How young do you debud calves?

just do it

How young do you debud your calves?

Rovi

Didn't do the poll, as several options apply.

When we had sucklers, we'd dis-bud as and when calves were ready.
This could have been anything from a week or so to a couple of months of age.

Some of the sneaky ones were really slow to grow their little horns!

jerdee

aberdeen angus all the way.....

bbam

Due to the bother getting them in sucklers are often left longer. Bucket fed calves would mostly
Be all done at 3-4 weeks.
It can't really be done by the caendar, they develop at different rates.

blue5000

I find about half the blonde calves out of angus cows have no horns so we leave it till about 3 weeks to make sure they actually have horns first

BeeDI

Hornex paste after 1 week. Sometimes can do it at two days old, cause they have enough of a bud. Great job. Don't need to be struggling with strong calves. Don't need to invest in a crate. Tag the same time.

http://www.fanevalleystores.com/product/151040/Dr-Larson-s-De-Horning-Paste-45g

moy83

How many calves do you get out of a tube of paste ? Way handier than heating up the iron and it would be alot easier to catch them at a week old

just do it

Rovi wrote: »

Didn't do the poll, as several options apply.

When we had sucklers, we'd dis-bud as and when calves were ready.
This could have been anything from a week or so to a couple of months of age.

Some of the sneaky ones were really slow to grow their little horns!

Fair point Rovi. I suppose what I'm trying to get at in the poll is what is the youngest age lads debud their calves. I recall reading an article in the journal a good while back of someone tagging and dehorning at 1do. Think it was a dairy farmer with ~150 cows.

Atilathehun

moy83 wrote: »

How many calves do you get out of a tube of paste ? Way handier than heating up the iron and it would be alot easier to catch them at a week old

That's what I do also. About 16 calves to a tube of the stuff. Have to get it in the north though. Banned in south by some useless dumbbell in the system. Ok to use in Europe and uk and USA and NZ and Australia. Apparently a box ticker figured out that a melting hot steel rod stuck in the head of a calf, is less stressful than a little dab of hornex. My calves done in the first week, kept inside and separated from the cow for a few hours, barely notice the stuff. Often seen them show as much or even more discomfort after tagging!!

redzerologhlen

BeeDI wrote: »

Hornex paste after 1 week. Sometimes can do it at two days old, cause they have enough of a bud. Great job. Don't need to be struggling with strong calves. Don't need to invest in a crate. Tag the same time.

http://www.fanevalleystores.com/product/151040/Dr-Larson-s-De-Horning-Paste-45g

moy83 wrote: »

How many calves do you get out of a tube of paste ? Way handier than heating up the iron and it would be alot easier to catch them at a week old

Atilathehun wrote: »

That's what I do also. About 16 calves to a tube of the stuff. Have to get it in the north though. Banned in south by some useless dumbbell in the system. Ok to use in Europe and uk and USA and NZ and Australia. Apparently a box ticker figured out that a melting hot steel rod stuck in the head of a calf, is less stressful than a little dab of hornex. My calves done in the first week, kept inside and separated from the cow for a few hours, barely notice the stuff. Often seen them show as much or even more discomfort after tagging!!

We tried that paste stuff 2 years ago, god knows the tenon saw got a day out after it!! I thought they looked to be in severe discomfort for about 4 hours after by the way they were shaking their heads and trying to scratch it off to be honest.

reilig

Used the paste for a number of years. While it was handy, it didn't give spectacular results. Very often, 1 horn grew - most likely where a cow licked the paste off (although we always kept them separated for an hour or 2 after). The calf suffered for up to a week and could continually be seen throwing down his head down with pain. the gas dehorner was resurected and a new tip pit onto it which goes visibly red. While the calf may suffer during the proceedure, the pain is gone within a short while - the scws sees us using an anaesthetic on all calves now. Chaorlais calves can be dehorned within a week of being born. Limmo and BB's need up to 4 weeks for the buds to develop. If you dehorn with a hot iron before the bud is properly developed, you cause unnecessary suffering to the calf.

Just my own experience, and probably isn't everyone's, but we'd never go back to the paste now that the gas dehorner is working to its full ability.

just do it

reilig wrote: »

we'd never go back to the paste now that the gas dehorner is working to its full ability.

