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Author Topic: Abandoned goats  (Read 3367 times)

mcginty

  • Joined Apr 2010
  • Tyrone, N.I.
Abandoned goats
« on: September 21, 2014, 10:31:53 am »
I have two abandoned pigmy goats, males.
To keep as pets would  need to be castrated and horned.I think.
Not sure of there age, the horns are about 4ins. long.
Any advice most welcome.
« Last Edit: September 21, 2014, 10:44:07 am by mcginty »
That's the way the cookie crumbles.

fiestyredhead331

  • Joined Sep 2012
  • NW Highlands
    • Facebook
Re: Abandoned goats
« Reply #1 on: September 21, 2014, 11:46:37 am »
castration is the easy bit, vet does it with a local aneasthetic but disbudding/dehorning at this stage is not going to be an option I suspect.
keeper of goats, sheep, pigs, ducks, chickens, turkeys, dogs, cats, goldfish and children, just don't ask me which is the most work!

Lesley Silvester

  • Joined Sep 2011
  • Telford
Re: Abandoned goats
« Reply #2 on: September 21, 2014, 11:49:01 pm »
You would need to ask your vet's advice re the dehorning. It might be too late.

Buttermilk

  • Joined Jul 2014
Re: Abandoned goats
« Reply #3 on: September 22, 2014, 08:17:37 am »
I once rehomed a goat that had been dehorned as an adult.  You could look down the holes and see out of her nose, not nice at all and a nightmare with flies and debris from the hayrack.

At 4 inches I would keep trimming the points back to blunt them but not remove the whole horn.

Lesley Silvester

  • Joined Sep 2011
  • Telford
Re: Abandoned goats
« Reply #4 on: September 22, 2014, 11:59:00 pm »
I once rehomed a goat that had been dehorned as an adult.  You could look down the holes and see out of her nose, not nice at all and a nightmare with flies and debris from the hayrack.



Eurghh.

shygirl

  • Joined May 2013
Re: Abandoned goats
« Reply #5 on: September 23, 2014, 09:36:24 am »
all my goats have been horned and never caused any trouble. it doesnt need to be a routine procedure.

Steph Hen

  • Joined Jul 2013
  • Angus Scotland.
Re: Abandoned goats
« Reply #6 on: September 23, 2014, 10:52:27 am »
I once rehomed a goat that had been dehorned as an adult.  You could look down the holes and see out of her nose, not nice at all and a nightmare with flies and debris from the hayrack.


Omg

fiestyredhead331

  • Joined Sep 2012
  • NW Highlands
    • Facebook
Re: Abandoned goats
« Reply #7 on: September 23, 2014, 11:27:18 am »
goats have horns for a reason........mostly to scratch their butts with  ;D
keeper of goats, sheep, pigs, ducks, chickens, turkeys, dogs, cats, goldfish and children, just don't ask me which is the most work!

shygirl

  • Joined May 2013
Re: Abandoned goats
« Reply #8 on: September 23, 2014, 11:49:12 am »
goats have horns for a reason........mostly to scratch their butts with  ;D

or to rest their heads on whilst they sunbathe, yes really  ;D

Anke

  • Joined Dec 2009
  • St Boswells, Scottish Borders
Re: Abandoned goats
« Reply #9 on: September 23, 2014, 03:01:41 pm »
If they are older than 7 days the castration has to be done surgically (as opposed to ring them as lambs would be, and actually pygmies are probably too small for ringing anyway)and by a vet. Not a difficult thing to do, best to speak to vet about it.

However removing horns at this stage will not be an option, yes in theory it may be possible but it is a dangerous procedure, causes loads of blood loss and a real danger of getting infected/slow to heal etc etc. Vet would be unlikely to agree to it.

The majority of pygmies keep their horns anyway...

jinglejoys

  • Joined Jul 2009
Re: Abandoned goats
« Reply #10 on: September 23, 2014, 07:54:01 pm »
I had a two year old British male dehorned as a driving goat no problem but that was by a vet who knew what they were doing vets nowadays don't have a clue

mcginty

  • Joined Apr 2010
  • Tyrone, N.I.
Re: Abandoned goats
« Reply #11 on: September 26, 2014, 09:56:10 pm »
We have decided to castrate by the vet,
and leave the horns.
That's the way the cookie crumbles.

 

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