I have a 5 month old steer I am halter breaking and I just discovered he has horns/scurs about the size of my pinkie fingernail. What is the best way to get rid of them? (Never had to deal with horns before) Will the paste work?
Dehorn?
- Thread starter Stihlpro
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CAB
Well-known member
I honestly have not had very good luck with the paste after a couple of days old and I am a big promoter of using paste. It will not work on a calf that old for sure.
If they are scurs (ie do they move or are they attached to the head?) I might just decide to ignore them. Anything you do to his head that is painful might influence his attitude later in life, so if he is a show calf I would proceed with care.
If this is a show calf I would have my vet do a cosmetic dehorn - using local anesthesia and "shaping the head " real pretty.
I would not use paste on a 5 mo old calf - it is recommended for calves less than 2 to 3 weeks of age. It is caustic and burns the horn tissue as well as whatever skin is around..
Dehorning is an icky painful deal and best done as early as possible. There are several different methods ranging from the barbaric to the humane.
Sounds like these are scurs (since they just appeared) and they may not grow any more (but they might too!). When I have calves that could have horns I clip their heads where the horn buds would be at birth to see what is there - even then you can get surprised later with scurs -
good luck
If this is a show calf I would have my vet do a cosmetic dehorn - using local anesthesia and "shaping the head " real pretty.
I would not use paste on a 5 mo old calf - it is recommended for calves less than 2 to 3 weeks of age. It is caustic and burns the horn tissue as well as whatever skin is around..
Dehorning is an icky painful deal and best done as early as possible. There are several different methods ranging from the barbaric to the humane.
Sounds like these are scurs (since they just appeared) and they may not grow any more (but they might too!). When I have calves that could have horns I clip their heads where the horn buds would be at birth to see what is there - even then you can get surprised later with scurs -
good luck
If the calf's head doesn't need reshaping, you can also try what we call "spoons" (I don't know what their official name is). Basically, they are hollow tubes with a round ball on the end you can use to dig out the scur/horn while they are pretty small. After scooping the horn out, burn it with a cauterizing iron (the ones with a circle on the end) around where the horn was and MOST of the time they won't come back.
If the animal looks like he will have real antlers your better off letting the vet surgically dehorn them. They charge $50-$75 bucks in our area for the procedure.
Give them a shot of antibiotic (i.e. penicillin) when dehorned. I've had a handfull of calves get infected over the years following surgical dehorning by a vet. They can be a nightmare if the vet accidentally leaves a splinter and can ruin a calf.
In my opinion, surgical dehorning is one of the most borderline barbaric things we do to a show calf. Its necessary, but I still hate doing it every time.
If the animal looks like he will have real antlers your better off letting the vet surgically dehorn them. They charge $50-$75 bucks in our area for the procedure.
Give them a shot of antibiotic (i.e. penicillin) when dehorned. I've had a handfull of calves get infected over the years following surgical dehorning by a vet. They can be a nightmare if the vet accidentally leaves a splinter and can ruin a calf.
In my opinion, surgical dehorning is one of the most borderline barbaric things we do to a show calf. Its necessary, but I still hate doing it every time.
I think dehorning without analgesia +/- sedation is pretty much barbaric - I have never seen or done a surgical dehorn without local anesthetic +/- analgesia or sedation - without it it is clearly barbaric and while horns are certainly a problem, how we currently remove them is also an issue - - there is a paper I have to dig up for you chambero - later
AAOK
Well-known member
If you can get to the horn nubs when they are less than about 1" X 1", an electric dehorn iron works great. It's best to dehorn with this method around 2 - 3 months. Thirty days after dehorning, the calves look just like they were polled. It's easy to do in a Headgate, and there is no blood. The calves forget all about the pain in about 5 minutes.
http://www.westernranchsupply.com/blowup.php3?item_id=515
Our vets have always used local anesthetic, but I still think its awfully rough on them. They certainly feel like crap for a day or two, especially if you remove a lot of bone to shape the head.
AAOK - I think the electric dehorn iron you are referring to may be the same thing we've started using, but we do dig out the small horn first before burning it.
We have a couple of dozen of horned cows. Our vet actually uses a device that looks like a "skill saw" with the blade turned horizontal. You just whack them off flush with the head and cauterize it. It is a little bloody till you get the cauterizing iron on it but its fast and we haven't had any regrowth to amount to anything on ones we did about 3 years ago.
AAOK - I think the electric dehorn iron you are referring to may be the same thing we've started using, but we do dig out the small horn first before burning it.
We have a couple of dozen of horned cows. Our vet actually uses a device that looks like a "skill saw" with the blade turned horizontal. You just whack them off flush with the head and cauterize it. It is a little bloody till you get the cauterizing iron on it but its fast and we haven't had any regrowth to amount to anything on ones we did about 3 years ago.
shortyisqueen
Well-known member
If the scurs are tiny (sounds like they are), are flush with his head and don't look like they are going to do much more than leave a spot without hair, you can always 'peel' the very top layer of the scur off before your show. (Sometimes it is loose and will come off something like a scab). Then, I take a hoof file and file them flush with his head and apply the proper color of paint over the scur bud (shoe polish works well too and stays on for a couple of days even through the washrack). You won't even know its there, and the best part - no surgery or pain to the calf.
shorthorns r us
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Stihlpro said:
usually the maturity level remains high. somtimes the discussion gets a little passive agressive and then when the rebuttal becomes pointed the victim card gets played. it's always good for entertainment though.
:Jill
Well-known member
chambero said:
This is what we have gone to almost exclusively. We used to do a lot of surgical dehorns and we finally figured out, it just doesn't make any difference, why pay the extra to have it done. Most of the ones we have done when he does them flush with the head you really can't tell a diffence once they heal.
