Overburned Disbudding Pygmies?

Great idea...

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Teach only Love...for that is what You are

puke
learner goats
God save them from further torment.
B~

That's a good idea, I'll check on the babies and have a talk with him tomorrow. I'll keep you posted on what happens.

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May I suggest instead of these posts (initially anyway) you collect several photos of properly disbudded kids and show him what it should look like? I thought about some youtube videos but I saw some that were just about as brutal. I didn't see any I'd reccommend showing him.

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Cloven Trail Farm
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Ja-Lyn's Radio Flyer, aka "Rad" on his 17th birthday.
9/14/93 -12/3/10.
Rest peacefully my soulmate, I'll love you forever.

I haven't read everything related to this thread but this was no accident, this was stupidity, there is a difference. I have zero doubt that there are vets somewhere around there and at least one has experience with goats and pygmy's. He should have used this as a teaching experience, calling around to vets and see if one would do a "Vet Day" and have the vet out to do a lecture and perform a disbudding on the babies so everyone can learn, including the ag teacher. We've had "Vet Day's" with our little 4H group, for no cost, as a public outreach. Heck, you could have called the 4H groups and found one of the leaders to come out. That didn't happen. You don't just heat up an iron to 1500 degrees, pick up 3 week old babies and burn them, see if you can get it right.

My daughter (16) has an Ag Teacher (FFA), if this happened, I would report the teacher without blinking an eye, this was total lack of anything that resembles "good judgment".

Getting off soap box now.

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Idleness is leisure gone to seed

Yeah, I was already planning on showing him this one from fiasco farms:



and showing him the difference from the pic I took yesterday:



Could the white at the top mean he burned into skull? Or is the pic just overexposed?

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There's absolutely no excuse for being ignorant on the teachers part. There's too much info on the web how to do a proper disbudding with the right disbudding tips, irons, timing, ect. As an example I did extensive research. Got all my proper equipment together and did an excellent job on my 5 kids. First time ever disbudding. No one ever showing me in person. All turned out perfect. He needs to teach himself. So, nope he has no excuse.

I have seen worse from vets! Vicki

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Vicki McGaugh
Nubian Soaps
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A 3 decade dairy goat farm homestead that is now a retail/wholesale soap company and construction business.

I hope they got sued

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Teach only Love...for that is what You are

Well I feel bad for my vet. Because he did killed a baby ND from disbudding. He told that lady I dont know how do the disbud becuz I know how do disbud for calves and cows. But the lady persist. And My vet burned it too long and he said he feels awful and decided to make other people come to me to disbud the goats. I had to tell the vet you will have to make contract paper for me becuz I dont wanna get sued or whatever.. Sooo. It was so sad. He feels awful. I can see his eyes.. U know..

If you do herd work for someone, they are 'hiring' you to do a job for them. If they do not like your work, they can 'fire' you just as easily. Chances are they would not sue.

I honestly DO NOT understand how any person with a brain that works halfway - even 1/3 of the way - could do that, let alone a vet who made it through animal med school. I wouldn't trust that vet as far as I could throw him. Gosh, this is a sad thread

If a vet is out of line, they are just like any other doctor, there is a board governing their licenses. They can be turned into their state licensing board and that board will investigate and decide if there should be disciplinary action, including something like pulling their licenses.

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Idleness is leisure gone to seed

Bricheze, So how are the babies doing now? Have you talked with the teacher yet?

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Teach only Love...for that is what You are

Any news?? My heart about broke seeing the pics. We're pulling for them!

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Our half acre of paradise

They are doing tons better!

I went to see them today; it's amazing to me how fast-healing babies can be with a bit of help. One of them looks totally fine, his eyes are still a little swollen, but he is okay. The other one is more swollen, but also looks fine. I didn't have enough time to jump the fence and see if they could both see okay, but they look millions better compared to a few days ago!

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That is wonderful! Are they playing and stuff? Did you talk to the teacher yet?

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Teach only Love...for that is what You are

Yeah, they jumped on mom's back and surfed a few times while I was there

I haven't seen the teacher since when I posted the thread, so I haven't gotten a chance yet; I should see him monday though.

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I am SO GLAD the babies are doing better. I was so worried. Thanks for updating us.

I didn't read all the way through;
It is obvious he used a Rhineheart X50 without the goat tip on it. The calf disbudder is technically the base of the X50. The horns on a three week old Pygmy are going to look very similar to a calf that he would normally use the base on.
I use the goat tip for goats and calves, but that is how I was raised seeing it done by the vet. I have seen a new vet use the actual base like used on these kids. He used them on some calves and I felt so bad for those heifers! Huge, unnecesarry areas of burnt skin. He's no longer around.
The sad thing is, those Pygmies will probably still grow back their horns after that job.
So while the teacher did something wrong, you have to consider where he is coming from.
When did the eyes start swelling? Was it after they were taken home? If so, how is he supposed to know what the result was.

My suggestion would be to direct him to places that describe proper disbudding of kids.
It appears he will have to continue to do this with so many goats under his care. So educate him. Don't turn him in for not knowing how differently a goat head reacts than a calf's head.

Things can look far worse at one point and after they recover you never remmeber just how bad it looked. I know we've had a couple of things that swelled horribly but later you would never know it by looking at them. Everyone is so quick to kill it seems. Give them a chance. If they are still nursing and still enjoying life, why take it from them due to the mistake of another?

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