should i or shouldnt i disbudd.

[bheila]

The goats I have now all have horns but when they have their kids this summer they will be disbudded. Please have someone experienced show you how to disbud the first time.
If your going to sell your goats I guarantee you most people want nothing to do with horns.

 

[Chatychick]

Well I started with horned goats and talk about destruction...all the fences had to be redone. Also after 1 gets caught in the fence and a dog get it you will change your mind. Talk about trauma...lots of time healing and I wont do that ever again. I disbud mine now and the older goats have been banded and have lost their horns...Some do bleed sometimes but not much. It looks worse than what it is.
I have seen goats fight and break each others horns and its not a pretty sight. They might get along for a while but you never know what will tick off a goat and away they go...I have seen them bleeding and scurs are easy to fix if by chance you dont get all the bud.
Yes its harder on the disbudder than the disbudee and the first 1 I did I cried but felt better when it scampered off to momma and was playing a few minutes later.
Yes get someone to show you how to do it or start with the boys first to get the hang of it. I personally started with the boys I knew I wasnt keeping and got better with each 1 I did. It was my little grandson that had the hardest time as he was 2 and cried longer than the babies did.
He loves his goat babies and now he dont live here anymore but he still loves his goats and I wouldnt do anything to jepardize his eyes or teeth with goats with horns...they can do some serious damages if left and with small children. Yes its personal preference but my preference from now on is no horns and the sooner you do it the better.

 

[Godsgrl]

After suffering an attack by a frustrated buck with horns, I would go for the disbudding. I was bruised to nearly bleeding by his horns, and it made me afraid of goats. Horns are incredibly dangerous, I recommend disbudding. Good luck whatever you decide.

 

[redhen]

disbudding isnt bad..its the surgical de-horning that is torture for a goat.(i know this, i had it done to my doe, and i still hate myself for the pain she had to endure..)..it IS cruel if you dont disbudd within the first week of life though...i personally will only have disbudded goats...

 

[Jolly Acres]

It's definitely your choice, but them horns sure can be destructive.

I disbud my Pygmy and Nigerians..
I have a large mutt wether that has horns, he has ruined plenty of fence.

 

[Thunderhill]

If you have a good vet he would probably do it pretty cheap...cheaper than buying the iron. we have a vet that will do it for 10.00. We have too many babies now, so we bought the iron. If you plan to have lots of babies in the future I'd go ahead and get the iron.
If the vet does it, only let him give the topical/local deadining agent around the horns. Don't let him put them to sleep to do it. Anesthesia like that is bad for goats.

 

[adorable]

I am going to call the vet to see if i can get him to do it. One of my goats ,the guy said she was natural polled. But when you look at her head.The one side has a bit of a horn about 1 inch long ,You can barely see it. Do natural polled goats do grow some type of horn?I have other goats that are natural polled and there is nothing there. I have one goat that has horns and she is the boss. In the other pen i have the one that has no horns with one that has. The one that has .is the boss. When i went to pet the horn one. My wrist went between them. She moved and almost broke my wrist.SO anybody that pets her i always tell them not to pet her head. But you know how kids are. NObody really dosnt want to buy horn goats. Because when i was looking for goats. I didnt want horn either. SOMEONE mentioned that it is nature. That is the way they are. Just like males. It is nature to leave all the boys become bucks. No i dont think so. So you have to fixed some. To me this is the same reason. I dont believe in dehorning when once they have horns. That is really cruel. But when they are babies (disbudding)I am ok with.I think.

 

[adorable]

KATE ,,,,I would like your imput please on this..

 

[SheriM]

Do you have other goats? Do they have horns or not? I raise mostly Boer goats and traditionally they are left with the horns on, but I do have some does who were disbudded and one or two who are polled and they are at a definite disadvantage in a herd full of horns. And yes, I too have problems with kids getting their heads stuck in the fence. Eventually, they get too big to put their heads in, but there's a period when they can get them in but not out.

Having said all of that, I have watched kids being disbudded and that was the main reason I decided to start leaving the horns on. It was really hard to watch...for me anyway. Thankfully, because I have meat goats, I have the option. Most dairy breeders automatically take the horns off, as dairy goats can't be shown with horns and they get in the way on the milk stand. So, I guess it depends a lot on your particular cirumstances.

Personally, I like having built in handles, too!

 

[annmarie]

I did disbud when I raised goats (okay, my father did!) since they were dairy goats and show goats. It wasn't a big deal for me though because I grew up on a dairy farm (cow) and disbudding was a normal duty for my father with all the calves. The few times I was around horned goats I almost always seemed to injure myself in one small way or another. I guess I just wasn't used to the horns, but I definitely did not like them! I understand the argument against disbudding, but I do think that if I get back into raising goats, I'd still disbud. I find that disbudded goats are much easier to hug and play with!