# banding horn failed?! please help



## herbnerd (Aug 14, 2014)

View attachment 4645 View attachment 4646 We just got our first herd and 3 of the doelings hAve horns. For showing\selling we need to remove them and did reserch on different ways. We decided on banding them. Sunday I did one kid. And tuesday I did another. (Th eyes are about 8 month old kinders) It was tough because the base was at such a steep angle and realy had to work to keep the band's at the base, but did get them close and used 2 on each horn.the one we did Sunday hasn't fell off yet. But the one we did a couple days ago showed up with a horn missing tonight, wel. Sorta. There is a bloody nub sticking up. What's this about? I didn't read about this possibility anywere!  What should I do? Seems it would be painfull to put another band on... maybe it will finish falling off in a few days??


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## alsea1 (Aug 14, 2014)

Looks like the outer layer sloughed off.  I'm not sure what would be the next step. Hope someone else chimes in with some good info.


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## frustratedearthmother (Aug 15, 2014)

I've never banded a horn, so I have no experience to draw from on this.  But, I've disbudded hundreds of kids.  I think at this point you could use a disbudding iron to finish the job.  With good restraint it could be done very quickly and would probably be less traumatic than walking around with the core of a horn exposed.    Hope you find an answer!


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## goatgurl (Aug 15, 2014)

I've never used a band to dehorn either for that very reason.  I've never seen it really work.  agree with frustratedearth mother that i would try a disbuddning iron now, especially on the little exposed horn.  not sure it will work on the bigger one.  do you have anyone around you who knows how to disbud that could help?


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## ragdollcatlady (Aug 25, 2014)

In your shoes, I would have the vet sedate and cut, then burn the horns the rest of the way off. It cost me about $50, plus $12 or so for an anitibiotic injection and I am in California where everything is expensive. With sedate/cut/burn, you do end up with a hole that needs daily tending and antibiotics for a week or 2, but you don't have to wait or worry that it will still not be done right. Also, the horn/scur might continue to grow out if there is a good amount of blood supply to the base still.


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## Southern by choice (Aug 25, 2014)

You will need to have the goat sedated and burning will not do the job- at this point it is a horn removal. You will need to bandage the head and change dressings etc. It will take weeks to heal as the sinuses will be exposed. It really isn't a big deal. 
We had a 2 year old Lamancha dehorned. It was easy to care for, she never skipped a beat, she looks great and was no worse for the wear. Banding is painful and takes time and often doesn't do the job as well as actual de-horning. Like you have experienced, bands slip, not far enough down etc.
We recently acquired a lamancha doeling that had scurs at 4 months of age. I hate scurs and knew they would grow much larger. In her case it was mostly burning and little sawing... but as the scabs formed and fell off, to our surprise, there was a hole under that scab. We bandaged her head, put anti-biotics ointment only, it is now covered... 3weeks later.
I have a thread on here somewhere about dehorning and the process, however I have been busy for the past 6 months and have not been on much to update. 
Honestly, the de-horning is not as bad as people have made it out to be. I personally assisted in the procedure with my vet and did all aftercare so I am speaking from an overall perspective. Spaying  a dog is more painful and traumatic than de-horning.
The biggest issue is doing these procedures when it is warm and in fly season. Best in fall/winter so there is no fly-strike.

Hope all goes well and she heals quickly.


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## alsea1 (Aug 30, 2014)

How is this going?


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