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Disbudding Goats

A lot of people are surprised to learn that goats naturally grow horns; and, that many consider horns a detriment so they’re frequently removed when the goats are babies – this process is known as “disbudding”. Horns in goats are generally considered detrimental because:

1. Horns get stuck in things, and can cause the goats to injure themselves

2. Goats with horns can hurt each other when they “play” butt each other

3. Horns can hurt people

4. Horns can cause damage to fences, barns, mangers, etc.

5. People generally prefer hornless goats so they’re worth more

6. Horns can break, and a goat can bleed to [...]

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Disbudding (Yet Again)

On Monday before Thanksgiving, we took Honey to the vet to have a horn scur removed, making it the fourth time this particular horn bud had to be worked on. I was afraid the vet would choose to dig it out, but he chose to burn it again. Honey’s breeder performed the disbudding the previous three times, so I was curious to see how the vet would do it.

The vet plugged in the disbudding tool, gave Honey a shot to put her to sleep, shaved her head, unplugged the disbudding tool, and applied it to the horn bud for several seconds. It burned a wider and deeper area than the previous disbuddings, and since [...]

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