Lesson of the day: scurs bleed a LOT

**mygoat** · #1 02/19/10, 09:39 AM

My wether, Tux, grows a little tab of a scur. I used to just grab and pull it off, or snip it off with the hoof trimmers regularly, with little to no blood. I let it go longer than normal, and yesterday I had trimmers in my pocket. I grabbed him, lopped it off, and let him go back to eating. About half an hour later my dad comes in and asks what happened to Tux; I go out and the poor guy's face is COVERED in blood! From a scur that is hardly bigger around than my pointer finger! He looked terrible and I wiped his face off a little then and then a couple hours later. This morning it has stopped bleeding but there is a huge blood clot on the top of his head and his face is all shiny.

I'm probably going to wash his face when I get home, but what should I do about the blood clot on his head? I'm wondering if it's the only reason the scur stopped bleeding, so I'm nervous to remove it. If I remove it and it starts bleeding, what can I do to stop it?

madness · #2 02/19/10, 10:58 AM

Ugh, I hate bleeding scurs. We had a buckling that would knock his off on a regular basis and we'd find him soaked in blood. Typically, it had already stopped bleeding - with a big clot sort of thing like you are describing. We always left it alone, assuming anything we did would probably just start the bleeding again. We did use sprays and such for infection though.

So...probably just leave it alone.

Jay27 · #3 02/19/10, 01:49 PM

I have a wether who was my first shot at dehorning that didn't turn out so well. He has mini-horns - a little more than scurs. Didn't burn him long enough... but I got the others right and am a pro now. ANYWAY, I worry about what to do if he were to break one and start bleeding. Cow guy told me I could cauterize with the dehorning iron if he was really bleeding. I'm interested to see what other folks here have to say!!!

madness · #4 02/19/10, 02:37 PM

I thought about reburning Max too when his scur would come off. But it was always so ugly and swollen when it happened. I hardly knew what part to burn and what not too. So I just opted to leave it alone...

valsey · #5 02/19/10, 03:31 PM

I'd leave it alone. In a few days you can scrape away the dried blood - did it myself just this morning. If you do mess with it and it starts to bleed, you could use some Blood Stop powder on it.
http://www.drugs.com/vet/blood-stop-powder.html

#6 02/19/10, 08:45 PM

My buck, Ron got his scour caught in the gate and ripped it off. He's a Saanen and had blood all over. I would squirt a bit of iodine on it in the morning and at night to keep infection out. He didn't look pretty-in fact, he looked like he had lost a bar fight. But within a week he was back to his usual onry self.

Oh, and don't try to have DH hold him while you try to get close and check it out. Those scours are still sharp and since bucks don't appreciate you getting so close they have a habit of whacking you in the face with their nasty bloody scour. Talk about OUCH!

Backfourty,MI. · #7 02/20/10, 05:56 AM

Our last buck had scurs & would alwasy butt heads with his wethered buddy, especially when there were any girls in heat on the other side of the barn. He would knock his scurs off quite often & they would bleed & sometimes have the clot like your talking about. I never worried about them too much but would put the furall spray on if it was the season for flies, etc. Otherwise he always did fine.