Dehorning Rosie's Little Bull

At about 10 days after a baby calf is born, it is time to dehorn it.  Is it necessary?  Well, not really, but for safety, we like to dehorn all of our calves.  Horns can be a real safety hazard in which other cows can be gored (either intentionally or unintentionally).  Cows like to swing their heads from side to side and it would be real easy to catch a horn to the eye.  Horns can also get tangled in fencing.

We've shown how we do this several times, but it is an interesting process.  First off, there are several ways to dehorn a calf.  We have dehorned with a heating iron before.  You simply plug it in and let it get real hot.  Once cherry-red you apply to the horn bud area.  It effectively burns the horn bud and prevents future horn growth.  There are also "scoops" which is an invasive process in which a tool scoops out the horn bud.  We've taken an animal to the vet before to get this done.  It required stitching.

We use Dr. Naylor's De-horning paste.  It's active ingredients, calcium hydroxide and sodium hydroxide prohibit horn growth.  Here's how we do it.  First we shave all the hair away from the horn bud area.  You want the paste to be able to make contact with the skin.  Then we make a 'dam' with petroleum jelly to keep the paste from running.  The dehorning paste will burn the calf's skin and you definitely don't want it to get in the calf's eyes.  Furthermore, you don't want it to get on you! 

Horn bud exposed with vaseline 'dam'

Then we put on latex gloves and with a wooden tongue depressor or other such item, we apply the paste directly on the horn bud and a little outside.  We apply the paste about the diameter of a nickel.

De-horning paste applied

Then we use duct tape to make a 'hat' to cover the area and protect their eyes.  It is also to keep them from rubbing the paste off of their horns.

Duct tape hat

We hold the animal for about 30 minutes.  The de-horning paste must not feel very good when it begins to work.  The calf begins to thrash about an lays down on the ground.

But in the morning, all is well.  The calf is up and acting normally.  We remove the duct tape and wash off the remaining dehorning paste.  If the application was successful, the horns will not grow. 

De-Horning Rosie's Little Bull Calf

We're not big on having horns on any animals on our little farm - cows or goats.  While they are young we de-horn them.  Sometimes we do it with an electric de-horning iron, but since we don't own one, we usually opt for using de-horning paste to do the trick.  This afternoon when I got home from work, I fed Rosie and then separated her little bull calf and tied him up.  I got the clippers and trimmed the hair on his head that surrounded his little horn buds.  This allows the de-horning paste to reach the skin level so that the horn bud is killed.

Although I captured the step-by-step process in the blog in the past (you can search the posts to find it), I didn't get pics today as my hands were full.  I'll explain the process.  After his head was shaved around the horn buds, I used Vaseline Petroleum Jelly to make a dam around each of the horn buds.  This helps prevent the de-horning paste from dripping around and into his eyes.  This is a cautionary move as the paste is an acid and could potentially put his eyes out.

Then I used my pocketknife to scoop out a glob of dehorning paste and I rubbed it on each horn bud and the surrounding skin so that it covered about the size of a quarter on each horn.  Then I held him tight.  Experience taught us that this burns the horn and surrounding skin and is very uncomfortable to the animal.  I held him tight for about 30 minutes.  The animals will writhe around on the ground.  You don't want them rubbing their heads on anything as they could get the acid in their eyes or on you.  After 30 minutes I use duct tape to completely cover the area on which I applied the de-horning paste. This serves as a precaution to keep him from rubbing it off.

Later on in the evening, I went out to check on him.  We was up and moving around but very suspicious of me being around.

The duct tape seemed to be sticking and doing a good job of keeping the de-horning paste on his horns.

Tomorrow morning I will bring some scissors with me and I'll cut off the duct tape and use a wet rag to remove the remaining de-horning paste.  I wouldn't want him rubbing any of that on Rosie's teats while he's nursing on her for his breakfast.

It will heal up fast and the de-horning paste will (hopefully) kill the horn bud so that the horns will never grow.  A bull with no horns means that he won't get tangled in the fence.  It also means that he won't be able to gore any of the other animals or us!

De-horning Clarabelle

With Clarabelle being two weeks old, it was time to de-horn the little girl.  De-horning, for us, is a necessary process.  If you don't remove the horns, the animal can unintentionally or intentionally hurt other cows or people.  It would not be pleasant to be gored, that's for sure.  Horns can just be dangerous and you always have to be watchful.  If you don't de-horn them the horns can grow, loop back around and grow back into the skull.  Sometimes horns can get tangled in fencing or gates, causing the animal to get trapped.

Each time we have a new calf I dread doing this task.  There are at least three different ways to dehorn, and we've tried each method.  We've burned them off with an electric de-horning tool that heats up cherry red and you burn the horn bud, killing the horns.  We've also taken a heifer to a veterinarian and in a surgery had the horns cut out and then have the incision sewed up.

All methods seem painful, but the method that seems easiest on the animal, and the owners, is using Dr. Naylor Dehorning paste.

Image Credit

It is best to get this job done as soon as possible.  On Clarabelle's two week old birthday, we figured it was high time to get the job done.  They recommend dehorning within the first two weeks of the calf's life.  We brought her in the barn, put her in the stall and used clippers to clip away the hair from around both horn buds.  You want to do this so that the dehorning paste comes into contact with the horn bud.

Shaving the hair away from Clarabelle's little horns

Then I applied a ring of Vaseline petroleum around the horn bud.  This acts as a dam to keep the paste from running.  You definitely don't want the paste to run and possibly get in the animal's eyes.

Applying a ring of petroleum jelly

Then holding Clarabelle firmly, I apply a quarter-sized amount of dehorning paste on top of the little horn buds.  Since it is caustic, you don't want to get it on your hands.  I apply it using a wooden popsicle stick.

Applying the dehorning paste

Once it is applied, it is important to keep the animal away from other animals and inside out of the rain.  I use duct tape to wrap a protective cap over the area of application.  This protects the area so that the dehorning paste can't be rubbed off by the calf.

Duct tape cap

We always sit with the animal for about 30 minutes.  There is a brief period of discomfort and the animal will react, letting you know that they aren't happy, but after a short period the burning sensation subsides.  We leave her in the stall overnight to rest.  

In the recovery room

The very next morning we remove the duct tape protective covering and using a wet rag, we wipe off any remaining dehorning paste.  You can tell where the paste has burned the horn bud, killing it.

Horn buds killed

Clarabelle was in good spirits and as soon as we had her head cleaned up, she began nursing on Rosie.  No cutting, no bleeding.  Although it is not a pleasant task to perform, we're thankful that in a very short time, the discomfort is over and the job is done.