Disbudding????

KimM · #41 11/15/10, 09:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dosthouhavemilk

<snip>....I don't use a box. I just don't see how I can have control and move with the kid with a box.
It was hilarious watching that kid pull its head back when Kim was trying to burn it though!....<snip>

You mean the turtle-kid box?? LOL! Remember that was a gift from someone to me and the head hole was much too wide BUT I have fixed the opening and they can't turtle back inside anymore!

Mine rarely scream for ANY handling, including clipping/shaving, except being disbudded but then I handle my kids and goats every single day from the the minute they're born. (But I will never have more than 20 keeper goats here either!)

ozark_jewels · #42 11/15/10, 09:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Heritagefarm

I see. So, how do you hold the calves? At what age are they too big to disbud?

Well, I tie back and front feet together, my brother and I lay them gently on the grass and he gently straddles their neck with his knees, while I disbudd. This only works if you have a hulking younger brother who outweighs the calf by a lot.

Topside1, over on the cattle forum, has built a simple headgate for calves that allows him to disbudd alone. One of these days I'll do that......LOL!!
I have gotten busy and forgot to disbudd heifers until they were 4 months old(yes, Roseanne, it happens to me to!LOL), and they were still quite disbuddable with the calf tip. No scurs. But really, they should be done by 1-2 months of age.
MUCH bigger window than with goat kids!

ozark_jewels · #43 11/15/10, 09:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dosthouhavemilk

Ah. Makes sense. I was surprised because I thought in the past you had said you use the goat tip. .......

We can't even get our goat tip loose at this point.
The little Jerseys this vet had used the base on were a week or two old at most. The rings covered almost the entire tops of their heads.

Ugh, that sounds ugly. No, I keep a calf disbudding iron at the dairy and my goat disbudding iron at home. They are both the X50, but one has goat tip, one does not. If I need either one at the other place, its only a three minute drive.

Lizza · #44 11/15/10, 06:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dragonchick

My Nigerian Buck and Saanen Buck were both burned for 30 sec per side and then another 15 sec per side and we still got scurs. A buck tip was used but still the scur's came. Luckily the scurs are loose from the skull and will more than likely fall off while head butting. Its a bloody mess when it happens but its a lot easier on them than re burning whenthey are older and too big to fit into the box.

This is why I don't do bucks, I hate doing the bucks, there are so so few that I ever need done, and my vet charges $35 and knocks them out and we've never had a scur. The does are so much easier compared to the bucks!

Lizza · #45 11/15/10, 07:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ozark_jewels

I HATE DEHORNING. So yes, I disbudd all my calves. It can be a pain to hold them still, but its so much easier on them than the bloody dehorning.
Its basicly the same as disbudding kids. Burn a ring, flip the bud off, burn with the side of the iron, burn a ring again. Calves are easier to do the actual burning than kids, because they are much less likely to scur.
You use the same disbudding iron, but without the goat tip. Its easier for me to keep one at the dairy for the calves, and my own at my place for the kids, than to keep switching from goat tip to just calf tip. But I have a lot of calves to do.......

My vet that did the dehorning, it was a total bloody mess, looked like a crime scene (he knocked them out, they still struggled some). I think they were 3 months old. The breeder we got them from said the judges don't like dish heads so we did this dehorning but I don't know! They have little scurs I was going to have the vet look at. A month or so after this my daughter went over to help a friend burn (we have an iron, friend doesn't), they used the goat tip I think and it was fast and quick. Now I'm not sure what to do with my new little calf, I don't want a dish head because we show but feeling skittish on that dehorning procedure! Burning was so much easier.

Heritagefarm · #46 11/15/10, 07:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ozark_jewels

Well, I tie back and front feet together, my brother and I lay them gently on the grass and he gently straddles their neck with his knees, while I disbudd. This only works if you have a hulking younger brother who outweighs the calf by a lot.

Eh-heh, I will have to find a less labor-intensive manner of doing it.

Pony · #47 11/15/10, 07:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by morningstar

This is why I don't do bucks, I hate doing the bucks, there are so so few that I ever need done, and my vet charges $35 and knocks them out and we've never had a scur. The does are so much easier compared to the bucks!

$35 EACH?

That's more than 10x what my vet charges. Are you on the East Coast?

ozark_jewels · #48 11/16/10, 10:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by morningstar

My vet that did the dehorning, it was a total bloody mess, looked like a crime scene (he knocked them out, they still struggled some). I think they were 3 months old. The breeder we got them from said the judges don't like dish heads so we did this dehorning but I don't know! They have little scurs I was going to have the vet look at. A month or so after this my daughter went over to help a friend burn (we have an iron, friend doesn't), they used the goat tip I think and it was fast and quick. Now I'm not sure what to do with my new little calf, I don't want a dish head because we show but feeling skittish on that dehorning procedure! Burning was so much easier.

