Goats’ horns can prevent more than a few issues as they get bigger.
For some, the idea of trying to handle goats with large horns is too frightening, so they disbud their goats using a hot iron at a very young age.
This is an effective, if painful and stressful, method of preventing the horns from developing in the first place.
The idea of using a hot iron is, understandably, a little distasteful to many.
Another method often put forward is using bands—but does it work?
You cannot disbud a goat with bands. You are, technically, only dehorning it. These are not the same thing. You can amputate a goat’s horns with bands, but you can’t stop them from developing in the first place. There would be no purchase on which to put the bands in the first place.
So, it is not pedantic but very important to point out the difference between these two terms. disbudding destroys the corium of the horn bud, while avoiding significant damage to the membranous tissue covering the bones.
You cannot do this with bands.
Let’s look further into this.
Can you disbud a goat with rubber bands?
You can’t disbud a goat with rubber bands.
There is only one way to truly disbud a goat: with a disbudding iron at a young age before the horns have begun to develop.
This is generally the way that horn growth is prevented.
Within the first two weeks of a kid’s life, a disbudding iron is used to essentially cauterize the wound.
This prevents the growth of the horns at all, meaning that you never need to dehorn them again later in life.
Disbudding is a very particular process, then.
It isn’t done except with a disbudding iron.
Using bands to remove horns is possible, but only on horns that have already developed.
Obviously, you couldn’t attach rubber bands to horns that have not developed.
So, while this may seem pedantic, for the goat’s sake, it’s really important that you understand the difference between these two terms.
Dehorning and disbudding both have unique risks associated with them.
Using bands is an entirely different process to disbudding, so let’s look into just how safe it is.
Is banding goat horns safe?
It depends on you, really.
Though it might seem like a simple process of just placing bands on the horns, there is a good deal more to it than that.
You need to know the goat inside and out, to know that it’s at the right age and weight to be safely banded.
In general, though, banding is considered safe.
It doesn’t pose a risk of seriously hurting your goat in the long term.
That will depend a bit on the size of the horns, though.
Very large horns are not really safe to be banded, as the extended time it will take for them to fall off will cause added pain for the goat.
That said, it is widely considered to be cruel and painful.
It should only really be done if it’s absolutely necessary.
Removing a goat’s horns slowly using bands will cause extended distress for the goat, meaning they will have pain for a long period of time.
So, exactly how long does it take for horns to fall off when banded?
How long does it take for banded horns to fall off?
It’s going to depend on the size of the horns.
As I said, if your goats’ horns are very large, you really shouldn’t use this method to remove them.
Removing a goat’s horns, however you do it, is painful and stressful for the animal.
The largest horns that can still safely be banded should take around 50 days to fall off.
For smaller to medium sized horns, you can expect the horns to fall off after 20-30 days.
Again, it’s important that you know you are doing it correctly.
If there aren’t enough bands on the horns, it may take so long that it begins to really hurt the goat unnecessarily.
At most, though, for an average sized goat, it will be around 20-30 days.
What is the best way to dehorn a goat?
The most widely used is disbudding.
Generally, it’s a lot harder and more stressful for the goat to be dehorned than to be disbudded.
Removing an appendage that has fully developed is a lot more painful than stopping it from developing at all.
So, though it is still painful for the goat, your best chance of safely preventing the growth of horns is to use a disbudding iron within the first week or two of the goat’s life.
This stops the horns from growing with damaging the membrane of the skeleton that I mentioned earlier.
Most methods of dehorning will do permanent damage to the skull.
The horns are, you must remember, part of their skeleton, so any way you’re going to remove them once they’ve developed poses potential problems.
There is an understandable desire to curtail the growth of a goat’s horns so that they’re easier for the owner to handle.
Doing this is a very delicate process, though, and you must be very careful of your goat’s welfare in the process.
Disbudding is generally the way that it is done, although this carries its own risks.
You cannot do this with bands—it’s a very different process.
Make sure to take your time and do your research before doing anything.