How did you get through it? Re:disbudding

[nappint]

I'm very new to goats but not farm animals I've seen or done pretty much all things ie; vaccs, worming, wound care etc.

I don't consider myself a wimp or weak stomached...but today was the first time I saw a disbudding and let me tell you I was surprised at my reaction when that doeling started screaming I really had to fight the need to snatch it out of that box and run away with it

Has anyone else had this reaction? How did you deal with it?

I know it needs to be done so I have to figure out a way to get over that feeling!

TIA

[Minelson]

This is how I dealt with it. We had 2 to do, Frankie & Flossie. My husband drove my truck to the place we were having it done while I sat in the back seat cuddling the babies. When we got there he parked as far away from the building as possible...I stayed in the backseat, handed him Flossie first and he ran her in (it was raining) He came back with her when she was done and I took her and handed him Frankie. I waited in the truck and kissed and hugged Flossie while Frankie was being done (he was being banded too, poor little guy) Then he was done and I just held them both and loved them as hard as I could. Then we went home and I never heard or saw a thing...just smelled the burnt hair on their little heads.

[dosthouhavemilk]

I cannot really help people new to it since it is something I was raised with. Though we didn't have goats done until about 9 years ago.
Now I do the disbudding myself. I hold the kid down and burn their little noggins. And when I am finished I tell them to "Go tell mommy what the big mean lady did." lol
It is a neccesity in our herd. I cannot stand horns and our management system does not allow for them safely.
I have also seen mature goats dehorned with OB Wire. Let me tell you. That was ugly and I would never want to be the reason a goat has to go through that. These were not our goats but goats being done at the vet's office when we had brought in some of our kids to be done.
So, all kids are burned here, unless someone requests the horns be left on....or I am sick for a month and they don't get burned in time..like this year. Every doe kid was burned though. I didn't care how old they were...lol
If you have the option to not be there and you don't think you will ever burn kids yourself, then no need to put yourself through it. The kids have forgotten about it fifteen minutes later.

[nappint]

Thanks for your thoughts and ideas

Right now I really like the idea of not being there (sitting in the truck sounds really, really good ) but I've always made it a point to make sure I know how to do anything and everything that has to do with my animals - I guess that's why this has me so frazzled.

I think the man who was doing the disbudding hit the nail on the head when he said "they scream like little babies, don't they" I think that's what is bothering me, it sounds so much like my children crying - weird how we're wired like that.

I guess I just need to gut it up and get over it I know it needs to be done

[Drewusa81]

I too was around farm animals for a long time. I worked on a dairy farm and dehorned 100's of calves. I figured goats would be the same. I soon found out I was wrong! I never knew that they would scream as lound or as high pitched sounding as they do. It was a scary experience, and after I did the first 2 kids I ever had, I swore I would never do it again! The next year I had kids, I contacted a vet who disbuds and had her do them. She put them to sleep and they didnt make a peep. Some grew back scurs, and it was about $10 a head to do them. This year I got to thinking that maybe I should try disbudding myself again. Since I hated doing it the first time, the thought of doing it again really made me not want to do it. I called the vet and found out that the price for disbudding this year was $13 dollars a head. I got to thinking that maybe knowing that I was saving $13 dollars for every kid I did would help me. I decided that I had to get over my fear/nerves of disbudding again, so I called a fellow goat owner who recently had kids. I told her my situation, and she told me she would let me do her kids to gain my confidence back. I have my own disbudding iron so I decided that I would give it a try. Since the screaming was by far the worst part of it before (for me anyway), I decided to try ear plugs. Yes, it probably makes me sound like a wuss, but I figured if I wasnt distracted or scared by the kids screaming, I could concentrate on getting a good burn and doing a good job. Guess what? It worked! I disbudded her kids and did a great job, and actually, they cried more when I was giving them their pre-disbudding hair cut then they did during the rest of the disbudding.

I have since started disbudding my own kids again and with everyone that I do, the job gets that much easier. If you can put your self in the state of mind to do the job you can do it! It's over fast and they kids wont hold it against you. The more times you see it done or do it, the easier it is for you. Maybe give it a try a few more times (try the ear plugs!) it will get easier for you!

[Terre d'Esprit]

I just had a few boer/dairy crosses done by the vet-- he charged me less than $5.00 each to disbud them. He also sedates them and it is much easier on them. I also band, tag and tattoo them when they are out. Much easier that way-- the boys never even seemed uncomfortable from the banding when they woke up.

