Dehorning baby calves

[bombay_43]

We usually dehorn any heifers that we are keeping, when they are about 14 to 16 months old. We use the green elastics that you use for casterating baby calves. Put the elastics as close to the skull as possible and make certain there is no hair between the horn and the elastic. The odd time she will shake her head as it appears to bother her, but it does not last long.

The size is dependant on how big your elastrator is. The tool has to fit around the horn. It is surprising how large a horn this works on.

It usually takes a couple of months and you will see the horns start to loosen and then fall off. We have always had good luck with this method.
They seem to be less stressed and no bleeding.

[pandiana]

We use horn past. Without a doubt this is the most cosmetic effect...calves will appear almost polled. We have had problems with calves rubbing it off. Saw a tip in Cattlemen where duct tape was used over past to keep it from being licked or rubbed off. We tried it the other day but the jury is still out on its effectiveness.

[grassfarmer]

I prefer to burn the horns off but not as much as I prefer polled cattle! The few horned calves we get we burn off at spring processing so calves will be up to 2 months old. With a hot iron I can do a calf in under three minutes - no freezing as it takes more time than the actual burning. Our calves thus treated look "polled" as Pandiana says.

[farmboy1]

I love my butane dehorner. Quick and easy. No re-charging, just a 4 second re-filling. Can do calves up to 3 months old, but 3-4 weeks is much better and easier.

[blackjack]

Thanks for the replies, Ranchers! I'm leaning little more towards farmboy1 method , wanting to vaccinate and dehorn before we load them up to go to pasture. Just started calving , should be right size for June 1 .

[grassfarmer]

I should have said I prefer the electric burner over butane as I found the butane ones can get just about too hot. Use extension cord and keep the electric plugged in and it works great.

[farmboy1]

I used an electric one for years and it worked fine. However, you need to be near a power source and there is always the risk of shocks. I had a Buddex ree-chargable and when the calves get older, they are not as effective. I am on my second Portasol butane dehorner and I love it. There is a gas regulator on it which will, in turn, regulate the heat produced. I run mine at "half throttle" and it stays hot ahead of the calves. I also found that a hotter dehorner means the job is over more quickly and the calves hardly know it was done.