Need some dehorning advice

[Aaron]

That last one was me.

[whiteface]

Thanks Aaron, really appreciate your experiences with dealing with horns and scurs.
Would welcome any further comments on what the latest date and/or size of scur/horn that they applied paste to.
Have a good night all from Canada.

[cowsense]

Whiteface-we also run reg. polled herefords and have tried everything with mixed results. Do a proper job and paste can do a good job, just be sure to separate the cow off for an hour or so. We've tried gougers & sometimes get regrowth. The best job on a young calf is a hot iron sometimes even following the gougers. ( picked this up from the char neighbours). Scurs when removed usually grow back even bigger and may even attach solid like a horn! Having them born polled is just so much easier! Good luck calving!

[Soapweed]

Having grown up on a Hereford outfit, and in recent years using Charolais and Red Simmental bulls to get a "terminal" cross calf, I have had quite a bit of experience with horned calves. Paste works real well, and is probably good from birth to at least a month old. We try to paste any horns at the time we tag the calves. At branding time, we check each calf again, and if there are horns we miss, we use a hot iron.

When I use paste, I straddle the calf with my knees on the ground and the calf in a normal sitting position. Chaps come in handy for this, as they protect your knees from sandburrs or damp ground. With the calf sitting upright, his head is level. Then I use scissors to clip the hair around the horn. Paste is applied in about a dime-sized spot, and rubbed in so it stays put. Paste with a spout on the container works the best, but a popsicle stick works if it comes in a jar. One cautionary note, on a warm day it takes less paste than on a chillier day. If the day is too hot, sometimes the paste will run, which can be bad if it runs into an eye. If you get paste on your skin, immediately wash it off. My son used some one time to remove some warts, and it did the trick but there was pain involved. Usually we just paste the calf and turn it loose to be with its mother. Once in a while, the cow will lick off the paste. It doesn't seem to hurt the cow, but if licked off, the horn doesn't get removed. In your case, on a one-time deal, it might pay to leave the cow and calf separated for a couple hours.

At branding time, a hot horn iron is applied. This is often made from a piece of pipe so is round to go around the base of the horn. When the hot iron is applied, it is rotated as the brand goes around the horn. After a branded ring appears, a gloved thumb can knock of the shell of the horn. Then the brand is reapplied for a bit longer.

I would rather have full-fledged horns to contend with than wonder if they have scurs. If there is any doubt in my mind, I apply paste in the right spot as if horns exist. I would sure rather dehorn a calf when it is young, than to wait until weaning time. Dehorning then is a lot harder on the animal.

[Faster horses]

You do things so similar to my husband, Soapweed.

And I agree with you on waiting until weaning--really hard on the calf.

In fact I have read articles where the feedlot owners say dehorning is the very hardest thing on a calf, worse than castration by a long ways. They don't gain much while healing up and it takes quite awhile for the calves to get over being dehorned. The buyers sure dock calves with horns and that is why.

We had Limousin cross calves in the early 80's. They can have a tiny little nub, not anything like a horned Hereford, and we pasted those. I think that is the last time we have had to use paste on anything.

[guest]

We use to have some herefords down here in SD. We always used the paste. We did them when we tagged up every morning. lts a good idea to clip the hair. All you have to do is lay the clipper over the horn and one snip lets the nub show. lf you cut too much l think it can run some. The one snip leaves somewhat of hollow so it keeps the paste on the horn. We let them right up and back with their momma. l don't paste in wet weather due to the fact it could run down the face. The only bad thing is nowadays the pastes are not as good as they use to be. lf we miss some we take em off when we do the fall shots a month before weaning. We usually saw them off then or scoop them and then cauterize with a hot iron.

[Bward]

We dehorn with paste at about 2 months of age the same time we vaccinate and castrate using calf tables. With the calf in the headlock on the table, use your leg to press the front of his face down against the head lock. Then use a sharp chisel and pop the top of the horn cap off. Its best if it still dangles by a few strands of horn tissue. Using the chisel, dip it into the caustic paste and spread a good layer on the exposed horn bud, then again using the chisel place the horn cap back over the raw bud to keep the paste covered. Its very effective and depending on the dehorners "skill" we may only get 1 or 2 percent with regrowth.

[whiteface]

Sure appreciate all these tips, guys. I'll be trying the paste soon I think and keep you all updated on how it goes. Thanks again! Have a good day from Canada!