ARRGH! Is almost four weeks too old to disbud??? EDIT: not getting him

[theawesomefowl]

My goat is going to be disbudded (with an iron ) tomorrow. Problem is, he is almost four weeks old!!! is that too old? I should have made the owners of him take him earlier! (They still have him.)
DRAT!!!!!!!!!!!! I can't take him if he has horns. If the goat people who are de-horning him can't do it, could I possibly use the paste? I know it's awful stuff; I am thinking that I won't get him if he can't be dehorned with the iron. It'd be awfully disapointing because I was so excited about this goatie!
WHY didn't i make more of a fuss to get him done earlier?

Next week I will make SURE he does get castrated. I'm not waiting with this like the dehorning.

 

[theawesomefowl]

EDIT: I meant disbudding not dehorning.

 

[lilhill]

He can be disbudded if the buds still fit in the disbudding iron. Personally, I don't wether bucklings until they are 8 weeks old at the earliest.

 

[theawesomefowl]

*whew* I sure hope his horns fit.
Lesson learned: Don't depend on other people!

 

[cmjust0]

The short answer is no. It's not a bud anymore -- it's a horn, albeit a small one.

 

[theawesomefowl]

Well...I'm going to call the owner and have her check his horn buds.

 

[RockyToggRanch]

I took my kids last weekend. The oldest ones were 10 days old. The middle age was 6 days old. A buckling from each age group was bigger nubs than usual and said he had never seen buds that big on a 6 day old.

Of the 8 kids, only 2 of the tiniest 2 and 4 day old doelings were too small to do. They go back this wkend.

Last yr they went to the vet at 2 weeks. That was the vets requested age. All of the bucklings ended up with scurs.

 

[theawesomefowl]

What other options could I do?

 

[Chirpy]

It's almost a for sure thing it's too late but not absolutely. Once in a while a kid will have such tiny horn buds that it could still be done at that age... it's not common or the usual though. I'd have an experienced goat person (vet if you can) check them out immediately and make the decision.

I don't wether my boys until they are closer to 12 weeks old.

 

[cmjust0]

I should have made the owners of him take him earlier! (They still have him.)

...

What other options could I do?

Find another goat?

It's almost a for sure thing it's too late but not absolutely. Once in a while a kid will have such tiny horn buds that it could still be done at that age... it's not common or the usual though.

If a goat gets to 4wks of age and could still be successfully disbudded by the regular disbudding method with a regular disbudding iron, I'd still find another goat...prolly something wrong with that one.


The other option, of course, would be *not* to disbud him and just leave him with his horns..

As for castrating...yeah...don't do that until he's at least 8wks of age or you increase the risk of UC.