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Post by kansasdexters on Jan 25, 2012 9:07:17 GMT -5
Here is what the American Veterinary Medical Association has to say about disbudding and dehorning: www.avma.org/reference/backgrounders/dehorning_cattle_bgnd.aspThey don't evaluate band dehorning in their discussion, but they do provide extensive information on the commonly used methods for disbudding and dehorning calves (under 6 months of age). They also discuss the various drugs used to alleviate pain and which drugs in combination with method provided effective (and measurable) relief and reduction of stress from the procedure. Patti
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Post by lakeportfarms on Jan 25, 2012 9:49:08 GMT -5
We use Lidocaine when disbudding/dehorning. Most of the time, the calf struggles more when the shot is given rather than from the electric iron. We've observed little if any negative reaction following the procedure using this method. We prefer our vet do it. The Lidocaine shot and dehorning are about $7.00 (per animal, not horn)
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Post by carolinagirl on Jan 25, 2012 10:49:55 GMT -5
I'd much prefer to get a vet to do it if I can find one that will do it for a reasonable cost. Most of the large animal vets around here are horse vets though.....and VERY expensive. I have a neighbor who's dad used to run cattle and he knows how to take horns off (I think with a saw), but I can't do that to my little bull. I am too much of a softie ;D
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Post by cddexter on Jan 25, 2012 12:05:44 GMT -5
it looks to me like there's a disagreement of what is 'necessary', and that's based on personal interpretation. The whole process is pretty brutal. I equate dehorning with having a tooth pulled. If there's a way to do either by using the modern (chemical) tools available to minimize or eliminate both stress and pain in either process, then I consider that to be a 'necessary' management step. I've been dehorning Dexters for 30 years, and after watching the first one done the 'ordinary' way, every other animal dehorned on my farm after that was penned but not tied up, sedated and given a local pain inhibitor, dehorned by whichever method the vet considered suitable to the horn development, and the animals were back on their feet, eating and not exhibiting stress or pain symptoms, usually within an hour. I'm sure they must have been sore, but there was none of the head shaking, or rubbing, or depressed behavior I would associate with pain. If the animal was mature, for an extra few dollars, the vet would do what he called a cosmetic dehorning: cut back the skin, dehorn, pull the skin back over the hole, stitch it up, use lots of gentian violet or equivalent before and after closing the hole, some fly spray, and within a week everything was healed. Out of hundreds of animals dehorned this way, I've only ever had one that got infected. Hydrogen peroxide fixed that in short order. Yes, I had costs associated with the procedure. But when the vet was dehorning 20-30 calves at once, the expense was spread over a wide base. I suppose it was cowardly of me not to do things myself, but I had serious issues with the other methods, and figured a little extra expense was worth the peace of mind (mine), and absence of stress and pain (theirs). Each to his own. That was my experience, and my solution. c.
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Post by lakeportfarms on Jan 25, 2012 14:01:59 GMT -5
I'd much prefer to get a vet to do it if I can find one that will do it for a reasonable cost. Most of the large animal vets around here are horse vets though.....and VERY expensive. I have a neighbor who's dad used to run cattle and he knows how to take horns off (I think with a saw), but I can't do that to my little bull. I am too much of a softie ;D We're really fortunate to have a couple of large animal vets 10 miles from us that are in their early 60's, have seen it all and are very reasonable price wise. Because they are so reasonably priced, we don't hesitate to call them for anything we're not certain of, and I think our herd health is the better for it. The bad part is that they've been talking about cutting back. But the other day one of them made a farm call with a soon to graduate student. Hopefully he'll learn a lot quickly and we'll be in good shape for the future.
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Post by carolinagirl on Jan 25, 2012 16:54:40 GMT -5
Oh, I just remembered something! There is an old vet we used to use years ago on livestock. He worked at the university extention office and would come by on his way home from work. He has a private practice now, but I think it's mostly small animals. We use him for our pets. I should call him and ask if he still does farm calls. I would really rather not deal with dehorning if I can avoid it.
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