Dehorning sheep

DJ98

Have a scotch ewe lamb who's horn seems to be growing right on towards her jaw, have not been able to catch her today but that's what it looks like, if its the case will a vet be required to remove or will it be OK?

Inchilad

DJ98 wrote:

Have a scotch ewe lamb who's horn seems to be growing right on towards her jaw, have not been able to catch her today but that's what it looks like, if its the case will a vet be required to remove or will it be OK?

Couldn't catch a scotch!seem to remember ol lad taking them off with a hacksaw when they were bad.usually on rams though.long time ago though.might be some new method now.be interested to know myself.

IH784man

I'd catch her anyway,if it is in that direction cut it off with the horning wire you use on cattle,get one person to hold her and another to cut

MayoAreMagic

You can take the tops off them with a hacksaw as they get near the ewe's head. You are safe enough to take around 3 inches off them without it bleeding and it is completely painless, easy job that takes about 5 minutes (and no need for a vet). But taking the entire thing off would draw a fair bit of blood.

They will grow faster when the animal is young, so you might have to cut them back again in a year or two. But they will slow down after a while and would generally start to widen a little also.

This is the problem with running rams with tight horns. Not only do you have to routinely saw the rams horns (a tougher job altogether), but you have to do a fair amount of his daughters too. It is just adding work, plus it takes the look off them a bit.

IH784man

I mean doing the top couple of inches too not taking whole horn off btw

DJ98

I caught her today and the horn is loose/attached to the top of the head, she mustve caught caught in wire or something, so now i ask will the horn just die and fall off or can it reattch and be ok?

Inchilad

DJ98 wrote:

I caught her today and the horn is loose/attached to the top of the head, she mustve caught caught in wire or something, so now i ask will the horn just die and fall off or can it reattch and be ok?

It'll probably fall off in time.

rangler1

Inchilad wrote: »

It'll probably fall off in time.

It showed cutting the end of a horn off a sheep on rare breed a few years ago so it must be accepptable

ganmo

I remember having to help dad saw off a bit of a rams horn a few times. He was one of the few chev rams I ever saw to have horns.

Inchilad

rangler1 wrote:

It showed cutting the end of a horn off a sheep on rare breed a few years ago so it must be accepptable

Comes down to animal welfare at the end of the day.

rangler1

Inchilad wrote: »

Comes down to animal welfare at the end of the day.

Can't have the horn going into the head anyway

Crow Pigeon and Pheasant

DJ98 wrote:

Have a scotch ewe lamb who's horn seems to be growing right on towards her jaw, have not been able to catch her today but that's what it looks like, if its the case will a vet be required to remove or will it be OK?

We had a Dorset ram that this happened to and a lad we know helped us cut it he basically sliced the inside of the horn off at an angle that way when it would grow it would grow out from his face! Also had a Suffolk cross ram that had a bit of horn cut a bit off the end with the hacksaw but it grew back so got another fella we knew to cut a bigger chuck off with skulling wire! Apparently they don't bleed at all much if ye use skulling wire!