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Barnyard Buddies:  Banding horns?!  |
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maggie14
True Blue Farmgirl
6784 Posts
Hannah
Washington
USA
6784 Posts |
 Posted - Mar 01 2011 : 2:37:30 PM
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Has anyone ever banded there goats horns off before? Does it work? Do they grow back after you do it?
Hugs,
Hannah
Farmgirl sister #1219
Lifes not about the breaths you take, but the moments that take your breath away.
Just a small town country girl, farmgirl,loggergirl, trying to live her dreams. :)
P.s. I've been playing around with the spelling of my name ( weird I know) and I've decided that I will stick with Hannah for good. Sorry I got you all confused. Hugs!! |
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kristin sherrill
True Blue Farmgirl
11303 Posts
kristin
chickamauga
ga
USA
11303 Posts |
Posted - Mar 01 2011 : 2:54:12 PM
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Hannah, go to www.goodgoats.blogspot.com. She has done that with some older does she had given to her. They were all horned and she banded most of them. She said it takes about 2 weeks for them to fall off. Her goats are all kidding now. Some really cute kids and lots of great pictures. Go check it out.
Kris
Happiness is simple. |
Edited by - kristin sherrill on Mar 01 2011 2:54:53 PM |
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kristin sherrill
True Blue Farmgirl
11303 Posts
kristin
chickamauga
ga
USA
11303 Posts |
Posted - Mar 01 2011 : 2:55:44 PM
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Well, I don't think this is working. But you can type in goodgoatsblogspot and try that.
Kris
Happiness is simple. |
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RedHoopWoman
True Blue Farmgirl
513 Posts
Kathryn
Yoder
Colorado
USA
513 Posts |
Posted - Mar 01 2011 : 3:41:01 PM
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Hi Hannah,
I have one goat that was a rescue and she has horns,I'm of the belief that if a goat was allowed to grow horns then you let them be because dehorning is really ghastly though I have seen some goats dehorned by banding and it seemed to work well as long as the bands were applied real tight to the base of the horn,as close down to the skin as possible.
The main danger with dehorning this way is that sometimes the horns can be knocked off and cause excessive bleeding and pain while they are withering away.
There is another option for the removal of small horns and scurs and that's using a calf dehorner,this is a bit ghastly but very quick and effective,more so than using a wire saw,I can't remember what they're called but the dehorner is a handled instrument with sharp jawlike scoops,you take a good scoop of the tissue and a little skull surrounding the horn with them but it takes the horn out with a sickening crunch,all at once,it's not a very nice thing to have to do but I have a Nigerian doe who was done this way (before I owned her) and it healed real nicely and was quicker and less traumatic than using a wire saw.
Well,good luck,I tend to leave horns on if they're already grown but I don't think it's wrong to remove them if you have need of doing it,there just isn't many good options so you have to kind of pick what you're most comfortable with and that repsresent the smallest risk to the goat.
"Today's Mighty Oak is just Yesterday's Nut" |
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maggie14
True Blue Farmgirl
6784 Posts
Hannah
Washington
USA
6784 Posts |
Posted - Mar 01 2011 : 6:00:29 PM
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Hi Kathryn, I am with you on this! I let my goats have there horns and have not had any problem at all with them. They were put there for a purpose and where I live we have stray dogs so they need that extra protection.
Before I let my goats have horns, I tried dehorning and it was the most terrible thing I had ever done/seen. And it didn't even work, my goats horns grew back. So after much prayer, talking to other goat owners I decided to let them have horns and I don't regret that decision.
By now you are probably wondering why I asked about banding. LOL! Well, a few of my goats are due to kid and I am considering selling the kids but I know they won't sell as well if I leave the horns on. I do NOT want to dehorn with the iron again so thats when I thought about banding them off... I know people are afraid to buy goats with horns because they've read all the stories about how goats can use there horns, etc. All goats are different and they will all act differently. I think people forget that about animals.. Anyway, I am way off my soap box! lol
Thank you for your help!
Kris, Thank you!
Hugs,
Hannah
Farmgirl sister #1219
Lifes not about the breaths you take, but the moments that take your breath away.
Just a small town country girl, farmgirl,loggergirl, trying to live her dreams. :)
P.s. I've been playing around with the spelling of my name ( weird I know) and I've decided that I will stick with Hannah for good. Sorry I got you all confused. Hugs!! |
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RedHoopWoman
True Blue Farmgirl
513 Posts
Kathryn
Yoder
Colorado
USA
513 Posts |
Posted - Mar 01 2011 : 9:00:32 PM
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Hi Hannah!
I thought you were talking about removing existing horns but since you're talking about kids then your choices just got alot simpler,if you wish for your kids to grow up without horns then you "disbud" them by burning the horn buds before they have a chance to grow.
