Removing scurs...

[Catahoula]

5 out of 6 goats I have or had have scurs. All the boys has scurs and my girl didn't (and I gave her away...shoot). Two boys were done too late so the growth were expected. The others were done before 10 days and they all looked great at the beginning....

 

[Chevoner]

Not to highjack the thread, but what are some of the pros/cons of horned vs. hornless goats?
I know dairy goats must be hornless for showing, but I don't understand why or what the benefits are.
Likewise with Boers, I'm not sure why they must have horns to show (aren't they the only 'show' meat breed?).
I guess I'm just confused about horns...

 

[AshleyFishy]

Well a big con to horns is getting stuck in fencing. I have only had one stuck and it wasn't a big deal.. but another member on this forum lost their goat to fencing. It is a very sad way to lose one.

Personally I like the look of horns, even my milkers have horns..but I don't show either. People say a pro to horns is they are "handles". Some will say this is cruel to the animal.

Con to disbudded animals is the chance or scurs. They can be bothersome or unaesthetical at times but rarely are they a true danger to the critter. Also the hassle of having to disbud is a pain and it stinks.

If you are trying to sell goats disbudded or polled will normally sell better than a horned goat.

Really it comes down to personal preference or showing requirements.

 

[SkyWarrior]

Not to highjack the thread, but what are some of the pros/cons of horned vs. hornless goats?
I know dairy goats must be hornless for showing, but I don't understand why or what the benefits are.
Likewise with Boers, I'm not sure why they must have horns to show (aren't they the only 'show' meat breed?).
I guess I'm just confused about horns...

My guess is because dairy goat have upright horns and are more likely to do damage than meat goat horns which tend to curve away a lot more. I don't show, so I couldn't tell you.

Negatives: Horns tend to get in the way a lot. They get caught in fences, they swing around and accidentally hit you (get hit in the face or leg with one and I'll guarantee you'll think removing horns is a good idea), and they can cause severe injuries or even death to some goats who take the brunt of them. You can't show dairy goats with them.

Positives: Horns do help cool the goat. They are a way for the goat to defend themselves. Some people like them.

My own opinion is if it weren't for the scur issue, I'd disbud my goats. Scurs are nasty and can cause more harm than solve a problem. I've dealt with scurs on my own animals and on other people's animals (had to humanely put down someone else's lovely LaMancha because the scur was going to grow into the goat's eye and into her brain ) and it has changed my mind on keeping the horns. Don't get me wrong -- I don't like the horns, but I hate scurs more.

BTW: I tried disbudding my first kids. I screwed up and the horns grew anyway. My husband and I decided to let the horns be as they grew rather than try to disbud them again.

 

[Chevoner]

Thanks! I think I'll most likely be raising meat goats and not showing, so will most likely keep the horns.

 

[babsbag]

I have both horned, polled, and disbudded. I will take the polled any day of course and then the disbudded is next. I don't like horns, period. They get in the way when I grab their collars and it hurts, they have a way of tilting their heads just right so that they smash my fingers between the horns and their body.

It is my understanding that boers have horns for show as there is supposed to be a correlation between the space between the base of the horns and the width of their butt; at least that is what I was told.

As far as scurs, I had a few goats with them and we just kept them trimmed; used a PVC pipe cutter on them. Every time we did feet, we did scurs too. They don't bleed much if you are only taking off an inch or so and also they won't grow as much on a wether as the would on a buck. I had them surgically removed on a buck and that was a horrid horrid ordeal that I would never do to an animal again.

As far as burning...a friend does mine. Of all the goats I have had done in the last 5 years, which has probably been close to 50 or more, all of the does I have retained have NOT had scurs, except one, and it never gets over an inch before it gets knocked off. The bucklings are harder, and I don't have them around for long, but of the few that I have kept tabs on, no scurs. But that being said, I have them burned early, less than a week for my dairy stock, and the bucklings will get burned multiple times a few weeks apart if needed, and it usually is. I will have doelings reburned too if needed, but they are seldom a problem.

I tried doing them myself and it was a miserable failure so I am fortunate to have a friend (actually 3 of them) that will do them for me and they do them well.

 

[HoneyDreameMomma]

Out of our 8 does, 3 have horns, but all 5 of the ones that are disbudded have had no problems with scurs. I can see some of the pros of keeping the horns, but we almost lost one of our horned doelings when she caught herself in the fence a few weeks ago. If my daughter hadn't discovered her when she did, I don't think the goat would have made it. She was exhausted, panting and crying, and it was a three-person job to get her head and horns untangled.

I have friends who argue both sides of this topic. Disbudding is not a pleasant thing to do, but I think if you can get someone to do it well, and/or teach you how to do it well, it has definite benefits. Lol - plus, having a goat without horns love on you tends to be less painful.