Horns, like hooves?

BiGtImEfArMeRs4 · #1 09/10/05, 06:45 PM

This is probably a stupid question, but I will ask it anyway. When you trim hooves, (mainly the overgrown ones) the nerves in them die back, and then a few weeks later, you can trim them again. It is the same way with horns?
Thanks!
Heather

cricket · #2 09/10/05, 07:11 PM

I'm going to jump in here and say no. Horns you can trim but not very often and then only a little bit. They have a vein running up the middle of them, I think. I know that when you band them, it kills the blood supply and therefore the horns.

**mygoat** · #3 09/10/05, 07:19 PM

no, there is a very large vein in the horns. that's what makes them feel warm to the touch. i have heard stories of goats bleeding to death from someone trying to cut off thier horns full grown. i dont know if that is all togeather tru, but why risk it? i cut off the tip of my goat's horns so that they dont accidentally hurt me.

BiGtImEfArMeRs4 · #4 09/10/05, 07:31 PM

That is all that we have been doing now. Just taking off a little bit of the tip. Just was wondering if you could take a little bit off every so often, and there would eventually be no horns left.
Thanks for the help!
Heather

Goat Freak · #5 09/10/05, 09:13 PM

My parents got so sick of one of our females getting her head stuck in the fence, she was lonly because she was by herself due to the fact that she was going to have babies soon, that my dad cut half her horns off. She was full grown, over six years old, and her horns bleed like crazy, we just stuffed cotton balls in there and some perioxid and the next day she was fine. They never want to do it again though because now she is our ugliest goat, she wasn't too pretty to begin with.

**mygoat** · #6 09/10/05, 09:52 PM

ill bet the cutting off was painful, as well
no, i dont think that the vein would shrink back. it would heal over, but be just below the surface.

Jen H · #7 09/11/05, 12:44 AM

The only way to remove the horns permanently is to either band them, as was mentioned before, or saw them off at the base, cauterize the wound to stop the bleeding and kill the root of the horn, and then keep the area clean until it can heal up. I really recommend having a vet do the de-horning if you choose this route, and wait until after the flies have died for the winter.

Otherwise you can cut the tip of the horns off. The horns will keep on growing, but you can cut the tips off so you won't get poked. If you make sure to only cut where the horn feels cold, you shouldn't have any problems with bleeding - you might keep some Quick Clot on hand just in case, though.