[langdon]

milly scurs are growing back again, only this time they seem to be thicker longer and more
solid as they were easily knocked out due to their day to day behaviour.
i just read online about trimming, as part of what i read said there are very few vets who knows
much about goats, so im thinking of doing this trimming myself.
also when it comes to disbudding in the future i would also like to take on this myself to save cost.
please im not just thinking of saving money ere as  admit it is a big part of it, but also i want
to become more an allround good goat keeper.
any comments regarding this trimming of scurs will be app

[ballingall]

Langdon,

Disbudding your own kids is a big undertaking. It really should be a surgical procedure, I do know one person who disbuds kids without using anaethestic, but I really can't recommend it. The only reason we do our own kids is because my mother is a trained vet. There is actually legislation in place regarding de horning or disbudding, and it used to be that a vet had to be present when it was done. I believe it may have changed now, but it still specifies that it must be carried out by an experienced person.

Found this link for the English law as at 2007, bit worrying that they call it mutilations! http://www.opsi.gov.uk/si/si2007/uksi_20071100_en_1

You can trim the scurs yourself, but be aware it can go wrong. We once tried to trim a billy's scur and the whole thing broke off. We couldn't get him to stop bleeding, even the vet couldn't cauterise it. We ended up taking him home again with the only thing the vet could advise was to buy a packet of cornflour and cover the bleeding area with it. It did work, so keep some cornflour in your goat store cupboard, it can be useful for stopping bleeding. That said, normally trimming the scurs is fine.

But you will find it's rare to find that many goatkeepers who dehorn their own.


Beth

[langdon]

cheers beth as allways attention given to a serious matter, what you read online then isnt
allways right then is it?
will look to the vet then

[Anke]

Disbudding by law definitely has to be carried out by a vet, and my vet actually prefers if I bring the kid(s) in to surgery at four days. Speak to your vet, if s/he is not a farm vet you might be better off trying to find one. Goats and sheep share lots of disease/vaccines etc and a sheep vet will generally know about goats too.

My vet charges 30 pounds plus VAT, so it doesn't cost the earth. Also just takes half an hour. I am taking my first (male) kid down on Monday (we have decided to have him done, even though he will be raised for meat, but as we have more kid(s) due there wasn't any other option), so might be alble to give you some idea as to how it goes.

[ballingall]

Anke, be aware that vets will often like to disbudd kids at a max of 4 days. It is possible if you have twins or triplets, especially if they are girls that they might be a bit small to do at only 4 days. Males are better done at 4 days as they have stronger horn growth. Don't be afraid to lie to the vet about how many days old the kids are if you feel they are too small! I don't mean lie by weeks, but a few days extra doesn't do any harm especially to females.

We generally go by weight, if a kid weights 10-12 pounds (sorry old weights!) then they have the bodyweight to be able to deal with the anaethestic.

Beth

[Anke]

Thanks Beth, that's good to know. For the little GG I can feel the horn buds. I have bought a digital hanging scale as I would like to record milk quantities (vs food intake, I was a scientist in a previous life), but haven't weighed the kid yet. Will do at the weekend, if mum lets me....she is very protective.