De-horning a yearling heifer

theroad

I missed one of the heifer calves last year when de-horning, something I only spotted the other day (they've been out all winter and are quite hairy ). The horns are about 1 inch long now.

The vet says the only thing for her now is to saw them off, but I'm wondering if anyone has any better ideas...?

vanderbadger

on smaller horns they sometimes use a guillotine type thing, its like a bolt cutters, it fits over the horn and they just close handles, only seen it used once but it was very quick compared to sawing, i suppose it kinda amounts to the same thing though, sure if horn is only an inch long you could nearly leave it anyway

reilig

vanderbadger wrote: »

on smaller horns they sometimes use a guillotine type thing, its like a bolt cutters, it fits over the horn and they just close handles, only seen it used once but it was very quick compared to sawing, i suppose it kinda amounts to the same thing though, sure if horn is only an inch long you could nearly leave it anyway

My vet used one of them on a heifer of mine once. There's an awful lot of blood. You can buy them off www.christiesdirect.co.uk

Personally I always use a sculling wire to cut them off. I tie a bailer twine very tight at the base of the horns and tie it across between the centre of the 2 horns which helps to cut off the blood. Then tie the head low in the sculling gate and cut away - its a 1 man job. A little bit of healing powder and you wouldn't notice her in 2 weeks.

A little tip for anyone who sculls and often has an animal that bleeds excessively. The old way of stopping a bleed was to put a cobweb on it which helped with the clotting. I've done it a few times and it has worked very well.

Also, if you are sculling with wire or a saw, make sure it is well disinfected before use as sculling is a very common cause of blood poisoning.

blue5000

vanderbadger wrote: »

on smaller horns they sometimes use a guillotine type thing, its like a bolt cutters, it fits over the horn and they just close handles, only seen it used once but it was very quick compared to sawing, i suppose it kinda amounts to the same thing though, sure if horn is only an inch long you could nearly leave it anyway

Think it's called a cranch.

leg wax

a garden pruneing shears will do the job just as good its very soft at that size and if you are worried about blood have the gas dehorner hot and give it a quick rub.

Muckit

Saw wire is the way to go alright. Keep head tied down. Just loop the wire around horn, lean back and away you go. Easier on man and beast. Just make sure that it doesn't start cutting in too deep.

If you don't want to go searching for cobwebs, a handful of flour.

But if you do it right, you shouldn't have much blood.

Seen a vet catch the offending veins individually and pull them with a twisers. They curled back on themselves and stopped the bleed.

Seen the baler twine done aswel

djmc

strong cable ties work as well you would want it tied tight to stop bleeding
and cut the cableties off after a day when the but of the horns have clotted
The vet will use a local anastecic to make it easier on the animal but it only takes a minute to take the horns off.

moy83

would the cutting wire cut through bigger horns we bought two three year old heifers that were never dehorned .I was going to get the vet but i would chance the wire myself if they dont need to be numbed

Nutcase

Years ago we used to cut them with the saw and put a rubber band dipped in disenfectant around their heads to stop the bleeding. Think the rubber bands were off a small tyre tube cut into smaller bands. Then after a few days remove the band they can be used again the next year. Not as many weanlings with horns anymore since the SCWS came in i think.

reilig

moy83 wrote: »

would the cutting wire cut through bigger horns we bought two three year old heifers that were never dehorned .I was going to get the vet but i would chance the wire myself if they dont need to be numbed

A new piece of wire will cut horns on 6 to 8 animals before getting blunt. Make sure you have the head secured down in the sculling gate so that you are pullling upwards as you cut.

Bigger horns can bleed a lot - the only advantage to getting the vet to scull these would be that he can pull the veins to stop the blood. But if you have a good blood stopping plan in place like the cable ties or the twine to restrict the blood flow to the head then you won't have a problem. If you have the confidence to do it, its not a big job. Even if you're less confident because of the larger horns, get an anesthetic from your vet which will make the job a whole lot easier

pakalasa

We bought a 18 month old bullock once. He ended up with an infection in his head. He was swinging it from side to side, he was in that much pain. Put him in the crush, bad smell, covered in maggots. Called the vet - turned out the last guy that had him and put twine on him when skulling. Never took it off. He grew away. You couldnt even see the twine, it was gone in that far.:mad:

theroad

Thanks for all of that. The last time this had to be done (a few years ago), we got the vet in, but diy sounds the way to go.

moy83

reilig wrote: »

A new piece of wire will cut horns on 6 to 8 animals before getting blunt. Make sure you have the head secured down in the sculling gate so that you are pullling upwards as you cut.

Bigger horns can bleed a lot - the only advantage to getting the vet to scull these would be that he can pull the veins to stop the blood. But if you have a good blood stopping plan in place like the cable ties or the twine to restrict the blood flow to the head then you won't have a problem. If you have the confidence to do it, its not a big job. Even if you're less confident because of the larger horns, get an anesthetic from your vet which will make the job a whole lot easier

might be a stupid question but why do you have to cut up the way ?The vet saws down the way.

Bizzum

Over the years I've seen and done nearly all the above, except the pruning shears!
SCWS has almost put paid to skulling now around me.
I would like to know this though, Is it legal to skull cattle outside of being a Vet?
If it is illegal, when did it become so?

djmc

I think it might be illegal to do it without a local anesthetic
dont know if a vet can legally give it to you or not
I know that the docking of cows tails became illegal in 2003 but im not sure about skulling without anesthetic

Butcher Boy

hi lads can anyone tell me where can u get that wire it is a great job it burns and seals as it cuts no blood

vanderbadger

Butcher Boy wrote: »

hi lads can anyone tell me where can u get that wire it is great job it burns and seals as it cuts no blood

http://www.farmrite.co.uk/product/151006/Dehorning-Wire-12m

Bodacious

theroad wrote: »

I missed one of the heifer calves last year when de-horning, something I only spotted the other day (they've been out all winter and are quite hairy ). The horns are about 1 inch long now.

