How to Remove Goat Horns

How to Remove Goat Horns. There are different ways to remove the horns of a goat and knowledgeable people disagree on which way is best. Debudding of young goats can be done using a hot iron to burn the emerging horn buds so they don't grow into horns. A debudding paste is a caustic acid that burns the emerging horn buds and, like the iron, stunts the horns so they do not grow. If the horns are not debudded when the goat is very young, removal of the developed horn can be accomplished by a method called banding.

Things Needed

• Stanchion or some method of securing the goat
• Electric clippers
• Two pieces of 10- or 12-gauge wire long enough to encircle a horn and then be twisted tightly
• Pliers
• Banding castration tool
• Iodine
• 8 castration bands
• Electrical tape
• Baby aspirin
• Topical dressing such as Blue Koat

Step 1

Secure the goat's head with the stanchion.

Step 2

Shave the goat's head around the base of the horns with the electric clippers.

Step 3

Form the wire lengths into loops and drop one down onto each horn. Use pliers to twist the wire tight below the base of the horn. Pull and twist the wire, repeating the process of pulling and twisting until the wire is extremely tight. The horn base and adjoining tissue should compress when the wire is adequately tightened.

Step 4

Twist the ends of the wire until the length of each wire's tails are twisted. Bend the ends up against the horns. Tape the ends in place with electrical tape.

Step 5

Brush the castration bands with iodine. Insert a band into the castration tool and then slip it over the horn. Set the band below the wire. Repeat the step to place a second band on the same horn.

Step 6

Repeat the previous step to place two bands on the other horn.

Step 7

Wrap electrical tape around the bands to keep them in place so the goat can't rub them off.

Step 8

Release the goat from the stanchion.

Step 9

Give the goat baby aspirin as needed for pain. Watch the horns closely for signs of infection.

Step 10

Apply topical dressing to the goat's head after the horns fall off.

Warnings

• It can take as long as five weeks for the horns to fall off. Do not pull them off once the horns are loose and have fallen over. Let the horns fall off by themselves. If a horn gets knocked off, it can bleed quite a bit. Don't be alarmed. Treat it as a wound. Stop the bleeding and watch for signs of infection.

References

• Dehorning Older Goats
• Horns---To Disbud or Not to Disbud
• Horns, Horn Information and How to Disbud (Dehorn) Kids