Disbud/Dehorn Calves & Banding Steers?

jlgoinggreen · #1 02/05/10, 01:25 PM

Hi,
We have two steers and a bull we need to disbud/dehorn. I think we waited too long. The steers are 7 weeks old and the bull is 6 weeks old. Are they too old? We have a Rhinehart X30 for our goats, but my husband is curious about the calf paste.

Any advice?

Another thing is that we have this bull and we did not want bulls on our farm yet since we are new to this. We kept him a bull because we were going to sell him, but the person who was going to buy him had an emergency and is no longer buying him. Is it too late to turn him into a steer? We banded the other two and planned to do the same to him.

Is he too old to band?

arcticow · #2 02/05/10, 02:27 PM

Not too old for any of them... but you may have to use a tube dehorner instead of burning. X30 is not hot enough for calves. Paste is caustic, can blind or poison them. A tube is a little bloody, but not bad and at their age won't leave a big wound open to the sinuses. But don't wait if you use a tube or horns will be too big.

jlgoinggreen · #3 02/05/10, 02:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by arcticow

Not too old for any of them... but you may have to use a tube dehorner instead of burning. X30 is not hot enough for calves. Paste is caustic, can blind or poison them. A tube is a little bloody, but not bad and at their age won't leave a big wound open to the sinuses. But don't wait if you use a tube or horns will be too big.

What's a tube?

arcticow · #4 02/05/10, 03:03 PM

A tube dehorner is just that ,a metal tube with one end sharpened for cutting, and the other end has a knob for a handle. You the sharpened end over the horn and push down HARD. Twist the tube as you push to cot all the way to the skull, then use the sharp end as a sort of spoon to scoop the horn bud out. Have plenty of blood stop powder to dust over the cuts. Done properly,doesn't leave scurs. You then should watch for the wounds to dry up, might use Blue-Kote or Blue wound Lotion to help their heads heal.

jlgoinggreen · #5 02/05/10, 03:38 PM

Yikes! Ouch!!! That will be our last resort.

topside1 · #6 02/05/10, 06:04 PM

Jennifer burn away. Disbudding calves by age is less critical then goats. I generally burn the buds around 3-4 weeks of age, but I believe waiting longer would still not be a big deal. I also use the X-30 and have never had a scur problem with calves...Get with it now, don't wait any longer....I'm sure all will be well....Topside

jlgoinggreen · #7 02/05/10, 06:48 PM

Thanks Topside. We will be doing calves & kids tomorrow.

rancher1913 · #8 02/06/10, 08:34 AM

beg, borrow, or steal a calcrate bander. we use it on horns and other things. best all around tool for a cow man. kind of pricey but worth every penny in my opinion

jlgoinggreen · #9 02/06/10, 08:48 AM

Yes that came up in my google search on banding. It looks like a good tool to have. I'll have to look into that.