Need goat kid help!

[Andrewdp123]

My goat is about to have her first kidding and we are debating on if we should dehorn them or not. If we do dehorn them we want to use a kind like this http://www.tractorsupply.com/producer-s-pride-reg-electric-dehorner-1019759. Has anyone used the Producer's Pride® Electric Dehorner from Tractor Supply Company? Any suggestions are useful. Thanks.

 

[ImpulsiveFarmer]

Pay some one to do it that has experience. It's not hard to screw up. My one goat buck was done by his previous owners who did not know what they were doing. They either didn't leave the iron on long enough or use enough heat, but he now has two little stubs that are constantly getting cracked. We have to check him daily to make sure his little horn stubs don't get infected.

Find a farmer in the area that has experience de-budding a goat and either pay him to do it or see if you can shadow him and learn how to do it properly. Or you can pay a vet.

Please don't try to dehorn or castrate your goat on your own without any first hand experience. There are certain things you need to learn hands on and those are two of them. Youtube, forums, and books are not always the best learning devices.

 

[therapydoglady]

I have had goats for 30 years, and we always disbudd ours. The disbudding iron you are looking at is very affordable, but you have to wait between horns to let it heat up again. To be quite honest, it is a PIA!. If you are going to keep goats for more than just a little while, look up Caprine Supply on the computer. They have everything you could possibly need for raising and caring for goats. I highly recommend the Rheinhart (I think it is the biggest one they make, but I've had mine for 15 years now and still using it!) If you don't intend to have many goats for many years, your local 4-H agent or FFA agent could probably help put you in touch with someone to do it for you. A vet will probably want to cut them out surgically, which is very expensive and un-necessary if you have a 4-H or FFA.

You don't mention what kind of goats you have, and the horn buds in different breeds mature at different ages. HOWEVER! If you can feel them under the skin, THAT'S the time to burn them, BEFORE they erupt. You will get a nicer, smoother head on your adult goat, and more likely than not, you will not have scurs (partial growth of a horn that usually curls back into their head and has to be constantly cut back...a bloody endeavor).

Good luck!

 

[Andrewdp123]

SHE JUST GAVE BIRTH!!! i've decided not to dehorn her, but I was wondering when they are ready to be sold?

 

[Stacykins]

SHE JUST GAVE BIRTH!!! i've decided not to dehorn her, but I was wondering when they are ready to be sold?

That depends. Are you going to let the dam raise the kid, or are you going to pull the kid to bottle feed? If you are selling her as a bottle baby, you can sell them quite early. I picked up a set of kids earlier this spring that were 9 and 14 days old at the time. They were definitely bottle kids!

There are pros and cons to both bottle raising and dam raising. A dam raised kid can be just as friendly with people as a bottle kid, as long as get plenty of interaction.

 

[therapydoglady]

SHE JUST GAVE BIRTH!!! i've decided not to dehorn her, but I was wondering when they are ready to be sold?

I've decided not to dehorn "her?!?" Which her? A kid her, or the mamma her? If the kid "her" I'd definitely think twice about NOT dehorning her. Dehorning is not only a cosmetic issue. It can be a life or death issue as well. My neighbor never dehorns his goats, and he loses several kids and even some adults because the get their heads through the fence and can't extract it. Dogs, coyotes, stress, starvation, dehydration...

If it's the mamma her, good decision! I'd definitely think twice ( and three and four times) about dehorning her. After they are grown, it is a MAJOR and very PAINFUL ordeal.

 

[Andrewdp123]

I've decided not to dehorn the kid...I only have 2 goats, 3 counting this one...So i pay pretty close attention, wouldnt be stuck in the fence long enough to cause much if any damage.

 

[therapydoglady]

I am sorry that you have decided not to dehorn the kid...what if you don't keep her forever? What about the next home she goes to? What kind of fence will they have? How much attention will they give her?

 

[PotterWatch]

We have chosen not to disbud kids born at our farm. It is a choice every goat owner must make for themselves. There are pluses and minuses to both options. For us, the pain of disbudding and the frequency of scurs on bucklings makes it not worth it.