[NubianSoaps.com]

Several years back and idea was talked about, but I don't know how many folks actually tried it. Cutting an X in the head of the kid at birth, popping out the still floating bud, and spraying with fural.

I tried it this with the last batch of kids, the boys only. I just called one of the gals who bought one of the bucks because I wanted to tell all you about this. His head is perfect, no scurs.

I just took a scalpel cut and X over where the horn bud was going to be, after his colostrum bottle. Using the scalpel I popped out the hornbud which was like a dime thickness. I sprayed it with fural. The second one I did I just hit him with the side of my disbudding iron.

I was actually hoping that a friend of mine who just kidded out was having boys because we wanted to do them. When Phil sold out (our old moderator) I got an original rhinehart 50 with the regular small tip. This time I want to hit the head with it, pop out the cap, and then re-hit it with this iron, doing it at birth. No tetanus worries at all with maternal immunity (paying attention to your colostrum quality) and the kid really had no problems with this, both took their second colostrum bottles about 2 hours later with no problems.

So anyone remember anything about this technique, no anybody who did it, or did you try it? This is Nubian's, I know my daughters LaMancha bucks were born with horn buds up, not the flat heads Nubian's have. And I am not sure I would be ballzie enough to do infant high multiples girls! Vicki

 

[Truly]

I remember the discussion.

I'm glad to hear it worked for you.

I may try it this year. I am planning to cut the scrotum and yank the testes right after birth, so I could just do this all at the same time. If I work up the nerve. :blush2

 

[KJFarm]

Vicki, I remember you mentioning this method months ago and was hoping that you had given it a try. I've got a goat friend who told me a long time ago that they cut out the horn bud. I may just have to give her a call and ask her how she does it. I'm thinking she said they used a scalpel, cut the horn bud out, then burned with an iron. I'll report back if I can get some answers.

 

[Guest]

I haven't heard about the method you mention Vicki but we do a different 'X' method that works great for us.

We burn the horn bud normally, pop the horn bud off, then we burn an 'X onto where we popped the bud off and continue burning until we get the copper colored ring making sure we get a good burn all the way around the base of the horn. Spray with Furall. We do this method on all the doe and buck kids born. No scurs!

Sara

 

[NubianSoaps.com]

With doing this at birth it's more about cauterising the skin than killing any horn bud, since it isn't growing yet.

The hornbud at birth with these two bucklings was like a dime piece of hard tissue floating, well it did take a pop of the scalpel underneath it to unseat it...when you pop it off it is jelly underneath, and leaving that un causterized in our humidity sort of made me uncomfortable, the fural eaisly handled the bleeding from the intial cutting.

The biggy was doing this at birth no fighting at all, and it wasn't that screaming big deal it is when they are a week old. Vicki

 

[Tim Pruitt]

Sara,
Do you make the second burn forward or behind the first burn?

 

[Melissa]

is their much blood at the first incision? and can you cut off the bud rather than pop it off? I'll try it this year on my bucklings. do you use the disposable scalpel or a reusable one? I think I would feel more comfortable using the iron then scraping/popping it off.

-Melissa

 

[Guest]

Sara,
Do you make the second burn forward or behind the first burn?

I burn the 'X' on top of the horn bud right after I remove the cap. The 'X' is pretty relative as it is sometimes a pretty crude one but as long as the formation is there we have had excellent results doing it this way in all breeds. Of course, this is mainly Nubians and LaManchas but we have done our share of the swiss breeds as well.

Vicki, you must just like doing all that blood and guts kind of stuff. I remember the Nubian ear thing well!

Sara

 

[NubianSoaps.com]

Just the normal incision type blood not dripping or anything. And there isn't anything to cut off, with the disposable scalpel, you just push it underneath it and push up.

Yeah but Sara look at my ears I like them to be perfect. Vicki

 

[Guest]

Yeah but Sara look at my ears I like them to be perfect. Vicki

Hey, I'm as close to a perfectionist as one can get. Which is probably why we get along so well. :lol But, promise once you try the ear method my way just once you'll never go back to the barbaric way of the past.

Sara

 

[Guest]

Vicki; I remember having a chat with you about this procedure, and I still keep forgetting to talk to my vet about it. I'm assuming that you do a small X over each horn bud, Ends of X would be at about the edges of the bud, Skin peeled back to expose bud, blade slid in under the bud and pulled upward, and out.....skin laid back down in place, and then fural applied.
This is kinda my visualization of this in my head.....please tell me if I'm way off or kinda close.

Thanks Whim.

 

[Ashley]

Ok, what do y'all mean about the ears?

 

[UnRuli Acres]

COOL! I wonder if Bobbie would let me try it out on some of her kids in the spring (Saanens, Toggs & Obies)

 

[NubianSoaps.com]

I just did an X over the top of the horn bud, then flip off the bud, the first one I just left it like that and sprayed with fural...the second got the disbudding iron to cauterise it. Not a nickles worth of difference between the two as far as healing etc..

I am defiently playing around with this more this kidding season, it was soo quick, and no guessing, is it long enough, is it deep enough...simply can't have scurs period.

Ashley, Sara gets all upset with me when she sees me teaching new folks to simply staple the cardboard to the ears of the kids to fix bent, folded or less than perfect Nubian ears I am going to try her taping under the chin thing, plus it will keep the ears out of the way when I cut their buds out of their heads LOL!! Vicki

 

[Ashley]

Oh, thanks.

Have y'all ever had one where the ends of the ears are flipped up and attached to the rest of the ear, permanently? Someone gave my grandpa a boer goat. When I first saw him, I went over to flip the ends of the ears down and quickly found they were grown that way. It's wierd because it's perfectly symetrical, just the same on each ear, probably an 1 1/2 inches just flipped and sealed to the rest of the ear.

 

[KJFarm]

Ashley, the flipped up ear thing is very common in Boer goats. You can peel them apart, put cardboard on both sides and tape it good, and the ear will lay relatively flat. We left the cardboard and tape on for a week or so.
Just peel slowly - it hurts!!!!

 

[Ashley]

Hmm, I think you would have to cut it to pull it apart.

 

[Ashley]

I'm interested in the method Vicki mentioned, simply cutting the horn buds out at birth. Does this hurt pretty bad, I wonder if you could give a shot for pain? This method seems safer, since there is no chance of overheating the brain.

 

[ecftoggs]

Ashley,
I think they need to be done shortly after birth to be corrected. I may be wrong as I am not a Nubian afficianado, just trying to help and also (getting my post numbers up) :biggrin.
Tim

 

[Sondra]

OK Vicki
on another thread I mentioned I tried this on a dead buckling and I couldn't find the horn bud to pop off. Am now not wanting to try it on a live kid. So what did I do wrong?