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Disbudding

Posted by Melissa Senesac on April 6, 2010 at 10:03am in Kidding

Hey folks

 

So my doe, Chutney is due to kid next month and I'm going to need to get myself a disbudding iron.  Back in the day I disbudded calves at the University of Connecticut so I'm familiar with the process (yet definitely out of practice), but I've never disbudded anything as small as a Nigerian Dwarf kid before.

 

So, my main question is: what size tip should I be looking for?  I was thinking 1/2" but I've also read that 1/4" is best for small breeds.  What does everyone out there use for their kids?

 

Also, does anyone have any additional tips or pointers for this gal who hasn't done this in a while?

 

Thanks!

Melissa

 

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Replies

  • Deborah Niemann-Boehle May 18, 2016 at 1:11am

    I'd be worried about using a 3/4" tip. The vet did our first kids with a tip that size, and although six worked out okay, one wound up with a burned eyelid, so he had trouble closing his eye all the way when he was a couple months old.

    Denise Ryan said:

    I purchased the Rhinehart X-30 for small calves and goats. The tip measures 3/4". I didnt find a 1/2" tip. Is this too large for Nigerian kids?

  • Julieanne Cook May 15, 2016 at 10:51am

    Not to be too dramatic, but my sister had a vet anesthetize twin doelings to disbud them and they both died under anesthesia. Maybe wait until she's older and her body can handle it better?

  • Winding River Farm (Bev) May 15, 2016 at 4:39am

    We have the Rhinehart X30 - I guess it is 1/2 in.  We have had some scur problems but now my hubby keeps a torch and if the iron isn't red hot he uses the torch on it.  We think that was our problem - it wasn't getting hot enough.  Too bad we have to do that awful job but sure is nasty if they end up with scurs.  

    We have a little doeling that has a unicorn horn - think we missed popping the bud off one side.  Our vet says he can take care of it so hope that works well.  She is too pretty a girl to have her head messed up.  He said he can take it off just below the hair line and then burn it but will put her to sleep to do it.  Anyone had good results from that? 

  • Denise Ryan April 18, 2016 at 1:59pm

    I purchased the Rhinehart X-30 for small calves and goats. The tip measures 3/4". I didnt find a 1/2" tip. Is this too large for Nigerian kids?

  • Deborah Niemann-Boehle April 10, 2010 at 10:52pm
    Finally remembered to look at my disbudding iron today. It is the 1/2 inch tip. I can't imagine that the 1/4 inch could do a decent job of disbudding bucks UNLESS you move it around a lot, so that you're burning in multiple areas around the horn bud. Even with the 1/2", we have to move the iron to cover more area on bucks. If you don't burn enough, you'll get scurs, which are ugly, probably painful, and sometimes bloody.
  • Susan Landoll April 6, 2010 at 5:00pm
    Jefferslivestock.com has the Rhinehart X-30, R5-D6, 1/4 inch for pygmy and Nigerian breeds for about $54.95 on sale now.
    They also have other sizes. the Rhinehart X30, R5-D5 3/8 inch for about $59.00. I have never disbudded a goat so i will need lots of nerve!
  • Susan Landoll April 6, 2010 at 4:43pm
    I have seen recommendations to use a 1/4 inch tip, I will try to find that source. I also have been looking at Jeffers and their prices are reasonable. I know the two Nigerians I bought have scurs, I never had to deal with that before.

    Deborah Niemann-Boehle said:
    If you already know the process, my only suggestion is to NOT get an iron that requires an extension. It doesn't get hot enough. Someone bought goats from me a couple years ago, and last year they had trouble disbudding their kids. Finally they brought them to us for assistance, and they were shocked that our iron was glowing red. Theirs never got that hot. On Fiasco Farms, she says that they had an iron with a goat tip attached to it for several years, then when it died, they got the one without the extension, and they were surprised how much hotter their new one got. I think this is the one we have:
    http://www.hoeggergoatsupply.com/xcart/product.php?productid=4195&a...
    And I'm pretty sure we have the 1/2 inch tip. I'm looking at a ruler, and I can't imagine using a 1/4"! For bucks, you have to burn even wider, because they'll grow scurs up front if you don't get far enough forward. So, after my husband does the initial burn, he moves it forward a little and burns more up front on bucks. We were initially paranoid about getting too far forward because a vet disbudded our first kids, and he damaged the eyelid on one of them, but he had a really big calf disbudder.

    So, I guess I had more than one tip! Oh, well! Good luck!
  • Melissa Senesac April 6, 2010 at 10:43am
    That is exactly the product I was planning on buying!- I've heard great things about it, and I had heard stories about the extensions being a bad idea.

    Thanks for the info. I've been the one dealing with the scurs on my Mom's wethers so I definitely don't want any of those. I think I'll go with the 1/2" tip on that rhinehart x30.

    thanks, Deborah!

    melissa



    Deborah Niemann-Boehle said:
    If you already know the process, my only suggestion is to NOT get an iron that requires an extension. It doesn't get hot enough. Someone bought goats from me a couple years ago, and last year they had trouble disbudding their kids. Finally they brought them to us for assistance, and they were shocked that our iron was glowing red. Theirs never got that hot. On Fiasco Farms, she says that they had an iron with a goat tip attached to it for several years, then when it died, they got the one without the extension, and they were surprised how much hotter their new one got. I think this is the one we have:
    http://www.hoeggergoatsupply.com/xcart/product.php?productid=4195&a...
    And I'm pretty sure we have the 1/2 inch tip. I'm looking at a ruler, and I can't imagine using a 1/4"! For bucks, you have to burn even wider, because they'll grow scurs up front if you don't get far enough forward. So, after my husband does the initial burn, he moves it forward a little and burns more up front on bucks. We were initially paranoid about getting too far forward because a vet disbudded our first kids, and he damaged the eyelid on one of them, but he had a really big calf disbudder.

    So, I guess I had more than one tip! Oh, well! Good luck!
  • Deborah Niemann-Boehle April 6, 2010 at 10:38am
    If you already know the process, my only suggestion is to NOT get an iron that requires an extension. It doesn't get hot enough. Someone bought goats from me a couple years ago, and last year they had trouble disbudding their kids. Finally they brought them to us for assistance, and they were shocked that our iron was glowing red. Theirs never got that hot. On Fiasco Farms, she says that they had an iron with a goat tip attached to it for several years, then when it died, they got the one without the extension, and they were surprised how much hotter their new one got. I think this is the one we have:
    http://www.hoeggergoatsupply.com/xcart/product.php?productid=4195&a...
    And I'm pretty sure we have the 1/2 inch tip. I'm looking at a ruler, and I can't imagine using a 1/4"! For bucks, you have to burn even wider, because they'll grow scurs up front if you don't get far enough forward. So, after my husband does the initial burn, he moves it forward a little and burns more up front on bucks. We were initially paranoid about getting too far forward because a vet disbudded our first kids, and he damaged the eyelid on one of them, but he had a really big calf disbudder.

    So, I guess I had more than one tip! Oh, well! Good luck!
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