Disbudding tomorrow-support please

PrettyPaisley · #1 03/31/13, 09:48 PM

I am SOOOO nervous! I got my disbudding box yesterday and the brand new disbudding iron and 22 kids who are ready to be disbudded ... I just need a big ol' heaping dose of courage!

I know at least one is past the disbudding stage and a few might not be ready just yet but the majority are ready to go. The vet will not give me any pain relief for them; do you think that is something I would need? I witnessed disbudding in March of 2011 so I'm not going at it blindly-I'm just scared to hurt someone.

Thanks for any tips!

coso · #2 03/31/13, 10:00 PM

With 22 kids make sure you don't let your iron get too cold. When you disbud one it takes a lot of heat out of the iron. Before I disbud one I will stick it against a piece of wood and make sure I can get a quick char mark on the wood before I do a horn bud. Make sure you have a hot iron. Make sure you get a good copper ring, all they way around. You will do fine !!! Go Pretty Paisley !! If you have Banamine you can give them a 1/2 cc or so, but I never have. Shave their heads if you are new at it. You can see the horn bud better, plus you don't have all the hair to burn through.

LoneStrChic23 · #3 03/31/13, 10:33 PM

Definately recommend shaving heads first....Makes it so much easier.

I also like to ice pack my kids heads after burning.... Cools them off and makes sure I'm giving my iron plenty of time to reheat fully. I burn one side, ice pack, burn the other, ice pack..... I'm not nearly as fast as some, but my babies always look good, and to date, none with scurs.

I prefer to give banamine before I get started as I'm a big softy, but most folks don't use any pain meds......My vet wouldn't use pain meds either, but I just prefer to...

However you end up doing it, make sure your iron is at full heat before each burn. When doing your burns, count actual seconds (I do 6 seconds), not "I'm panicked, super speedy seconds" & keep calm. Don't forget the gloves

You can do it! I learned only by reading and watching a video

Awnry Abe · #4 03/31/13, 11:59 PM

Maybe consider doing them in several batches to give yourself a break. I tend to lose attention to detail in a task that wears on me.

Backfourty,MI. · #5 04/01/13, 06:14 AM

Best of Luck, You can Do It!

**mygoat** · #6 04/01/13, 07:30 AM

The vets at MSU really really strongly suggest blocking the nerves with lidocaine pre-disbudding. Sometimes it doesn't work, but when it does it's quite amazing the difference.

None of my vets will sell it to me, though, so I do it without. If I could get it, I'd use it. My vets think I'm crazy. They won't sell me lutelyse, or banamine etc.

I've never given banamine, pre or post disbudding.

I've also never given tetanus antitoxin at castration or disbudding.

Alice In TX/MO · #7 04/01/13, 07:54 AM

I don't use pain meds, as they bounce back within seconds.

Do not try to do them all at once. Good grief and pollywogs, it used to make my legs wobbly to do four at a time.

Ditto what Chris said about making sure your iron is hot.

Cannon_Farms · #8 04/01/13, 08:19 AM

Did you see the video i posted on the last thread on disbuding? You can practice on a water mellon

luckyinkentucky · #9 04/02/13, 08:24 PM

I just saw your post, so I'm probably a little late, (a day late and a dollar short like they say!) I can say that when we bought our kid box from Hoeggers we also bought some antibiotic salve, like we had seen someone else use. It did not work at all, almost seemed to aggravate the little fella, so the next time we used Solarcaine antibacterial spray (from Wal Mart) and that seemed to work way better. It may not be traditional, it just happened to work for us.

In case you run out of other options. Good luck, that is one of the worst parts of goats! I hate hearing the screaming and knowing it's all my fault, but it's got to be done.