The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Livestock => Sheep => Topic started by: minibn on February 09, 2016, 09:15:14 pm
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Hi,
I was wondering if anyone had any advice about a 3 year old pet ram that I have. He is a Shetland ram, very friendly and healthy. He has always had very curly horns, ever since I had him as a lamb. A year or so ago his horns seemed to be growing very close to his head and eyes. Luckily has he has got older and his horns have grown, one appear to be growing away from his head now, although the other is not.
His left horn is now growing over his eye and appears to be almost pressing on it, there is no gap between his eye and horn. I had the vet out a year ago when I first noticed his strange horn growth, although it didn't seem to be bothering him. The vet said that they were unable to do anything, as his horn was very think and has what seems to be a good blood flow to so was reluctant to cut it back or try and bend it.
I was going to get them to come out and see if they can suggest a solution.
I have heard and seen that sheep horns can be cut with a wire. Although this looks a bit dodgy, I am not sure about doing this myself.
If anyone has any ideas please get in touch.
Thanks for reading
Regards
Emily
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Yes, it's done like a thick cheeswire with a couple of metal handles - the wire gets quite hot. It's a more than one person job as someone needs to steady the head and you'll probably need to restrain him bodily too. It takes a while to do. It's only safe to do the "cool" part of the horn, vets might do further up.
I know people who have used a junior hacksaw because they reckoned it was faster. Personally I'd rather use the tool for the job.
Doing nothing isn't an option I'm afraid, it's an animal welfare matter. Is there anyone who would do it for you? Failing that I'm sorry but I think you might be looking at a cull.
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We did have a thick horn cut on a Swaledale tup. I took him to the vet so we could use anaesthetic, as there are nerves where there is blood.
It was a messy job; it really does bleed, even with strings tied around the head to restrict the flow into the horns. At home one would cauterise the blood vessels with a hot iron; the vets don't seem to like to do it that way, so the bleeding goes on for longer. However, in Norman's case, it did eventually stop bleeding and he was fine after a day or two.
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You have to do something about it because the horn may grow right into his eye or his skull - not nice. Have a feel of the horn with your bare hand wrapped around it and see if you can feel where the horn turns from cool to warm closer to the head. Practice on the other horn. If the bit which is too close to the eye is the cool part, then it is OK to remove it. If the warm part, ie where there is an arterial blood supply, is approaching his eye then you have a problem.
Speak to your vet again. If you have a vehicle you can take the tup in, take him down to the vet rather than calling the vet out - much cheaper and he/she will have all the equipment to hand.
The vet should do the procedure under sedation if the sensitive part is involved, and use cautery to stop the bleeding after removing as much of the horn as needed, applying heat to each artery and arteriole, plus prolonged pressure to help stop the bleeding. They may also have the same kind of blood stopping dressing they use in dentistry, plus a pressure dressing over the cut end.
It sounds though as if your vet is unsure of how to proceed, or the problem was not as severe as it is now, when he/she saw it before. Whatever is done, you will need to keep a close eye on further growth. A he's a pet I assume you will not be thinking of using him for breeding. If you are then don't as the tendency for horns to grow in is an hereditary trait.
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This topic has been on here several times now. I had a similar problem with a Jacob Ram. I took him to the vet who sedated him and removed some of the horn on both sides with an embryotomy wire - not a cheese wire. He charged £70 ( 3 years ago) . But Malcolm was left with one side slightly longer than the other, and a year later, when they had grown back again, I decided to have a go. I had bought a metre of the wire from the vet at the time (£3), so with a strong assistant we immobilized his head in a headstock, kept him still between two hurdles and did it. If the wire is moved fast enough, it cuts quite quickly and gets hot, cauterizing as it goes, although the smell is not pleasant! Anyway, it went very well, and he ended up with a symmetrical head!
Having said all that - in your situation, I would follow Fleecewife's excellent advice. Good luck.
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Trailer and away to vet x
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As I posted elsewhere you can trim the insensitive tip yourself but anything more is technically a veterinary procedure by law (although most commercial farmers still do it themselves)
Under the Veterinary Surgeons Act 1966 (http://adlib.everysite.co.uk/adlib/defra/content.aspx?doc=19331&id=19333), as amended, only a veterinary surgeon may dehorn or disbud a sheep, apart from trimming the insensitive tip of an ingrowing horn which, if left untreated, could cause pain or distress.
http://adlib.everysite.co.uk/adlib/defra/content.aspx?doc=4154&id=4179 (http://adlib.everysite.co.uk/adlib/defra/content.aspx?doc=4154&id=4179)
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Maybe to a diferent vet than the one who saw it originally and left it!
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I too would question the judgement of the vet. If he/she doesn't feel competent enough to take action maybe they could recommend a vet with more ovine experience who could? I've had this problem with a Badger Face tup in the past - solved by culling - and now always choose tup lambs with horns that are clearly growing away from the skull.
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I presume he's not going to be bred from - as you don't want to repeat the horns problem?
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Anybody see 'addicted to sheep' bbc.? Horn cut off using wire and horn stuffed with moss to absorb blood.
If it's illegal that chap will be in bother.
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Fleece wife is bob on! One of my 4 horned ewe lambs last year started to have a horn curl too close to her eye ... We used a hack saw instead of wire, but put a tea towel over her head and under the horn to protect her ... Took less that 1 minute, so no stress ... I think she even quite enjoyed it ... It's good to have on hand an eye bandage just in case as also acts as a pressure bandage ... Even though I was confident and it was easy, I would never try to doing this on a fully grown sheep due to the size of the horn and the possibility of doing damange / harm to the animals. The lambs horn was about 5 MM. wide
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We have this problem with one of our Rough Fell rams. His horns are about 3cm thick, so the vet does the job with a 'cheese wire' once a year. The horns can bleed profusely and cause great pain, so it's quicker and kinder for the animal for the vet to do it.