A month or so ago there was a thread on dehorning goats with a bander.There was a link to a web page of instructions. Anybody know what it was? I've checked out the archives and can't seem to locate it.Thanks in advance. Sherry

-- sherry (chickadee259@yahoo.com), April 17, 2001

Answers

Here it is: http://www.greatgoats.com/dehorning.html Cut and paste it in your browser and it will take you right to the dehorning article. Enjoy your life...

-- deborah (bearwaoman@Yahoo.com), April 18, 2001.

I did my first dehorning on my two doe kids last week.One tiny horn bud fell off after a couple of days.The other horn buds are still visible.How long before the other buds fall off? Bettie

-- Bettie Ferguson (jobett@dixie-net.com), April 28, 2001.

Hi Bettie, it is usually a couple of weeks before the scabs fall off. You can expect some jelly like blood when this happens, like underneath scabs on childrens knees. I would be worried if you lost the scabs at just a couple of days. Watch them close and if they start growing horns again, hit the heads again much longer. Our initial burn is 10 seconds or so, through the skin and hair, I then pop off the bud with my thumb, then another burn of several seconds gives us the nice copper band all the way around. I use the Rhinehart 50, if you are using a smaller iron you will be burning for a much greater lenghth of time. This is definetly something I am grateful to have had a mentor to teach me, we teach all of our local ;) customers, I sure wouldn't have wanted to learn this on my own! Vicki

-- Vicki McGaugh TX (vickilonesomedoe@hotmail.com), April 28, 2001.

My computer died last week and i lost all my work, its still there, butt he icons are huge, about an inch so i can't connect as button is below line and system tray is 2 inches long.nnbut i did have a great website saved, it was really graphic on dehorning. i posted the links to the Goat shed and goat world. the link it AJ's udderly delight goats or something like that.

Bernice

-- Bernice (geminigoats@yahoo.com), April 28, 2001.

I will have to make me a holding box for the kids.I can't hold them still while I burn the horns, and hubby don't want to hear his little baby girls cry. Bettie

-- Bettie Ferguson (jobett@dixie-net.com), April 29, 2001.

I did not like doing that at all! It was awful. And we didn't do it long enough because the horns are growing back. I have one little doe with little horns, and I'll have to use the rubber bands now.

-- Cindy in KY (solidrockranch@msn.com), April 29, 2001.

If you are dehorning young goats, a month or less old, and especially doe kids with young horns, you can do a nice clean job another way. I did several this year, that were too advanced to use the dehorning iron on. Have one person hold the kid and have the dehorning iron ready and good and hot before you start. Cut the horn off at the base with a hacksaw, and as soon as the horn is off, burn the base very well with the dehorning iron. there will be some blood. Keep burning until there is no bleeding and there is a copper ring around the area. Then set the iron aside and let it get good and hot before doing the other horn. Using an iron that's not hot enough will only hurt the kid more than necessary and allow the horn to grow back. I did a kid this way a few days ago, the owners had let her go too long before bringing her over. She was back to her normal self within five to ten minutes of the procedure. It is a lot less traumatic for the goat than using the bands, which will cause her pain for a month or more and make her head shy. Either way, the kids should have a tetanus shot before removing their horns.

-- Chamoisee (chamoisee@yahoo.com), April 29, 2001.