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chives
313 Posts
Victoria
Shelton
WA
usa
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 Posted - Dec 19 2016 : 7:25:45 PM
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| At what age should a calf be de-horned? I thought 6 months. The vet wants to do it now. |
A cow is the heart of a farm |
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maryjane
7072 Posts
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Posted - Dec 19 2016 : 7:31:05 PM
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| It's much easier if you do it now. The longer you wait, the more traumatic it is for Lily May. Plus, there aren't any flies right now. I think the minute you see buds, you should remove them. And if your vet doesn't get the bud inactivated all the way around each horn, have her/him do it again again as soon as possible so she doesn't have scurs. |
MaryJane Butters, author of Milk Cow Kitchen ~ striving for the stoicism of a cow standing in the rain ~ |
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farmlife
1413 Posts
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Posted - Dec 20 2016 : 04:36:32 AM
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| We had our bull calf dehorned right at 3 months. If we had done it a month earlier he could have had them burned instead of "scooped out" because of the size of the horn buds. I was concerned about the procedure, but the vet did a nerve block on each side, removed the horns, and cauterized the blood flow. Xander literally barely moved and didn't even moo. Then he gave him a shot of pain medicine for after the nerve block wore off and a booster of a vaccine he needed. Xander never acted down or disturbed by it and everything the vet did cost us right around $50. It was literally like nothing happened. The sooner the better! I thought Emmy Lou (2 month old heifer) was going to be polled, but she may be developing scurs. Not sure what those feel like, but I'm watching her. If they start getting bigger, she's going right in as well. |
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chives
313 Posts
Victoria
Shelton
WA
usa
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Posted - Dec 20 2016 : 09:20:07 AM
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| Thank you for all the advice. I will call the vet today and set up an appointment. Never had to do this. |
A cow is the heart of a farm |
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![[flourish]](/images/flourish-txt_mobius.png)
horns when to remove
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