as you can see from the picture, the curve of his horn, which has gotten increasingly tighter against his neck is now creating a sore.

We really would love to avoid having his entire horn removed since it is quite thick and since we know this is a gruesome procedure. We feel so bad for him..such a sweet goat and are so angry a so called professional did this to him.

Do you think there is a chance we might be able to notch or file away where the horn is creating the problem just enough to create a space between his neck and the horn?

I'm waiting to hear back from our new and capable vets about this but thought some of you might have similar experiences and suggestions. We have discussed with our new vets previously and they feel a full removal would be the only way to go as they said any attempt to trim or file usually results in the horn cracking and ultimately requiring full removal.

We have been keeping his wound clean and applying triple antibiotic to keep it moist and prevent infection.

Do you think wrapping his horn with surgical gauze of some other soft bandage will help cushion against the wound? It would make the space even tighter but at least it would be soft..
Just worry about him or the other goats getting the gauze off and eating it.

This has to be very painful for him not to mention very annoying to have a horn growing against his neck.

This breaks my heart..


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## CrazyFarmChick (Jan 23, 2013)

sorry..the pic is sideways. This is a pic of the back of his head..his left horn is the one that is severely deformed and growing against his neck then turning outward to the side. Hopefully you can figure out what you're looking at! thanks


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## happybleats (Sep 12, 2010)

I am so sorry the vet did that to him...its not a scur..what the vet did was mess with the growth plate so a full horn came in you go this mess.. if you have a vet now that is trust worthy he can sedate him and remove the horn..but with fly season on the way its risky...you can take a saw wire and trim it at the bend..you will get a ton of bleeding and he will not be cooperative ...but it does need to be trimmed away from his head regardless..I use cayenne pepper on bleeders..but this will bleed alot, not sure if that will be sufficient ..but once it clogs you can clean him up...maybe some one has another idea to stop bleeding..Neops. on his sore will help it heal.


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## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

That horn needs to be trimmed enough so it is not rubbing on his skin at all. Even wrapped, it will rub the skin raw. That is just awful that a vet did that to him.


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## CrazyFarmChick (Jan 23, 2013)

thank you..new vet is trustworthy but if removal is necessary, we will take him to another vet who has a full facility and board him there rather than having the procedure done in our barn. We REALLY do not want to venture down that path of removing the whole horn. Hoping it can be filed away to make more space though I understand it's not the ideal solution...and worried still about the ability to do this since it is just so tight there ..can't imagine there's room enough to get a tool in there..we can barely fit our fingers between his horn and neck....we have been monitoring it for over a year now and just the other day discovered the sore that has developed. This really sucks. So angry at the vet who did this. What do you think about wrapping gauze around the bend as a buffer to soften the impact in the meantime? I think it will stay on since it will be secure on the bend ..just worried that another goat will manage to chew it off or that he will be aware of it and rub it making an even bigger mess. Guess it's worth a try..?


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## crocee (Jul 25, 2008)

The ONLY way to stop the bleeding this horn removal would cause would be cauterizing it with a super RED HOT iron or branding plate. I'm not sure I would be trying this one at home unless I was very experienced in the horn removal of cattle. 

Something else you might try would to see if you can get the larger castration bands and place a couple as low to the head as possible. Tape them securely so they can't roll upwards. The horn should die and fall off in a month or so. It will still be a bloody mess but not quite as bad as just cutting it off. Personally I think this would be the route to go if you can't find a vet or rancher to do the above.


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## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

You can try it. It probably will need to be removed though. It is too thick to keep trimming and you don't want the constant wound either.


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## happybleats (Sep 12, 2010)

either way flies are going to be an issue but a skilled vet might be your best best..I agree..not something I would do in the barn...


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## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

Actually, with the banding the flies shouldn't be too much of a problem. I banded my adult Alpine/Nubian mix and it went through the summer and there was no blood or discharge so no flies.


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## CrazyFarmChick (Jan 23, 2013)

Whatever we decide to do will be done by a skilled vet..and if drastic measures are needed, it will be done in a full facility where he can be boarded and cared for around the clock by an experienced staff. We are a community farm managed entirely by volunteers who, including myself, do not have homesteading backgrounds and rely on the knowledge acquired through forums like this and through qualified vets and other professionals. And again, the vet who did this turned out NOT to be very qualified which really infuriates us. We are so careful to do right by our animals and for something like this to happen due to irresponsible vet practices really angers me. In hindsight, would not even have had the procedure done at all..we were advised to disbudding given that we have a mix of horned and hornless goats (the moms were disbudded properly by the previous owners) and because we were told it would be too dangerous having goats with horns given that we must safely enter the barn and interact with the animals. Now they still have horns but are causing even bigger problems and risks to the goats including this sore and the fact that when they play and headbutt, there's a good chance horns will get tangled up and break off in the process give their deformities. 
Enough venting from me..it's not going to help our poor guy..but your input and insight has..so thank you all!


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## CrazyFarmChick (Jan 23, 2013)

Just heard from our vets..they are going to tranquilize him and cut his horn back as much as they can until it's no longer interfering with his neck and range of motion..it will likely have to be done over time and even once its resolved, will need to be trimmed again in the future . I feel a lot better trying this approach before the more dramatic full removal. 
Any thoughts or similiar experiences on this?


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## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

Do what you have to do. Sounds like a good plan.


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## nancy d (Oct 5, 2007)

Sounds like you have a good handle on this now. Glad you now have an experienced vet involved!
Due to genetics, horns can grow so they rub into the neck & irritate it.


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## happybleats (Sep 12, 2010)

sounds like you vet knows whats he talking about...: ) good thoughts your way


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## CrazyFarmChick (Jan 23, 2013)

Thank you everyone..the wound has healed up thanks to the antibiotic ointment and wrapping his horn with a gauze pad which provides a cushion but we still have to address this..got two diff opinions..as mentioned before our vet feels it can be trimmed in increments while the vet who has the full facility feels based on the pic alone that the whole horn will likely need to be removed..one more question while I wait to have a live conversation with our vets..does the blood line recede each time you trim a horn back the way it does when you trim animal's claws? I'm assuming this is the thought behind our vets recommendation..am going to confirm when we speak..so far have only discussed via texts.. In meantime, curious on your insight to this.
Thanks!


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