# dehorning at 8 and 12 weeks old?



## Cinder

I found two adorable little Nigerian Dwarfs kids yesterday. A wether and a doeling, they both have little horns about 1/2 inch long. I've heard conflicting info on being able to dehorn/disbud them at this age and with that long of horns already. I do not want goats with horns as I have young children.

Can they safely be dehorned now or not? I have to decide today if I want them.


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## sweetgoats

I do not dehorn at all, but I have heard that it has to be done like two weeks old. 
Others will tell you for sure.


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## StaceyRosado

probably not. The chances of actually having a sucessful disbudding are very rare past a couple weeks (if even that long).

you can dehorn them - vet can do it surgically or you can do it with elastrator bands.


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## RunAround

I would say to look for some other goats. It will be very traumatizing for them if you try to disbudd them now.


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## Duchesse

Wait! Kiddings are about to begin :leap: . You will surely find two disbudded kids.


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## goathappy

The doe, actually yes you can disbud that late. My friend bought a doeling last year that was that old and the horns were that long, we disbudded the doe like a buck(counting one thousand and one to one thousand and ten) and she just got a little scur back and thats it. Now the wether I'm not sure about.


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## Hailee's Herd

I got two Pygmys a few years ago when they were two months old. They had disbudded them when they were about 1 month old. Not too long after I got them one of them died. I think that disbudding them too late may cause brain damage, according to something I read on the Internet awhile ago. The people who disbudded her were also not experienced and it was the first time they ever had done it. Then I got another Pygmy off of them, and she was somewhere from 2 to 3 months old. She had long horns, so I didn't get her disbudded, mostly because my vet wouldn't do it becuase it required surgery. So, she grew long horns and was really mean with them. I gave her away to a place with bigger goats that she couldn't hurt.
Hope that helped some, sorry I got a little off topic.


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## liz

I don't dis bud unless it's requested and then someone else does it. All of my goats except the registered nigi's have horns, very majestic and impressive too(imo) and I have not had any issues with aggressiveness towards me or any other person, now goats will make a point to each other as to who's the herd queen and in your case a wether is a doe when with other does, they will spar with one another. I had been told that they can be burned later provided the tip is snipped off and the tip of the iron fits around the button. You have just as much a possibility of scurs with the doe as you would the wether, depending on how old he was when neutered.


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## goatnutty

I got my doe at 8 wks old and had her dehorned them.I'm glad I did that and we had know complications.


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## jazlyn

I hade a pygmy kid that we had disbuded at 7 weeks old. Her horns hadn't come through yet though. We thought she was polled until she was around 6 and a half weeks old. She is fine and is now 14mo with no scurs at all.

I still might listen to Duchesse if I were you though.


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## Sweet Gum Minis

You could band them later on, once there's enough to get a band around.


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## shannonpetty

my doe's are 4 weeks old as of sunday i can feel little horns but cant see them yet out of the fur just got disbudding iron if the little horn fits in the iron can i still disbud them with the iron we are keeping them as milkers and dont want them to have horns only my bucks have horns. Please help?


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## Goatgirl21

shannonpetty said:


> my doe's are 4 weeks old as of sunday i can feel little horns but cant see them yet out of the fur just got disbudding iron if the little horn fits in the iron can i still disbud them with the iron we are keeping them as milkers and dont want them to have horns only my bucks have horns. Please help?


I just dehorned my 4 week old boer doeling. Never done that old but I just got her and I dont like horns


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## smshooter515

I have done alot of them. Even ones that are 3-4 inches long and re-do long scurs. If your not experienced dont do it have someone that knows what they are doin do it. Its awful! You have to cut them really deep and burn them really good to stop the bleeding. I even burn a deep cross across the top to try and prevent scurs. Its awful at first but then when your done they are better. You have to keep the flies off because they have a big hole down to there sinuses they could lay eggs in. I havent had any die or any infection but it can be scary. You should always do them as soon as you feel a bud at a couple days old then its a piece of cake. 

I second what everyone else says if you really dont want horns its better to wait for ones that have already been done. I have never banded because i havent seen it work yet. Not saying it doesnt just havent seen it done right.


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