We had an experienced friend come over and help us disbud on Friday. The first doeling that we did has been caring her head low and hasn't been eating very well or playing. She had nice copper rings over the buds, it doesn't appear the iron went to deep. But now this doeling seems to be weak.... I work during the day and about panicked when I got home.... Everyone else is fine, what could have happened and what do you suggest we do for her?
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That's good to know... Thank you!
I'm so glad the bucklings were done at a younger age. The only time you should wait on kids if they're born very tiny. For example, we waited on a doeling that was born at 1 pound, 3 ounces, because she was scary small, and it took her awhile to start growing -- and we had a hard time even finding her horn buds for a few weeks. It seems that the longer people raise goats, the earlier they disbud. I know people who've been raising them for 20 years, and they disbud bucks at 2-3 days. I'm not sure I'll ever get that brave, but I have realized that the earlier you do it, the easier it is.
Thank you for asking. She's doing much better. We gave her B12 and it seemed to perk her up, yesterday she was nursing and back to her self. It was a hard lesson learned. We'll buy an iron to do our own disbudding and be doing it much sooner. The two bucklings were only a week old when they were disbudded last Friday. We were told to wait longer on the doelings.... It won't happen again.
In 11 years of owning goats, I have never heard of anyone disbudding at 5 weeks -- or saying that they prefer larger horn buds. Perhaps you misunderstood?
Age and size of hornbud would not make the disbudding "deeper." That would have definitely been bad, as they might have gone through the skull. The goal is simply to make it flat, regardless of the age. If the horn buds are bigger, the iron has to stay on the bud for a longer period of time to get it all burned off. So, the smaller the horn bud, the shorter amount of time the iron is on the head, and the lower the risk of overheating the brain, which can lead to seizures and death. I'm glad her twin was fine. Every kid is a little different. Bucks at five weeks have small horns already.
If the doeling has any type of brain damage, there isn't anything that can be done. How is she doing now?
Thanks for your response! It's good to know what age you perfer. A friend of ours in Arizona told us we could wait as long as 5 weeks for the does. I thought that it might be a little old, but the gal that came over to disbud for us, said that this doeling had the size of buds she liked to do.... When she was done, this doeling had nice copper rings and they didn't appear to deep. Her and her twin were the oldest. Everyone else is fine. The drench we used in Keto-Nia Drench, an oral high energy, nutrient supplement, with propylene glycol, Niacin and Vitamins. We gave her 2cc of it earlier. Do you have any suggestions?
Deborah Niemann-Boehle said:
Five weeks is really old for disbudding. It's possible that they had to burn so long that they heated up her brain, which could definitely cause problems. In the future, does should be done no later than two weeks of age and bucklings at one week. When the horn buds get big, it gets much more dangerous.
A temp of 104 could also mean some type of infection.
"Drench" just means a drug given orally. What's the name of the drug you drenched her with?
Aspirin is really not good for a goat's rumen. You don't need to worry about bringing down a fever, especially when it's only 104. Normal for goats is up to 103.
Yes, we've seen her eating, but not like she should be and I haven't seen her try to nurse.
Kimberly Mondragon said:
The doeling is 5 weeks old.... We took her temp. and it was at 104.... gave her a 1/4 asprin at 8:00 p.m. and 2 cc of drench. She is being dam raised.... It's this doe's first kids (set of twins) and she isn't really good about letting them nurse.
Deborah Niemann-Boehle said:
How old is the doeling? Is the being dam-raised? Has the doe been letting her nurse?
Have you seen her eating? If she's eating, and just out of sorts, I would say she may just be in pain. I mean, think about it. Even though the bone itself isn't hurting, there is burnt skin that is probably not feeling great. She might just need a little longer to bounce back.