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Post by Dahdo on Dec 29, 2011 23:42:19 GMT -5
I'm thinking about purchasing a couple of weanling bull calves to raise for beef. I would castrate them, but these guys are also horned, which would be fine, but I have two heifers and two steers who are all polled. Should I worry about the horned steers with my polled animals? Will they possibly injure them?
If you dehorn at this age, what is the best route? Is it a "call the vet" job or can I do it?
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Post by goldshaftdexters on Dec 30, 2011 3:29:59 GMT -5
Hi Dave I would dehorn. Unless you have experience dehorning I would advise to get the vet to do it at that age. Having horned and dehorned/polled animals running together can lead to injuries. Andrea
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Post by Olga on Dec 30, 2011 7:44:13 GMT -5
Dehorning would be a plus: it would level the playing field at the hay bale or the feed bunk. Otherwise it won't take the horned ones long to start dominating the others.
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Post by kansasdexters on Dec 30, 2011 9:32:32 GMT -5
If you have a squeeze chute, you can easily dehorn weanling and yearling steers using the Wadsworth XL Bander and XL Bands. Here is the procedure that we routinely use for dehorning our Dexter steers: www.dextercattle.org/DexterArchive/Articles/banddehorningbyJohnPotter.pdfYou will need to give the animal a tetanus vaccination (or a booster tetanus vaccination, if they have been vaccinated before) when you do this procedure. We also give them a shot of tetanus anti-toxin to provide short-term protection until their long-term immunity can develop sufficiently from the tetanus vaccination. Band dehorning can be done on mature animals. We've dehorned 4 and 5 year old cows with this procedure. The animal will have a headache for about 2 to 3 hours (you can give them a shot of Banamine for pain relief). After that, they will go back to eating as normal and the bands will gradually work in and cut the horn off. It takes about 6 weeks for the horns to drop off. Usually one horn will drop off and the second horn will take a few days longer to fall. There is very little bleeding (if any) when this happens. The sinus cavities are filled in with tissue and practically healed by the time the horns fall off. The cut is clean and very close to the head, so there is little or no regrowth when this procedure is done properly. There is no apparent discomfort to the animal when the horn actually falls off. We prefer this method over any other method that we've tried because it causes the least amount of discomfort to the animal and healing is very rapid. Winter time is the perfect time to do this because there are no flies to be concerned with. Patti
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Post by otf on Dec 30, 2011 10:18:11 GMT -5
Have you considered getting polled steers instead of dehorning?
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Post by cddexter on Dec 30, 2011 13:09:27 GMT -5
morning, Dave...given the paucity of replies, I guess a lot of people are still glutted from xmas. Those who see Dexters as cattle, and therefore livestock, tend to dehorn, because it eliminates a lot of problems: feeding, crowding, handling, and dominance. Those who see Dexters as pets, or who think they were handed down by some god, horns and all and shouldn't be tampered with, tend to keep the horns. Rather than members here going through the same old, same old pro's and cons complete with passionate denunciations, and examples of good and bad behaviour--on both sides--it's probably enough to remind you horned animals soon discover they have lethal weapons and may or may not chose to use them. If your animals are simply 'out there', dehorning is probably the safest solution for all. If you go out and handle all of them daily with treats, and chat and hugs, they may all get along without aggression. A lot also depends on personality (theirs ). It comes down to how long you intend to keep them, the type of facilities you have, how much time you plan to spend with them, and then: personal preference. There's no 'right' or 'wrong' answer here. regards, c.
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Post by thegoodag on Dec 30, 2011 15:00:26 GMT -5
I have not dehorned the steers. I just did not want to put the $'s into them if not needed. The steers w/horns tend to move quickly up the herd heiarchy at about 18 months as they gain size of body and horn. They then move into the freezer at about 24 + months. I have not had any issues with aggressive behavior towards me or the kiddos.
Just my method as of this point in time. Likely to change if nneded.
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Post by dexterfarm on Dec 30, 2011 17:26:25 GMT -5
I have both running together In my herd the horned ones are in the middle of the hierarchy. Boss cow is a dehorned cow. A very sweet cow but no one challenges her.
