Banding Horns

sixstrothers · #1 10/13/06, 11:15 AM

We have a buck who we banded his one horn he had. I was only able to get the band about an inch from his skull. It came off today but has left an opening to his nasal cavity, as we can hear him breathing through it. He still has the horn, it is attached by a small piece with a band around it. I am sure it will come off soon. We gave him a shot of banamine and a tetnus antixon shot. We went back and decided to cover the opening. So we put a covering on it with vet wrap around his head and chin. Looks like a person with a toothache! Just wanting to know if anyone has experienced this before and will it heal up or will I need to go back and try to place a band closer to his skull. He had some really bad scurs next to his skull, which is why I couldnt get it really close. Thanks for any advice.
Lori

pookshollow · #2 10/13/06, 12:41 PM

The hole will close up eventually - just keep an eye on it for infection. Hate to say it, but the horn will probably keep growing as you didn't get it off right at the base. Bucks are the worst! I had a buckling dehorned by the vet and he has one horn that is about 3-4 inches long now, in just over two months.

Just curious, how long did it take for the horn to fall off after banding? I've put bands on one of my Nigerian does, about 4 weeks ago, and nothing seems to be happening. Like you, I couldn't get them close to the base, maybe an inch away.

sixstrothers · #3 10/13/06, 01:27 PM

I want to say between 4-6 weeks. You will notice a change in their attitude like they are afraid of you. But what happened with us is he acted scared of us, but 3 days later when his buck pal head butted him this morning it just cracked right in two. It is still hanging on to a little bit and I had two bands on him so one went right on the other piece. I think it started hurting him or he just could feel it working to come off. He wasnt really afraid of us, just probably afraid someone would grab his horn or touch it. We have it covered right now and I started him on Penicillin too, just for safe measure. Good luck with yours. You should notice some indention where the bands are. He would rub his off so I was replacing them about once a week. Oh yes, I figured they would grow back but geez I hated that one horn.
Lori

ozark_jewels · #4 10/13/06, 01:31 PM

Biggest thing now is not to let him head-butt with anyone and be best to keep him up till it scabs over or heals so there is NO CHANCE of it getting wet. Getting wet is the fastest way for infection to set in.

kidsngarden · #5 10/14/06, 11:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sixstrothers

I want to say between 4-6 weeks. You will notice a change in their attitude like they are afraid of you. But what happened with us is he acted scared of us, but 3 days later when his buck pal head butted him this morning it just cracked right in two. It is still hanging on to a little bit and I had two bands on him so one went right on the other piece. I think it started hurting him or he just could feel it working to come off. He wasnt really afraid of us, just probably afraid someone would grab his horn or touch it. We have it covered right now and I started him on Penicillin too, just for safe measure. Good luck with yours. You should notice some indention where the bands are. He would rub his off so I was replacing them about once a week. Oh yes, I figured they would grow back but geez I hated that one horn.
Lori

What do you use to band the horns? The same thing you use for castration? We have a doe and a buck with scurs that we need to take care of.

kids

sixstrothers · #6 10/14/06, 04:43 PM

Yes, the ones for castration. Just becareful and get the band as close to the head as possible.
Lori

valhalladad · #7 10/15/06, 09:47 PM

Unless you have the band right at the base the horn is going to keep growing. Probably with just scurs. I was able to do several adult does without much trouble, but I never had much luck with bucks.

Wingdo · #8 10/15/06, 11:44 PM

Now that the weather has the flies on the run until next spring, I am considering banding what's left of our herd. We have one little doe that is quite snotty about letting the other doe, who is naturally polled, eat. If I were to do this, what would be the best way to make sure I get ALL the horn that is humanly possible to get?

Also...

Why is it so difficult to get the band close to the skull and keep it there? Is it because the band rolls back up the horn... or something I'm unaware of? I was planning on using a light file to create a channel for the band to set in, to insure they stay in place, but if there's something else I should be aware of, I'd rather know sooner than later.

And one last thing...

Since bucks are generally a pain to work on, and their horns are so wide at the base, I wonder if applying a light ring of Super Glue around the base of the horn and then putting the band on top of that, would be enough to keep the bands in place... any thoughts?

Thanks
Wing

chamoisee · #9 10/16/06, 12:54 AM

Filing or not, (and yes, filing will help seat the band in there) bands are a pain in the !!! and tend to have traumatic results. Some do fine and seem to suffer no ill effects, but all too often the animals end up head shy due to the pain of bumping the painful horn, and sometimes they never get over it and wind up almost impossible to handle.