What are they calling a "dish head"? I disbudd my calves and my sisters father-in-law has the vet dehorn his...but our cows heads all look the same in the end. Sure does take them a LOT longer to recover from a bloody scoop job though.

Lizza · #49 11/16/10, 01:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pony

$35 EACH?

That's more than 10x what my vet charges. Are you on the East Coast?

Yours only charges $3.50 each? Mine knocks them out, so that is the anesthesia, tetanus shot, and the burning. We do all of ours these days, except the bucks, after having troubles with scurs I just take the bucks to him, which is basically never although if my one permanent grand has a buckling I may keep him this year, she has always given us twin or triplet girls, we've been kind of waiting for a buck from her.

Emily, yeah I don't know about the dish head thing, I'm going to research it more before we do anything for the new calf. We do show them so I don't want them looking funny and this was the "cosmetic" dehorning for pretty heads. We are on baby watch, I think we are starting to annoy Buttercup

Pony · #50 11/16/10, 01:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by morningstar

Yours only charges $3.50 each? Mine knocks them out, so that is the anesthesia, tetanus shot, and the burning. We do all of ours these days, except the bucks, after having troubles with scurs I just take the bucks to him, which is basically never although if my one permanent grand has a buckling I may keep him this year, she has always given us twin or triplet girls, we've been kind of waiting for a buck from her.

Ours just shaves their heads, gives them a tetanus shot, and burns while the tech holds.

It's over quickly.

Laverne · #51 11/17/10, 12:01 AM

I don't go over six seconds on each side and I do this twice on each side rotating around. Last year I did 3 5-6 second burns and I think it was better for preventing some tiny scurs that I have this year with 2 burns on each side, but I think they will fall off. They aren't growing on the wether. This worked out well and I feel that any burning over 6-8 seconds at a time is not necessary for doelings and wethers. There is a risk of heating up the brain and causing brain damage and even burning through the skull into the brain. I have read about it. 30 seconds then 15 seconds is way out of line.
I also shave the head and clean with alcohol so it's real clean since I don't give tetanus anti toxin. I also put a baggie of ice water on the head between burns. It makes me feel good.

anita_fc · #52 11/20/10, 02:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hobbyfarmer

On a side note, I bought the iron and carried it back and forth to my vet's office for the first couple seasons, paying the vet to do the actual disbudding. He gassed them first...

HF, I can SO see myself doing that!

Reading this thread with interest because we're gonna have to get educated about this next spring. Hubby said he would learn to do it since he knows I'm a wuss about it. If I wear earplugs, I might be able to do the holding.

Anita

yarrow · #53 11/20/10, 11:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fitwind

I would love to come and watch... I don't know how far away I am.... But I am very interested in coming down .... I live 45 minutes north of Joplin.. so will have to check it out...

I would like to see a few peoples techniques before I actually do my own.

If you decide to make the drive to Ozark Jewel's and watch her disbud..you are more then welcome to swing down this way and watch us too... BUT Emily may already be done with her kidding season, by the time we start??. We are holding off our kidding season until mid-march thru april (many reasons.. icy roads putting us & our buyers in danger during travel is one -had power lines fall on us after an icestorm, while meeting buyers!!! that made us hold half the does off until march last year.. we loved the warmer weather kidding.. this year ALL the girls were forced to wait!) Since we have nubians we hold off a few extra days before we disbud- nubians are normally slower in their bud development then the other breeds-).... SO... if anyone wants to see more then one person or just wants to come by and watch (already have several people wanting to learn how to disbud).. feel free to get in touch..
(((it's really, not that bad...once you get the hang of it.. I promise

)))

susie, Mo Ozarks (between Alton & Thayer)

fitwind · #54 11/20/10, 04:51 PM

I just mught do that..... I will have to see how things are going in March we have kids due then too. The joys of babies !!!! I love new little ones.

Quote:

Originally Posted by yarrow

If you decide to make the drive to Ozark Jewel's and watch her disbud..you are more then welcome to swing down this way and watch us too... BUT Emily may already be done with her kidding season, by the time we start??. We are holding off our kidding season until mid-march thru april (many reasons.. icy roads putting us & our buyers in danger during travel is one -had power lines fall on us after an icestorm, while meeting buyers!!! that made us hold half the does off until march last year.. we loved the warmer weather kidding.. this year ALL the girls were forced to wait!) Since we have nubians we hold off a few extra days before we disbud- nubians are normally slower in their bud development then the other breeds-).... SO... if anyone wants to see more then one person or just wants to come by and watch (already have several people wanting to learn how to disbud).. feel free to get in touch..
(((it's really, not that bad...once you get the hang of it.. I promise

)))

susie, Mo Ozarks (between Alton & Thayer)