# Debud/Dehorn - When and how to do it at that age?



## onehorse_2000 (Sep 17, 2012)

Debudding/Dehorning - 
What method do you use/need to use at what age? 
Cripes, it seems like everything we recently got has a scur or bud and up until now we never needed to deal with debudding (yes, horses and polled cattle!), so please bare with me as I might not know what I am looking at too. I have a 2 1/2 month old that looks like she wasn't touched, a 4 month old that looks like she was burned on one side, but not the other (I don't know, but that is what it looks like), and a 7 month old with a handful of small scurs. First off, what does an untouched horn bud look like at various ages, so that I know for sure that is what I am dealing with and then how do I deal with them at the ages of these doelings, because I really don't want to wait until they need to be banded, if possible. I'm sorry if this sounds challenged, we are a bit, but more so, we just don't know, never dealt with.


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## 8566 (Jul 18, 2012)

With my nigies -- I would reburn everyone needing it as soon as possible. It becomes a pain when they get larger and fight you.

If the scur/horn moves around then it's just skin surface and you can burn at the base on these and pop them off real easy. Then burn the area again real good. 

Some of the scurs on my goaties only get about 1/2 long or so and I leave them alone.

On horns, do the same and see if you can pop some of it off. And then burn real good. If the base is to wide and you don't think you can get a good burn - then band.

Give banamine for pain and swelling if needed.

Maybe pics will help?


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## Hobbyfarmer (Sep 7, 2011)

I had a 5 month old Nubian doeling with a scur last year. I opted for my vet to do it. Cost about $200. I was concerned about pain at this age.

I disbudded our kids this year, triplet bucklings, at 7 days old. Wish I could have done it a few days earlier. But the doe went early on me and I hadn't even ordered the iron yet. Took about 30 minutes to do all 3. We burned each side twice for about 10 seconds. The rest of the time was allowing the iron to heat up/reheat, checking the iron, swaddling kids in towel, and quick cuddles between sets. As far as I could tell we had 1 possible scur. I don't have a ton of experience yet. Hope this helped.


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## liz (Oct 5, 2007)

I did my disbuds for the first time myself this past year... the 1st 2 bucklings I did at 6 days old and didn't hold the iron on long enough as 1 little wether has horns, the buckling has a scur on one side then the second side was reburned at 5 weeks and still has growth. 3rd buckling was done at 10 days as was his 3 sisters... those buds were barely there on those tiny little heads but I did better and that boy still has scurs and each of the 3 doelings have some light scurring, nothing bad.

In my experience though, horned kids have horn buds that grow almost from day 1...especially bucklings, some doelings I've had are at a week old before I can feel points...I've never had a kid wait longer than 2 weeks before those points showed through. Polled kids will have bumps, just no pointy tips.


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## JaLyn (Oct 10, 2012)

I think it cost me $50. for my vet to do my 4 month old nigeria/nubian cross.


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## onehorse_2000 (Sep 17, 2012)

*Debudding a 3 month old*

Okay, talked with the breeder of the one doeling and she probably wasn't debudded. They can't remember if they did her or not, it's life and something I could probably do too (whoops missed that one). But, at this point, she is 3 months old, what is my best option to debud her? I can still burn her or do I need to wait until there is enough there to band or ???? I would prefer not going the vet route, if I can avoid it.


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## ThreeHavens (Oct 20, 2011)

Dehorning can be life-threatening ... sometimes it's okay but it's more risky than disbudding. With disbudding you kill the horn growth before it becomes a horn, dehorning is removing a little horn that already has major blood vessels running through it.


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## Foottapper (Sep 19, 2012)

..Onehorse_2000 what are "Polled cattle" ??


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## onehorse_2000 (Sep 17, 2012)

*Polled Cattle*

Like goats, but the entire breed is polled. We have lowline angus and they are all polled, no horns, they have a knot on their head where the horns should be, but no horns. The lowline angus came from a project in Australia to breed a very meat heavy, grass finished animal, I do not know if polled was something that they were working towards also or not, but all fullblood lowline angus, at least in the US, are polled. I have not looked at the outcrossing as closely, but I believe they are also polled due to the genetics. We wanted without horns for the same reasons that you debud/dehorn the goats.


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## WarPony (Jan 31, 2010)

onehorse_2000 said:


> Okay, talked with the breeder of the one doeling and she probably wasn't debudded. They can't remember if they did her or not, it's life and something I could probably do too (whoops missed that one). But, at this point, she is 3 months old, what is my best option to debud her? I can still burn her or do I need to wait until there is enough there to band or ???? I would prefer not going the vet route, if I can avoid it.


I'd need to see a current picture to have an opinion on this. It kind of depends on horn growth, in my opinion. But if her growth is anything like my kids at 3 months burning isn't an option.

I have banded two of them at 5 months. One lost her horns 3 weeks after being banded and has a lovely smooth head with no scurs at all now as a 13 month old. The other was banded 3 1/2 weeks ago and lost one horn yesterday and the other is wobbly. She should be hornless any day now. I'm considering banding my mature horned doe but I have heard it can take many many months at her age and I don't want to put her through that. I'd much rather not dehorn but I've discovered that having horns around here on dairy animals makes them almost impossible to sell.


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## Hawks-Knoll-Farms (Apr 12, 2014)

*de budding horns at 2 to 3 inches*

I have read about using bands at the base of the horns cutting off the blood supply and they fall off. My question is once they fall off do I then burn the base of the horn so it doesn't re-grow?
thanks for any input


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## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

You can but don't have to.


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## WarPony (Jan 31, 2010)

I never have.


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## Suntoo (Nov 14, 2013)

WarPony said:


> But if her growth is anything like my kids at 3 months burning isn't an option.


I can't imagine!
My buckling is 11 weeks old with 3 inch horns.


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