The vet says the only thing for her now is to saw them off, but I'm wondering if anyone has any better ideas...?

hi fella,

waste of time doing her now unless you selling her...you'll end up doing her twice as the horn has attached to the base of the skull now and will continue to grow up to 2.5 years.... leave her until next spring and do her right with the wire... local anaesthethic, baler twine - 2 loops and heavy duty cable tie acting as a ratchet at front of forehead and she wont bleed a drop, 2 days later clip off cable tie another spray of iodine/stock tar.

Option 2: if you really want to get it done now with no regrowth is to use a "barnes dehorner"(check farmrite website -cup shaped) and take a good chunk either side of the base of the horn but have a rag and the gas dehorner ready to cauterise the wound as no base of horn to apply pressure on veins via strings/cable tie. Will work ie no regrowth but not as tidy as option 1.

moy83

Bodacious wrote: »

hi fella,

waste of time doing her now unless you selling her...you'll end up doing her twice as the horn has attached to the base of the skull now and will continue to grow up to 2.5 years.... leave her until next spring and do her right with the wire... local anaesthethic, baler twine - 2 loops and heavy duty cable tie acting as a ratchet at front of forehead and she wont bleed a drop, 2 days later clip off cable tie another spray of iodine/stock tar.

Option 2: if you really want to get it done now with no regrowth is to use a "barnes dehorner"(check farmrite website -cup shaped) and take a good chunk either side of the base of the horn but have a rag and the gas dehorner ready to cauterise the wound as no base of horn to apply pressure on veins via strings/cable tie. Will work ie no regrowth but not as tidy as option 1.

If you are using the wire how tight to the skull do you go? When our vet saws them he goes so tight that you would never have anything left to tie the twine on .Would there be enough of a but left after using the wire to get the twine or cable tie on ?

Bodacious

moy83 wrote: »

If you are using the wire how tight to the skull do you go? When our vet saws them he goes so tight that you would never have anything left to tie the twine on .Would there be enough of a but left after using the wire to get the twine or cable tie on ?

Hi,

i put the string/cable tie combination on first and then start with the wire and keep in tight touching the string- i stop quickly just to make sure with my finger that i am beside the string and not into cutting it.

Other lads e.g if selling cattle shortly and dont care about regrowth on the next owner and dont want a hole will tell ya to keep out a good bit

The gas at 4-6 weeks is the job if you miss that stage you putting animal through unnecessary pain/procedures i.e.this clipping the tops off at weanling stage for selling or even using the wire as yearlings is a balls as if you keep her as a cow they'll keep coming!!:mad:

Bodacious

pakalasa wrote: »

We bought a 18 month old bullock once. He ended up with an infection in his head. He was swinging it from side to side, he was in that much pain. Put him in the crush, bad smell, covered in maggots. Called the vet - turned out the last guy that had him and put twine on him when skulling. Never took it off. He grew away. You couldnt even see the twine, it was gone in that far.:mad:

Alot of dealers cattle would be skulled the day before and you see them in the ring with the string still on tight - poor animal must have suffered!:mad:

Heard of another gobs**te that tied the strings under the ears and not that butt of both horns and its head swelled up double its size and it went to ground from the pressure.. more stress that than the skulling

BeeDI

Thing is we should all be ashamed that we allow horns to grow to a point where they need to be cut with a saw or a wire or the likes.
Happened to myself this year. Selling a few yearlings a few weeks ago, and only the week before saw a fair auld butt of a horn on one with a good crop of hair camoflaging it:mad:
Had to saw it off, and was thoroughly disgusted with myself. No excuse for it really.
Swore, it will never again happen. Calves will be dehorned on time, and checked a couple of times in the first few months to see nothing has one coming. In fact reading this thread yesterday, prompted me to catch all the ones born this year in teh shed last night and double check all that have been done already. Looking ok.

Muckit

BeeDI

You could have a point on it being avoidable, but there can always be the one or two that slip through the net (ie thought they were polly/human error).

Same could be said of castration. Maybe there should be something to say that if left intact they are finished as bulls or exported. If to be reared as bullocks, they should be banded as a calve. Just an idea. Has anyone ever banded calves? I know there is a slight risk of blood poisoning (sorry I know it's off topic)

Bodacious

BeeDI wrote: »

Thing is we should all be ashamed that we allow horns to grow to a point where they need to be cut with a saw or a wire or the likes.
Happened to myself this year. Selling a few yearlings a few weeks ago, and only the week before saw a fair auld butt of a horn on one with a good crop of hair camoflaging it:mad:
Had to saw it off, and was thoroughly disgusted with myself. No excuse for it really.
Swore, it will never again happen. Calves will be dehorned on time, and checked a couple of times in the first few months to see nothing has one coming. In fact reading this thread yesterday, prompted me to catch all the ones born this year in teh shed last night and double check all that have been done already. Looking ok.

+ 1 get them young as possible before horn has attached to skull. I think portable gas burner/SWS has seen huge improvement and long may it continue but still some way to go.

Can never understand the people that limit themselves to selling "on the land" to the same old shark every year because weanlings are horned or worse still let their stock get put in the isolation pen in the mart where all the sharks hover for a bargain