[dosthouhavemilk]

I know ours kids scream more at being held in an uncomfortable position than anything.
The screaming bothers most people. Dad is amazed it doesn't phase me more than it does, but it has to be done. I have made the decision to put them through it so I am going to be part of it and make sure it is done properly.
It does get easier and I have learned to simply ignore the crying. They are going to cry, no way around it. Goats are vocal about everything.

[wildhorse]

Its not just the screaming ...its the smell of burning hair and flesh I had jesses baby done today I know I need to get over it I just know I will burn there little brains out....

[waygr00vy]

I had my vet do the first couple I had, before I was quite ready. He sedated them. He offered to give me the sedative where I could sedate them myself, but I am too nervous about that. I was nervous even when he sedated them as they looked half dead and I have heard goats don't handle sedation as well. I figure as long as they are screaming when I am burning, they are definitely still alive and kicking! If I am burning one and they get real quite, I always stop for a second to make sure they are ok!

[jBlaze]

Disbuddin may seem shockingly horrible UNTIL.. you see a goat that is no longer a baby have to be de-horned. After you see that and the lingering baggage resulting from that, you should think of dis-budding as a tiny paper cut. Dis-budding kids at less than two weeks and they are totally over it in three minutes. Dis-budding after two months is WAY more traumatic. So DON'T feel bad for disbudding your kids! That way, if you ever need to sell them, and the people who get them don't want horns, you don't have to worry about the trauma of them having to be de-horned.

[Sherrynboo]

We disbudded Gingers boys this evening. I hope I did a good enough job. I told my husband to time me and that I needed to hold it on there between 5-10 seconds. I could only hold out for 4. I was so scared of burning too deep! The boys were real troopers too! No crying about the clipping and the first one hardly cried over the hot iron. The second one was a bit more vocal. We'll do the other two who were born today on Saturday or Sunday.

Sherry in GA

[AnnaS]

Originally Posted by jBlaze

Disbuddin may seem shockingly horrible UNTIL.. you see a goat that is no longer a baby have to be de-horned. After you see that and the lingering baggage resulting from that, you should think of dis-budding as a tiny paper cut. Dis-budding kids at less than two weeks and they are totally over it in three minutes. Dis-budding after two months is WAY more traumatic. So DON'T feel bad for disbudding your kids! That way, if you ever need to sell them, and the people who get them don't want horns, you don't have to worry about the trauma of them having to be de-horned.

JBlaze is right on the money here.

Dehorning- even the comparatively benign horn banding- creates weeks of discomfort and many minutes of intense pain. The "baggage" jBlaze mentions include losses of weight and herd social status.

Horned goats, like unbroken horses, have a more limited value. The injuries horns give other goats, the annoyance of constantly freeing horns from fences and feeders, and the danger to handlers, all devalue a goat. Disbudding a doeling gives her a brighter future, no matter what.

I'll say it again- disbudding is like taking a baby for her first shots. It's painful for her and you can't explain why it's for her benefit. And a goat kid's memory is much shorter than a baby's.

[KimM]

I was.....ok, still am quite squeamish about it. The first time I had mine done I hauled them to a vet who sedated them. It took a long time it seemed and they all had bad scurs anyway. This time, Roseanna very kindly came over and did them and not only was it quick, she did an excellent job but the main thing is that the kids got over it immediately. So that makes it a LOT easier to deal with.

[deetu]

I have found that it bothers my husband more then the kids. They were screaming when they were getting their pre-haircuts and he asked if it hurt. Then he started asking if I had to go back and do it again(making sure I have a clean copper ring) where last time he would say to make sure I have a copper ring. I have to do three more today and am wondering if I should just do it myself. It's easier to have someone handy to hand things to you (I kneel on them instead of using a box. Works great) but I can and have done it by myself.

Oh, I've also had two different vets do it in the past. One sedated them and started working on them before they were out anyway and I worried over them until they came out of it. The second one injected novicaine which made it scream in itself and I thought he was going to burn through her head. Used a big iron, dug off the cap, left a hugh area open and scurs grew.
I have a smaller iron, less burning and only the ones that were a couple weeks old with small horns grew small scurs once and a while. I also put Wonder Dust on it after and was very happy with the results, absolutely no oosing.

[jBlaze]

Yeah Sherry! good for you!

Good point Anna, it is like taking your children for shots, now that bothered me, lol!