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Post by northstar on Dec 30, 2011 21:00:07 GMT -5
Last summer, a friend brought her 95 year old uncle to visit and see my cow. He is a descendant of the Russians and Aleuts, who settled Ninilchik, a small village 50 miles away. He said L.C. looked a lot like the cows of his youth, he called them Russian cows. They were mostly black or solid color, with horns, and very small. They milked them. They would have most likely come over here from Siberia, since that is the closest. I wonder if most of the original cows weren't similar. I checked, there aren't any left in Ninilchik and haven't been for years. Marsha
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Post by rezzfullacres on Dec 30, 2011 21:06:51 GMT -5
Those who see Dexters as cattle, and therefore livestock, tend to dehorn, because it eliminates a lot of problems: feeding, crowding, handling, and dominance. Those who see Dexters as pets, or who think they were handed down by some god, horns and all and shouldn't be tampered with, tend to keep the horns. Wow!!! That statement could not be further from the truth.. We raise cattle, have for over 20 years, we have horned Dexters.....I could go on but to answer the question if you are raising them for beef don't worry about it, horns are a negative at the sale barn but no where else unless you are just plain old afraid of them and don't know how to properly handle cattle or just want dehorned/polled cattle............
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Post by kansasdexters on Dec 30, 2011 21:43:26 GMT -5
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Post by northstar on Dec 30, 2011 22:09:32 GMT -5
I printed off the pictures and will take them to him. That may be exactly what he was referring to. They would have been brought over here in the mid 1800's. Thanks, Marsha
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Post by cddexter on Dec 31, 2011 0:05:40 GMT -5
Hi rezz, around here no commercial haulers will take horned cattle unless they are the only ones on the truck, making trips really expensive, and the stockyard doesn't want them either. After I shelled out $200 to the vet to fix a deep glancing 8" hole in the side of one of my cows (luckily the horn caught on the rib, sliding along it under the skin instead of puncturing straight through), I got rid of horns. I doubt the commercial truckers are incompetent or stupid, just operating safely. I'm not always the brightest bulb in the pack, but sometimes experience matters. I'm not telling you to get rid of horns--and I do hope you never live to regret keeping them on your cattle--just what I've found holds true. Much like some people will tell you their Dexter bull is tame and a pet and they can do anything with it, I'll still never turn my back on mine--or anyone else's. You only get one chance to make a mistake. And, of course, stocking rates make a huge difference, too. c.
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Post by gulfcapt on Dec 31, 2011 3:40:28 GMT -5
We were planning to dehorn Roscoe, and Im definetly going to do it know! Ever since we got the two new girls he has started to swing his head to keep the girls away while feeding. He cought my wife in the leg last week left a pretty good mark. By no means did he do this on purpose but the girls are so much bigger that they try to push him out of the way to eat grain. Im gone a month at a time and I don't need to worry about my wife getting Jigged by a horn, and im also afraid of him getting one of the girls eventually.
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Post by rezzfullacres on Dec 31, 2011 8:02:41 GMT -5
[quote author=cddexter board=health thread=2035 post=14160 time=1325307940, but sometimes experience matters. c.[/quote]
The worst mauling of a human I ever saw was by a dehorned bull (2 YO Holstein), the worst cattle on cattle mauling I ever saw was between 2 polled bulls(Angus/Charlois) so yes experience does matter and in mine horns matter not if you are not feeding in a feedlot situation.. We usually lose about .10 per pound if you sell at the stockyard less than 10 head of horned cattle, over that the "penelty drops.. You are very correct about people and thier bulls, I enjoy a calm bull that is easy to work with however I never turn my back and he is the first one I locate when working any of the cattle..Any bull at any time can go off and horned or not the human will lose the battle, if they are not prepared. .Cattle are not pets, they are livestock or tools....An obtuse reason for keeping the horns is of a historical note, Dexter cattle are supposed to be tri-purpose cattle, beef-dairy-draft.....You can not have draft power without horns they are what allows the yoke to stay on going downhill....
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