Disbudding Disaster

We finally got Copper and Zinc dehorned, but it was a very disturbing event. We have disbudded several kids, so this wasn't our first rodeo. This time it was totally different than what we have experienced in the past.

We got everything prepared on Friday evening, put Copper in the box first, he fought so hard that I was afraid that he would hurt himself. Both of us together couldn't hold him still even before we started the burning process. It was difficult but we finally got him finished, he was whimpering pitifully when we took him back to his mother.

Next it was Zinc's turn, he was ten times worse than Copper had been. He struggled so badly that the iron slipped a couple of times and we had to start all over again. When we were finished with him, he was bleeding from both sides, we had never had that happen before.

Both kids continually scratched the burns with their hind hooves, they whimpered and cried all night long, we had never seen this before either. Normally the kids just start playing and acting as if nothing had happened. Jasper and Onyx started running and chasing each other as soon as we released them back to the mother.

The next day Copper had recovered and was fine but Zinc still cried most of the day, he got under the goat/chicken shed and wouldn't come out. I don't understand what caused this and why this time was so different, we did everything the same as aways. We have done them younger than these two and older.

On Saturday a friend stopped in and helped me get Zinc out from under the shed and one of the burn sites was infected. We sprayed it with blue lotion and by Sunday he was starting to act some better. On Monday he was completely himself again.

I started this blog this morning but severe storms hit our area and I had to close the computer down. I was glad that I did because our electricity went out for quite awhile after that and then came back on long enough for me to wash some dishes then went out again. All is quiet at the moment but I think that we are still suppose to get more storms tonight.

Peepers

I am going to try to squeak one in here before midnight, so that I will have a blog for today before it is tomorrow. I hear thunder, so I will have to make it quick before the storm hits.

Jasper and Onyx went to their new home this morning. Since Jasper had partial horn growths on both sides, I got to burn his horns again. It went very smoothly and hopefully he won't have scurs. It was the first time that I had ever actually used the iron, I usually just hold the kids while my DH does the burning.

I checked my Mille Fleur D'Uccle's nest yesterday and she had no baby chicks but when I went out to the goat/chicken shed this morning there was a little peeper looking out at me from under the hen. This evening we picked the hen up and she has three little peeps under her. Hopefully some of the other eggs will hatch out in the next couple of days but three is good if the others don't, because I was afraid that none of them would hatch for her.

I also set seven large eggs under my broody Rhode Island Red. Since she is bound and determined to set, at least now she has some eggs to set on that should be fertile.

Disbudding

Disbudding is the goat keeper's least favorite thing to do. But in fairness to the goats that we raise and to increase their value to both us and the people that may end up with them someday, they need to have their horns removed. It is a nasty job but someone has to do it.

Horns are dangerous for several reasons, but my main reason is that I want my goats to be safe around my grandchildren. Horns can also get easily caught in fences and goats do love to stick their heads into some strange places and at times I don't know how they will get their heads free even without horns.

So, my little Onyx and Jasper were dehorned on Tuesday morning. This process is called disbudding because it is the burning of the horn buds. They should be done as soon as the buds are clearly visible, this is at about two days old for bucklings and a week old for doelings.

The time got away from us because of all the things we had going on. We were way late in getting this done this year. They were two and a half weeks old which is nearly too late to do this successfully for a buckling.

The process consists of taking a very hot tube shaped iron and placing the horn nub right inside the tube and burning a circle around the horn base to destroy the horn root. We use the Rhinehart X-30 Dehorner that we bought online at Jeffers Livestock Supply.

We first place the kid in a box especially designed for this propose to shave all of the hair away from the horn area. Then when the iron is glowing red, I hold the kid's head still, while my husband applies the hot iron to the bud. He applies pressure in a circular pattern, clockwise, around the horn base while I count off 10 seconds.

When the iron is removed, I blow on the area to quickly cool it off. We then inspect the area to see if we have a perfect copper colored ring around the entire bud and to give the iron a chance to reheat before going to the next horn. If it isn't an even ring, we will come back later to even the ring out. When both sides are done we then burn or nudge the top of each horn bud with the hot iron.

This is a very stressful thing for the kids to go through, but they always return to play as soon as the are released from the box. So I am not sure that it is extremely painful for them. Goats have pretty hard and thick skulls. Usually they cry just as much about the shaving experience as they do for the burning but this year the babies didn't seem to mind being shaved. I think that the whole thing is harder on us than it is on them.

Jasper in the Box


Horn area being Shaved


Shaving Onyx


Copper Rings


All Done!


Back to Playtime.