Who disbuds for you??

[jlagee]

Does anyone not disbud their own kids? I am buying two babies from a man who doesn't have them disbudded and I have no clue how I'm gonna get this done without having them here with me - I think they would be too old if I were to wait until I had them -

Any ideas??
Thanks!!

[GraceAlice]

If I ever dehorn I will be using my vet, he puts them to sleep, burns them, vaccinates them, and then they wake up and are fine. Costs about 40 bucks (pun not intended) for 1 goat, and that would be too expensive for a big farm.

[jlagee]

Wow! Ill pray that my vet offers the same for similar pricing!! I was figuring hundreds each!!

Do you know how old is too old for does? I've read up to maybe 10 days depending on the doe.

Thanks!!

[GraceAlice]

I think it is around 40-60 dollars for each one, he is very nice and offers cheap prices. He was going to AI our does for free.

I really don't know, I *think* your number is correct, but since I don't disbud, I'm really not sure. I think my vet can do them older than normal, but like I said, I'm almost completely useless on this subject! lol Sorry!

[GraceAlice]

Some vague research shows that you disbud at 4-10 days... http://www.caprinesupply.com/disbudding-kids

Although I'm sure that 4 day thing would be for little bucklings. Does probably need to be disbudded at around 10 days.

[jlagee]

Thanks so much GraceAlice!! I'm going to check it out now :-)

[GraceAlice]

I hope you didn't think I was talking about the vet procedure...! I was talking about regular disbudding! You would have to ask your vet for the procedure thing, if he even does it.

But, otherwise, you're welcome! Good luck.

[Alice In TX/MO]

The only time I had a vet do it, the procedure was a total failure.

I disbud my own.

[GraceAlice]

Well, my vet has done it many times and it has been successful, so I trust this particular vet doing it. All of the goats I have seen that he disbudded were perfectly fine and not damaged at all. Some vets aren't as good at this though, that's for sure.

[DenMacII]

We disbud our own too.

I'd look over the procedure at http://fiascofarm.com/goats/disbudding.htm

We follow this guideline as best we can.

We've disbudded as early as two days on bigger bucks - when the buds are present to as late as 7 days. It depends on the size, strength, and bud appearance in each kid.

Physically, it's not a hard procedure, but you have to be prepared for the smoke, and squealing - which can be hard. As traumatizing as it appears to the kid, the kid is acting normal with Mama or other kids within a minute or two.

Best of luck to you.

[Clovers_Clan]

Wow! I have an experienced goat vet that does them for $5-$10 and does an awesome job. I take them to him. Never knew just how fortunate I was! For best results the kids should be less than two weeks, one week preferred. He does not do anesthesia, that could explain some of the cost. But $40 sounds really steep to me, unless its a farm call. You might contact a county extension agent, FFA or 4H chapter, they might be able to give you a referral to an experienced herdsman if not vet.

[GraceAlice]

Well, he does anesthesia and gives them their vaccines.

[Wendy]

Well, he does anesthesia and gives them their vaccines.

This is just my opinion, but I would never allow a vet to put a goat under to disbud them. I had my vet remove horns on an adult pygmy buck before & he didn't really want to. He said goats do not do well under anesthesia.

You can disbud them in a matter of seconds & then they are off & running. Not sure why he puts them under unless he is worried about them moving while doing it. I have never had one move enough to do any harm while I disbudd. I hold them on my lap, no box. $40 a goat is not cheap. I disbud for people usually for free. If they insist on paying I charge $5 a goat. I will vaccinate them if they bring the vaccine.

I do it when I can feel the horn buds easily. Some goats it is a couple of days old & others as much as 2 weeks old. Dwarf breeds can go longer than dairy. I have had Lamancha bucklings born that needed done right away. It really depends on the goat. I hate doing them when the horn bud is not easily felt.

[GraceAlice]

He doesn't burn while they are awake because he thinks it is mean.

[Wendy]

He doesn't burn while they are awake because he thinks it is mean.

It's nice that he has a heart, but he really is putting them more at risk by giving them anesthesia. I am just really surprised as no vet that I know around here would do that unless they just want some extra money.

[Tango]

disbudding is one of the hardest things i've ever done. i follow the instructions on the fias co farm website. had the kid box and a powerful iron - can't remember the name now but it was one of the best for goats- and i still found it soooo difficult. out of everything i've done with kids and calves, this was probably the most excruciating. but they seem to shake it off like nothing, wish i could do that too.

[Rockytopsis]

jlagee,
where do you live? Have you checked with other goat people in your area to see if they can do it for you? Check with your county extension agent and see if he knows some one.
Nancy

[DenMacII]

We don't use the box they have on Fiasco Farms. One of us holds the goat while the other does the the disbudding.

[Farmer Jayne]

I attempted to disbud two little bucklings once. My husband usually does it while I cry. This time he was away- he travels for work- and I needed to do it myself. I got everything ready. I shaved their heads, which they really seemed to like, and got the iron heated up. I held the little guy down and picked up the hot iron. As the iron got close to the buckling's head I could feel the heat on my hand, and nope, nope, nope, I could not put that hot iron to that baby's head. I put it down, picked up the kid and just cried. I'm just a big wimp. Those boys, Sam and Dean, haha, had to wait until my husband came home. They both ended up with scurs, so I know I did them a grave dis-service by not disbudding them when I should have. We sold Sammy, but we still have Dean, He is a wether and destined for the freezer. I can do pretty much anything else that needs to be done, even slaughter, but the disbudding just rips my heart out. And you're right, in a few minutes the babies are fine, but I'm still crying.

[dozedotz]

We, also, do our own. Always have. It is the least liked job around here. We usually do them at about a week old...some earlier (usually bucklings are ready earlier than a week). We use a Rheinhardt 50 (sp?) and wait between kids for a good 5 minutes to let the thing build up to capacity heat each time. Getting it hot is very, very important. The only problem we ever have now is some of the kids are too short for our box (Hoegger)...we have to "build up the bottom" of the box with towels. We usually have to tuck extra towels around the girls, too. They are just so slender (these are standard Nubian) and can scrunch and pull back easily if they are not secured with towels around them. My husband does the dirty work and I do the counting (one, one thousand, etc.) and then I do the cuddling and bottle afterwards. We have not had scurs YET...even on the bucklings. I usually, but not always, shave the bud area so that my husband can see to be sure and completely cover the bud with the hot disbudder. He holds it tight while I count to 8 - one thousand, then release and cool - back for 4 - one thousand then release and cool. After a thorough check we knock off the cap with the side of the disbudding tool and using the side of the tool to roll over the exposed center. This method produces a white ring...not a copper ring. We follow Black Mesa in Arizona (Katherine Heinneiger sp?) steps on this procedure and it has not let us down. She has a much more detailed description with explanation for "why the white ring" on her website. I have watched our vet do it on someone else's goats. He does not use anesthetic and waits until the kids are much older than we do...he says he thinks that doing it too soon on a young animal is cruel is his reason. We have never had to re-do a kid and that is the risk with doing it later in my opinion...also, the older kids that we watched him disbud had horns! not buds! That looked more painful to me...