What is Disbudding? Should You Dehorn Your Goats?

How do you dehorn a goat? Disbudding is the process of destroying the horn buds of an animal (like a cow or a goat) with a hot iron so that horns will not form as the animal grows. What are the benefits of disbudding and why should you consider dehorning your goats? If you enjoy what we’re doing here on our homestead please consider subscribing to the channel so you won’t miss the next video!

We raise dairy goats on our farm and because we handle our goats a lot we choose to disbud them at a young age. Disbudding is performed with a hot iron – the horn bud is burned and destroyed so that a horn will not grow. Removing the horns can be beneficial for a variety of reasons, including safety for you and for your goats.

If this process is done improperly the horn buds may not be destroyed and the horns could continue to grow, although in a funky and strange way. If you are not at all comfortable with doing this yourself please find someone with experience to help you out. This may be a veterinarian or someone who owns goats and has done this many times. We know (not personally, but through word-of-mouth) quite a few veterinarians who have botched disbuddings and that is why we are so thankful to have found a local vet that we trust with our animals.

While at the vet we asked about our doe Annie Oakley. Annie has been turned in with our buck, Benji, since late 2021, same as all the other girls. Violet and Bonnie have already kidded, Brandi will kid in about 5 more weeks, but Annie is still coming into heat each month and we are wondering what could be wrong.

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