A similar experience with the gas dehorner this Spring (I'd a thread about it). I took it apart, give it a good cleaning and its working much better now than for the last 2-3 years. The hotter it is the less the calf suffers:), especially as I give them all local;).

pakalasa

We used the caustic sticks way back but it often ran down the side of the head causing burning on the skin. Most of my neighbours around me still dehorn as yearlings. Can't understand that. To be honest I propably do them later than most people. Often up to 6 weeks for say BB heifers. To me they are sore for about a day and grand after that.
I have bad memories of polling cattle as yearlings. No anesthetic and me covered head to toe in blood. It should be made compulsory to do them as calves.

redzerologhlen

pakalasa wrote: »

We used the caustic sticks way back but it often ran down the side of the head causing burning on the skin. Most of my neighbours around me still dehorn as yearlings. Can't understand that. To be honest I propably do them later than most people. Often up to 6 weeks for say BB heifers. To me they are sore for about a day and grand after that.
I have bad memories of polling cattle as yearlings. No anesthetic and me covered head to toe in blood. It should be made compulsory to do them as calves.

Have often been in the same situation and like you know a few people around that go on with the same carry on. I dont for the life of me know why anybody would leave them as calves and go cutting them off at yearlings

bbam

Isn't there also a problem with the caustic getting rubbed off onto cows udders and burning the cow too?? A caustic burn is every bit as sore as a heat burn, or even worse if the caustic is strong enough to debut with.

I would agree with making dehorning compulsory as calves. You also see weanlings in the mart that haven't been touched and six inch horns on them. The marts need to turn them away.

We have an electric iron, I extended the lead so it stays plugged in once warmed up and it does a great quick clean job. Most are over it within a day and all within two.

Atilathehun

redzerologhlen wrote: »

BeeDI wrote: »

Hornex paste after 1 week. Sometimes can do it at two days old, cause they have enough of a bud. Great job. Don't need to be struggling with strong calves. Don't need to invest in a crate. Tag the same time.

http://www.fanevalleystores.com/product/151040/Dr-Larson-s-De-Horning-Paste-45g

moy83 wrote: »

How many calves do you get out of a tube of paste ? Way handier than heating up the iron and it would be alot easier to catch them at a week old

Atilathehun wrote: »

That's what I do also. About 16 calves to a tube of the stuff. Have to get it in the north though. Banned in south by some useless dumbbell in the system. Ok to use in Europe and uk and USA and NZ and Australia. Apparently a box ticker figured out that a melting hot steel rod stuck in the head of a calf, is less stressful than a little dab of hornex. My calves done in the first week, kept inside and separated from the cow for a few hours, barely notice the stuff. Often seen them show as much or even more discomfort after tagging!!

We tried that paste stuff 2 years ago, god knows the tenon saw got a day out after it!! I thought they looked to be in severe discomfort for about 4 hours after by the way they were shaking their heads and trying to scratch it off to be honest.

Had 16 February calves in the crush this morning, giving covexin booster shot. All were done with the caustic paste at less than a week.
Double checked their horns in case I had anything coming where the paste might not have worked properly. No sign of any buds.

PS: the paste is a far better job than the caustic stick in my experience.

Angus4life

have a lim calf febuary horns are about 5mm in lenght wats the best job for the horns.? or let them grow and cut in 7 months,?

kay 9

If they are only 5mm like you say then anaesthetic, sharp knife and the electric/gas dehorner to seal burn anything left. Might not even be need for the knife;) Strong calf to hold unless you have a calf crush:D More humane then skulling the back-end of the year I believe.

pakalasa

Electric or gas hot iron should handle 5mm buds, no problem.

munkus

For years I've been struggling with the Gas Barrell dehorner, the thing taking 20 minutes to heat up, any puff of wind knocking it out (dismantled and cleaned out plenty of times) and horsing the barrell out to the crush. On advise from another thread here, I bough the portosol 3 from farmrite. Holy jesus, what a weapon. it heats up to 600 degrees in about 4 minutes and the bud is out in a second. I couldn't believe the difference. Far superior the our previous electric or gas dehorners.

And no, I'm not a sales rep.

Angus4life

she got the gas this morning :P great job ate right through them.. will be done like that any more they get to strong wen u leave them to long :rolleyes: more work for me then :P

redzerologhlen

munkus wrote: »

For years I've been struggling with the Gas Barrell dehorner, the thing taking 20 minutes to heat up, any puff of wind knocking it out (dismantled and cleaned out plenty of times) and horsing the barrell out to the crush. On advise from another thread here, I bough the portosol 3 from farmrite. Holy jesus, what a weapon. it heats up to 600 degrees in about 4 minutes and the bud is out in a second. I couldn't believe the difference. Far superior the our previous electric or gas dehorners.

And no, I'm not a sales rep.

We had a few portasols over the years and they broke so many times I lost count. I bought one the same as the one in the link last year and I find it great, has well over 100 calves done now and no problems.

http://www.agritura.com/product_info.php/language/en/info/p4983_GasBuddex--m--20mm-Kopf--2-Kartuschen-und-Duese.html