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[EarthNSky <erthnsky AT bellsouth.net>]

I disbud because I think it is better for the goat in the long run. It
only takes a few seconds, the kid only feels it for a few minutes, if
that.  I spray it with Furall, which cools the site and is protective.
Have a bottle (or mom) ready for suckling right afterwards, too.
Usually, as soon as you remove the iron and spray them, they are good
enough to suck down a bottle and then they are playing within a few
minutes.  I continue to spray their wounds with Furall until they have
healed.
I guess it all depends on your situation.  If you don't have fences that
they will get hung up in, and you don't have a LGD in an area where
there are lots of predators, and if you don't have children who milk or
handle the goats, and if you don't care if you lose an eye or a
tooth<g>, well then, go for the horns...lol

As to the registration, a good milker is a good milker, and papers or
horns really doesn't change genetics.  However, if you ever sell the
girls as milkers, you will probably get more money for them if they have
been disbudded and are registered.  There are some people who feel that
it is neglectful and practice mismanagement to allow a dairy goat to
grow horns.  I am not quite there personally, but I do prefer hornless
(and earless<g>) goats.

The important thing Rob is that if you choose to disbud, you need to do
it quickly.  We disbudded at 3 days, never after 6 days old.  If you
wait too long, then those nerves are larger for one, and two, you are
more likely to get scurs or misshapen horns because the horn bud quickly
gets larger than the iron, and buck kids have larger horn buds so the
earlier you disbud bucklings, the better.  A partial disbud is a waste
of time and IMO creates a situation worse than not disbudding at all.
It is dangerous for the goat and the human caretaker.  One thing you
don't want to watch is a dehorn operation.  I helped hold a few does for
the vet once, and I never want to do that again.  It was horrific and
medieval, sawing, gouging, burning, cauterizing...<shivers>
Shave their little horny knobs so that there is less hair to singe and
you can see what you are doing.  Test the iron on a piece of wood to
make sure it is hot.  When it leaves a burned ring, you are ready to go.
 Strike while the iron is hot. <g>  If you don't have good help for
holding, disbudding boxes are easy to build.  If you have a hot iron and
good contact, the horn bud should pop off and then you just spray the area.

If you build a box, make it strong enough to sit on.  You can make it do
double or triple duty.  It can function as a stool that straddles the
kid to get a good angle for the job, and it can store all the equipment
when you are done.

That's my opinion/advice on the matter.

Think about this:
There are plenty of women with long fingernails, but you don't see them
doing manual labor...things that are aesthetically pleasing aren't
always the most practical practice.  That analogy may or may not apply.
Disbudding is also akin to circumcision.  The accepted wisdom says to
circumcise, but everyday, millions of boys keep their foreskins<g>.
There are advantages and disadvantages to both, and it is an individual
choice that one must make.

My fingernails are short.
My son was circumcised.
My goats were disbudded.

:)

Bev



Robert Walton wrote:
> I'm curious what others think. I like horns on my goats. I'm raising
>  milkers now, so most people like them without horns. I don't like
> the idea of holding that hot iron to a kid's head. Then again, one of
> my milkers got me by accident in the jaw with a horn the other
> morning. No damage, but...
>
> I've only got two girls born this year and they are not registered, 
> if I start with registered goats, they really need to be disbudded or
>  the value of the registration is gone. I'd like to hear from others 
> not on the goat lists.


--
"The budget should be balanced, the Treasury should be refilled, public
debt  should be reduced, the arrogance of officialdom should be tempered
and controlled, and the assistance to foreign lands should be curtailed
lest Rome become bankrupt.  People must again learn to work, instead of
living on public assistance."

--Cicero, 55 BC
http://erthnsky.blogspot.com/