The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Livestock => Sheep => Topic started by: bloomer on November 29, 2014, 10:51:40 pm
-
i noticed today whilst doing a full flock check and resort ready to release rocky the tup onto his willing ladies that his horns are getting awfully close to his face and the way they are growing i think they will start to rub/dig in...
is there anything i can do other than trim them back?
if i do have to trim them how do i do it safely? rocky thinks he's a Labrador and very trusting so i don't want to upset him more than i have to!
as an aside he decided his ladies looked very tempting immediately and started following them around like a good boy so watching for yellow bums is going to be my new hobby for the next few days :-)
[size=78%] [/size]
-
It'a "cheese wire and handles" job, available from agricultural merchants.
-
Take some pics and post them, bloomer.
Sometimes it needs a bit shaved off the inside, sometimes the tip sawn off, sometimes it can be bent away, sometimes (but rarely in Shetlands, I think; more common in Swaledales) the whole horn needs removed or cut right back. (Latter is vet job, IMO.)
The dead bits are dead, so won't hurt him, but there are blood vessels and nerves running up inside, so how you go about it will depend on which bit and how much.
-
As Sally says - take care. It tends to be hereditary I'm afraid :(
-
ok i'll get pics today
the good news is i have no intention of keeping any of his male offspring :-)
-
Ok no photos today, Rocky has his ladies and they are far more interesting than coming for a head scratch and photo shoot!
The good news is he clearly know what he's doing keeping his ladies together and meeting their needs :-D
I'll come back to this in a week or so when I get a picture the horns need looking at but its not overly urgent just me thinking ahead!
-
I have no experience of this, but you might like to look at this.....
If you google bending horn tim tyne you will see a link to page 174 of the The Sheep Book for Smallholders which might help.....
-
We have the necessary cheese wire and handles here if you decide you need to borrow them. Alex is getting good with them :innocent: