De-horning Little Amy

We de-horn all of the calves born on Our Maker's Acres Family Farm for safety.  I don't relish the idea of being gored.  Horns are dangerous around eyes, too.  We wait until they are a few weeks old and you can feel the little horn 'bud' growing to begin the process.

Lili, Amy, and Annie in the nursery stall

Lili has already been de-horned.  Tonight we've got the halter on Amy.  We'll tie her to a post in the stall while we work on her.

Securing Amy

I get out the clippers to trim away the hair from around her little horns.  Trimming the hair ensures that you will be able to get close contact with the horns with the dehorning paste and kill their growth.  There are a couple of processes to remove horns that we've done.  The first is to burn the horns.  This method is done with a tool that you plug in and it heats up cherry red.  Once hot, you hold the animal down and burn the horns until you have cauterized them, so they won't grow.

We switched over to another method that doesn't seem as painful although I'm sure it is uncomfortable.  Dr. Naylor's DeHorning Paste is a paste made with calcium hydroxide and sodium hydroxide.  I'm no chemist, but I'm assuming that this is some sort of acid that burns the horns so they don't grow.

Shaving Amy's hair around her horns

I shave about a two inch circle around each horn.

Then I take some Vaseline and make a circular Vaseline dam around each horn.  This is important to do this as the Vaseline acts as a dam to contain the de-horning paste to keep it from running away from the horn buds and perhaps on other areas of her head or perhaps her eyes.

Applying a vaseline barrier

We use a popsicle stick to spoon out a small amount of the de-horning paste.

Dehorning Paste

I apply a thin coating directly on top of the horn about the size of a dime.  Amy shook and got some of the paste on her neck as you can see.  I quickly wiped this up. Vinegar is an antidote if you get any of this where it doesn't belong.

Dr. Naylor's de-horning paste.  A little dab'll do ya.

So that she doesn't rub the paste on herself or anyone else, I make a little 'shower cap' for her using, (what else?).. duct tape.

Duct tape shower cap for Amy

Amy isn't real happy about getting dehorned or about having the duct tape cap over her head.

We keep her tied and try to comfort her for about 30 minutes

After being visibly unhappy for a little bit, she settles down for the night.

And I in my kerchief and Ma in her cap had just settled down for a long winter's nap.

The next morning when we go out to milk the 3 cows, I bring some scissors and cut Amy's cap off.  I use a rag or two to remove the remainder of the dehorning paste from her head.  The Vaseline leaves a greasy mess, but you can see where her horn buds are.  The paste will stop the horns from growing.

Look ma, no horns.

In a week or two the scabs will be healed, the hair will grow back and you'll be unable to see any signs of horns.  This isn't a fun job for the calf or us, but one that makes it a lot safer for us and the other animals.