It takes a lot of work to take care of a goat, and the process of dehorning them is no exception. Whether it be because of your own personal preference, or for an upcoming goat show to ensure the safety of others, there are many reasons you might need to be doing this. Below you will find a complete guide that will help you know what to do to dehorn a goat.
1. Understand The Process Or Hire A Professional
If you don’t know what you’re doing before you begin this process you could seriously injure your goats. Even if you feel confident about your abilities, it’s recommended that you at least have a vet or some sort of animal professional come to see you before you do it, just so they can make sure you know what to do and can give you some advice. If you don’t feel confident enough to do this yourself, hire a professional to do it for you.
One thing to know about this process is the difference between disbudding and dehorning. While they are rather similar, the one you will be doing depends on the age of your goat. Disbudding is the name for this process if it happens before the horns become attached to the skull because it consists of destroying the horn-producing cells. Dehorning is the name of the process if it happens after skull attachment. Skull attachment happens when the goats are around 8 weeks old, or 2 months.
2. Obtain The Proper Supplies
The process of dehorning is most commonly done on cattle, but it’s quite similar for goats actually. Below are some of the materials you will need for this process.
- Clippers to remove hair from the area around the horns.
- Heavy-duty gloves
- A helper – This is something you DO NOT want to do alone so get someone to assist you.
- Proper pain relievers and medication for your animals.
- Disbudding holding box – this is something you can make yourself. It acts as a place for the goat to stand with their head sticking out to help them stay still during the process.
- The proper tools for whatever method of dehorning you choose. Information about your different options is given below.
3. Consider Your Different Options
There is more than one method to choose from when it comes to dehorning goats. In this section, we’ll go over some of the more common ones. Understanding the anatomy of the horn might help aid you in your decision. The more a horn is allowed to grow, the harder dehorning will be because of how developed the horn is becoming inside the skull. The best time to consider dehorning a goat is when they are about a week old.
Chemical Dehorning: This process can be done until the goat is about 2 to 3 weeks of age. Basically, all you have to do is put a little amount of dehorning paste on the base of the bud after it’s been cut off. The reason this method is preferred when the goat is younger is that it will be harder for them to pinpoint where the irritation from the paste comes from so they can’t scratch it off.
This paste produces a chemical burn that destroys the cells that produce horns. If they spread the paste they can cause secondary burns on their body because the paste is commonly made of caustic substances like calcium hydroxide and sodium hydroxide.
Hot Iron Dehorning: This is probably the most popular method used for dehorning goats. More time and help is needed for this method, and it should be done as soon as the bud of the horn can be felt on the goat. This method should only be done up to when the goats are a few months old, because it can cause too much damage if done once the horn has connected to the skull.
The process for this method basically consists of using a special burner to cauterize the base of the goat’s buds once the buds have been cut off. There are many different burners to choose from so choose carefully. The one you pick should mainly depend on the size of the base of your goat’s horns.
Banding: Banding horns is a process that should only be used when the horns are more fully developed. For this process, all you have to do is tie wire and bands around the goat’s horns. Eventually, the horns should just be ready to fall or be cut off.
Shaving: This method is the simplest one but not as permanent as the rest. Because the chemical and iron methods involve destroying the horn producing cells, simply cutting or shaving off the horns means that eventually they will start to grow back. It does make for a quick, simple method though.
To help you choose the right option, think about the age of your animal. It’s always preferable to do this in younger animals, as dehorning older goats is much more painful and can cause a great deal of blood loss for them. Keep this in mind as you consider which option to do.
Most information from this section and some of the following sections about methods comes from this website.
4. Prepare Your Goat And Supplies
Once you have everything you need and have decided on your method, you are ready to begin!
First off, trim the hair away from the area surrounding the buds and put your goat in the holding box. You might be able to offer them some food to keep them occupied or a little pain medication beforehand. Once they are secured, make sure your tools are ready and you can proceed with your desired method. The process for the two most popular methods is described in more detail below.
5. The Chemical Paste Method
The first thing to do is cut off the horn bud. Then, put on a dime sized, thin amount of the paste onto the shaved buds. One popular brand of paste is Dr. Naylor Dehorning Paste. Make sure that the paste covers the whole bud but does not irritate the skin of the goat in any way. Always wear gloves when using the paste and give the goats pain relievers to help with the irritation.
Don’t apply the paste if the goats are going to be outside in possible wet weather for the next week. The rain could wash away the paste. You may need to do more than one layer depending on how well it works the first time.
6. The Hot Iron Method
As always, cut off the horn bud first. To tell if your iron is ready once you’ve started to heat it up, test it by pressing it against a piece of wood. If it burns a ring within 2 seconds it’s good to go. Source
The tip of the burner should be just wider than the horn to achieve proper cauterization around the base of it. Put the tip of the iron on the bud’s base and hold it in place, twisting your wrist in a back and forth motion a little bit to achieve a proper burn ring. Only keep the burner on for about 3 seconds, 5 seconds for male goats. If the burners are left on too long they can lead to further damage and possibly infection in the goat.
Your goal is to get a nice copper ring around the base of the bud. Have your assistant help you blow away any smoke so you can see properly. After you’ve made a ring with the tip, you need to cauterize the base of the bud. Do this by using the side of the heated up iron and pressing it against the middle of the ring to seal it. Be careful not to let the iron touch any other parts of your goat’s head.
For male goats, you will need to make one extra ring that overlaps the original one a little bit, because males have more growth hormones. This keeps scurs (partial regrowth of horns) from developing, and helps with the smell of the wounds.
7. Bandage Up Your Goat
Don’t be alarmed if the base of the horn bleeds during any part of this procedure. How you bandage the base of the buds after dehorning your goats will depend on the dehorning method you used. Only bandage it for a few days, then just let it heal on it’s own. Be sure to give your goat the proper amount of pain medication as well, because this process isn’t comfortable for them.
If you used the paste method, it’s best not to put anything on top of it and just let it dry out in the open.
If you used the iron method, keep in mind you are making shallow wounds on the top of their heads. Don’t put anything on it at first, as the wound will be too fresh, but after a day or two you can put on liquid or cloth bandages, salves, and fly control so nothing gets in the wound and infects it.
8. Check On The Buds Regularly
It’s okay if the wounds bleed a little more. If it’s still doing it after a couple days, you may need to cauterize it again or put more paste on. After about 2 weeks the hair should grow back and you won’t be able to see the wounds anymore.
Scurs, as mentioned earlier, can happen if the iron wasn’t hot enough or the paste wasn’t applied properly, so keep an eye out for those in the following months after disbudding your goats. If you see them, use the iron to get them off again.