I used to let all my goats grow full sets of horns but in recent years my Daughter has gotten involved in 4-H and I have bought all hornless stock so I am now disbudding all my kids even though it isn't at all a pleasant chore it's much kinder to burn the horn buds than try to dehorn the goat later.
I use a non electric disbudding iron that we heat with a propane torch,I try to disbud them when they're a week or two old but with some goats you may have to wait a little longer in order to sufficiently burn the horn bud.
There's always a chance of scurs which are misshapen horns that can twist and curl around back into the flesh so I keep an eye on the horn buds after they are burned and sometimes you may have to go back and do it again but even so,it's much kinder to burn them again while still small than have to go back and try to remove scurs after they are grown.
Anyways,I would definitely burn the horb buds rather than use caustic paste or banding,it's easier and kinder though it will rattle your nerves a bit every time you do it.
I do love horned goats and at one time I had very strong opinions against disbudding or dehorning,feeling that goats should have horns but over the years I have changed my views.
I have never been seriously hurt by a goat with horns but have occasionally been accidentally bruised and occasionally had to treat goats that have broken thier horns on fences.
My Husband recently got a nasty jab from our little Nigerian doe with the horns,he was unloading her from the truck and she jumped up and gouged a deep puncture in his hand and she has occasionally tried to grind her horns into my wrist when I was restraining her,occasionally there are goats who get it in thier head to use thier horns and then there are other goats who have horns who never seem to get any ideas about using them.
Anyways,I definitely recommend disbudding over dehorning but if you're inclined to leave them in thier natural state that is great too,alot of it really depends on your needs and your goat's future purpose.
"Today's Mighty Oak is just Yesterday's Nut" |
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maggie14
True Blue Farmgirl
6784 Posts
Hannah
Washington
USA
6784 Posts |
Posted - Mar 01 2011 : 9:07:59 PM
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Ok, this kind of helps. Sorry I got the names all mixed up! I meant disbudding not dehorning. LOL! I am sick so my brain isn't quite working today. ;) I did the disbudding last year with one of my does and it was the worse thing ever! I don't ever want to do it again so thats why I was wondering if anyone had tried banding them off.
Thanks for you help!
Hugs,
Hannah
Farmgirl sister #1219
Lifes not about the breaths you take, but the moments that take your breath away.
Just a small town country girl, farmgirl,loggergirl, trying to live her dreams. :)
P.s. I've been playing around with the spelling of my name ( weird I know) and I've decided that I will stick with Hannah for good. Sorry I got you all confused. Hugs!! |
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RedHoopWoman
True Blue Farmgirl
513 Posts
Kathryn
Yoder
Colorado
USA
513 Posts |
Posted - Mar 01 2011 : 9:25:12 PM
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I understand,I'm with you on the disbudding,it is a very stressful and ghastly operation,I have a harder time with it than castrating but overall it is alot better than any other method out there as far as pain factor and efficiency.
I wish there were better options,since I always kept my goats horned before I always wonder if I'm doing the right thing by disbudding my goats and feel doubt every time I do it,I don't think it gets any easier but I think it's more effective than any other method if you're going to do it at all.
I hope you get to feeling better,I'm nursing a cold as well and healing a hip fracture,I'm not real quick on the draw lately either,lol!
"Today's Mighty Oak is just Yesterday's Nut" |
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walkinwalkoutcattle
True Blue Farmgirl
1675 Posts
Megan
Paint Lick
KY
USA
1675 Posts |
Posted - Mar 04 2011 : 05:44:01 AM
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Maggie, can I recommend the Callicrete Bander? It's quite accurate in my experience, and their staff is really wonderful-the customer service is exceptional:
http://www.nobull.net/
I THINK it can be used on goats, but, the bander does castrating, tail docking and de-horning.
Starbucks and sushi to green fried tomatoes and corn pudding-I wouldn't change it for the world.
www.cattleandcupcakes.blogspot.com |
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maggie14
True Blue Farmgirl
6784 Posts
Hannah
Washington
USA
6784 Posts |
Posted - Mar 06 2011 : 7:02:04 PM
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Thank you Kathryn! Hope you feel better soon too! :)
Megan, Thank you so much for your input! I take a look at the site!
Hugs,
Hannah
Farmgirl sister #1219
Lifes not about the breaths you take, but the moments that take your breath away.
Just a small town country girl, farmgirl,loggergirl, trying to live her dreams. :)
P.s. I've been playing around with the spelling of my name ( weird I know) and I've decided that I will stick with Hannah for good. Sorry I got you all confused. Hugs!! |
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Barnyard Buddies: Banding horns?! |
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Banding horns?!
