having a REALLY hard time deciding to dehorn my goats

[cerridwenn]

i don't have goats (yet) so take this for what it's worth.

there is a house i drive by regularly with a tiny fenced yard with goats in it. they have their horns and are adult size. the owners have tied a small piece of wood across the horns so the tips can't puncture anyone and so they can't get caught in things so easily. the goat does not appear to be impaired or discomforted in the slightest and although he looks a little silly it seems to be very effective. and besides, everyone wants a silly goat, right?

anyway maybe you've already tried something like this and it didn't work - just wanted to offer a non-surgical alternative.

 

[FireTigeris]

that's kinda what I ment by hat... make them pretty and sell some here too.

 

[EweSheep]

Our Nubian does were disbudded incorrectly and left nubs like nails. I just make a routine hoof trimmings and I would trim their buds as well. Yes it is a messy job but it heals fast. Better than tearing it off like I have seen some old time cattle people around here. Now that is a very messy job!

 

[taraann81]

I would have it done. I have 6 goats. 3 that were disbudded, 3 horned adults. My two adult does with horns were dam raised and while friendly aren't in your face and I have never had an issue with their horns. However my horned wether who was bottle raised is very much in your face. All of my goats are well behaved and never even in play even pretend to butt at you. That being said though there have been many near misses with our togg wethers horns. for example, Bending over to pick something up, he comes up to see what your doing and then lifts his head. I am extremely cautious around him so accidents are prevented. But if I could find a knowledgeable vet I would have it done on him.

I have tried banding our goats horns. I would be replacing the bands daily, they rub them off constantly, I think they must itch. I just can't find the time to band horns every morning and so that idea went out the window. Now my poor wether looks ridiculous and is the laughing stock of the herd as he walks around with tennis palls on the tips of each horn.

 

[ksalvagno]

Your children's safety is more important than the goats. The fact that you found a knowledgeable vet who can do it is great. I would have them dehorned before someone gets hurt. You certainly don't need a lawsuit on your hands if one of your children's friends gets gored.

 

[cassie]

I had a goat dairy for many years. We have disbudded and dehorned hundreds and hundreds of goats over the years. Some were adults. To dehorn we used a dehorning saw with obstetrical wire and sawed the horns as close to the head as possible. Then we cauterized the area with a hot dehorning iron to stop the bleeding. We would also use blood stop powder if necessary. We would then pack the open sinus with an antibiotic powder and apply a bandage composed of a kotex minipad secured with duct tape. In a couple days we would remove the bandage. If the sinus was still open we would add more antibiotic powder and reapply the bandage. If the sinus was sealed over we would just leave the bandage off. While not pleasant for the goat (or us) we never had any fatalities from the procedure. We did make sure to give a tetanus shot though. I never used the rubber band method but if I had it to do over I probably would. Less messy.

For us, horned goats were simply not an option. If nothing else they would get their heads caught in the fence and if we didn't find them in time they would die in the heat.

 

[imtc]

thank you so much everyone for your responses...I'm feeling better about it although know I'll be stressed the "day of". I'm just really not willing to risk the safety of me and my children over an hour of surgery discomfort. They are such spoiled babies I'm having a hard time knowing what they'll be going thru during the procedure. I'll also be calling the vet in person to talk it out a bit as the lady I talked to when I made the appt. may not have given me the right info (as far as sedation & pain mgmt). Just not pleasant any way I look at it but probably the safest bet for me to do for everyone's benefit and safety.
I do plan to breed one of my girls to milk so that would be another reason (easier handling). I would definately disbud any kid she had now that I know what a pain those horns can be.

 

[imtc]

well the deed was done friday. I still agonized over doing it but still feel like I made the right decision. They look surprisingly better than expected as far as the surgery sight. I was expecting it to be a little more messy and "frankenstein-ish" but the vet did a really good job. One is acting more "back to normal" than the other but I'm seeing improvement. When I brought them home they did eat then just wanted to be left alone and laid low. This morning one of them was pretty much ignoring me and would even run away from me if I tried to touch her and looked like she had a migrane...kinda moving in slow motion all day. (mad at me I'm sure...can't blame her) then by tonight was being more social and visited with me for a while and even tried to lean her head on me like she did with her horns. It's going to take some getting used to seeing them with their new look but I'm glad it's over with.

 

[Skyesrocket]

I'm glad it's over with.

I'll bet you are! Considering that you have young kids around you made the right decision.​