Paste Dehorner Update - GOATS

We used Dr Naylor Dehorning/Disbudding Paste 15 months ago on these 3 Boer goat doelings. That video has people asking how it turned out. So I decided to make an UPDATE video so you can see for yourself! :)
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My husband and I have been farming for nearly 30 years; we've learned a LOT during that time! Despite the fact that I have a degree in Animal Science and my husband has a degree in Agricultural Science, we continue to step outside the box when it comes to animal husbandry. Our goals are to raise happy, healthy animals that can provide our family sustenance and, at times, profit. It's my pleasure to try to share some of that knowledge with you!

[@KayeSargent-sz3cs]

I am actually doing this with two goat kids now. It is horrible to hear them screaming. I hope it works. This is by far, one of my worst experiences in dealing with the goats over the years.

[@fixincrittersonthefarm8389]

It is the worst part about kidding season - but I find the hot iron to be more traumatic. (For the kids and for myself!) I think the paste is more annoying to them because of all the duct tape that I stick on their heads. I've left this stuff on my own skin for a bit too long, and it is just a mild burning sensation. Granted I wash it off once I start to feel that, but it takes me some time to realize that the sensation is from leftover paste vs a random crack in my hand or a light scrape. I'd love to hear how it turned out in about 4 weeks!!

[@stanleyyelnats476]

Saw the video where you disbudded them originally! Super glad to see this worked perfectly. By far my favorite method. Just a few questions- for Nigerians, would disbudding at 5 days be good? Could I go earlier? Also, when you rip the tape off, how do you know if it has actually worked or not? I saw that on one of them you had to try it again and wasn’t sure why. Thanks!!!

[@fixincrittersonthefarm8389]

Stanley Yelnats - General rule of thumb is to disbud when you can feel the horn buds starting to grow. Hard to explain, but they feel less flat-bumpy and more pointy-bumpy. 🤷‍♀️ The younger you do it, the more likely the success, I think, but it's a balance between trying not to overly traumatize them when they first hit the ground. We want babies and Mamma to bond properly before we remove the kids for a period of time and change their scent. There's no real way to immediately know if it works, but generally when you wipe the paste off after removing the tape, the skin looks shiny and a bit weepy - it's basically a chemical burn. I've had a few iron disbuddings not work and had to repeat them, but I've been very successful with the paste. The only paste failure that I can remember (crummy memory though!) was with a heifer that was already 6 weeks old when I applied it. One horn never grew in 👍, and the other looked no worse for the wear🤦‍♀️. I had that one scooped by the vet months later when the heifer went in for her brucellosis vaccine/tag. Good luck!!!

[@brosales5784]

Thank you for the advice,

[@fixincrittersonthefarm8389]

B rosales - Glad it was helpful! :)

[@ezzezz658]

I believe this is the easiest way to get rid of the hornes, old dehorning methods are brutal, thanks for sharing the experience🙏🏻

[@fixincrittersonthefarm8389]

Abdulaziz Al Tamimi - I’m glad that you see the value in doing it this way. Thank you for your support! ❤️

[@kittyg1462]

I just recently did this to two new kids that were just born. They took to it really well. I hope this works for us we are wanting to keep them and hoping it makes taking care of them easier and socializing safer ❤ we did 45-1 hour time with the stuff and cleaned with vinegar.

[@fixincrittersonthefarm8389]

kitty g - Great job! I'm sure it will work for you as well as it has worked for us. I know that our disbudded goats are infinitely easier to handle than the two we have that missed their dehorning appointments as babies. Those two are always accidentally jabbing me in the thigh when other goats butt them, and crunching my hand when I try to grab their collars. I like handling the disbudded goats much more, as do my 4-H kids! If you managed to get the paste over the entire horn bud when applying it, I think you will have success. I'd love to hear how they look in a few months if you ever managed to come across this video again! 🤗

[@westrides7298]

So I have watched your videos and want to do this method. However I heard both 1 hour and 45 minutes. As for how long you leave the paste on. Can you help and let me know how long is recommended for my Nigerian Dwarf Goats. They were born today and one more is due within the week. I am a new mama as well, So I am learning too! Thank you

[@fixincrittersonthefarm8389]

West Rides - 45 minutes to an hour is good. I try to leave it on for an hour, but as I rotate through the kids removing the duct tape and wiping their heads clean with vinegar, I'm no longer checking the clock. It takes me longer to get the stuff ON the kids, than it takes me to get the stuff OFF the kids! So those first ones sit for an hour, but the last ones are likely only 45 minutes. Aiming for an hour will get the job done! Good luck with your kids; let me know how it goes! :)

[@meganevitt1880]

how long after pasting them do you notice that the nubs will start to fall off? i did mine a week ago and they don't look any different.

[@fixincrittersonthefarm8389]

megan evitt - It takes FOREVER! 🤣 It seems like it's at least a month before you start to see the whole ring scab at the edges and pull up away from the skin of the head. It looks more like the skin just gets dried out vs anything actually falling off. If they don't look like they are still growing, then you did it right! 🤞

[@missybean2223]

I thought this was way easier and less stressful for the animal. I prefer this method.

[@fixincrittersonthefarm8389]

Missybean - Me too! I've done it both ways, and this is by far my favorite now! The baby goats seem more upset about having the duct tape stuck to their heads than anything else. 😆

[@amayaaguirre]

Since this video is a few years old. Did horns/scurs ever develop?

[@fixincrittersonthefarm8389]

Amaya Aguirre-Landa - Nope, they never did! Beautiful clear skulls with a thick coat of hair on top!

[@prahladenciso4287]

Hi mam.. I'm from Philippines.. I want to buy dehorning paste.. how can I get the product?????

[@fixincrittersonthefarm8389]

Prahlad Encisco - I'm not sure how you'd go about that. If you google Dr Naylor's Dehorning Paste online, maybe you can order some through the mail? Where I live I can order it online, or I can purchase it directly from a farm/feed store down in my town. Good luck!!

[@gusbeth8]

So I have a question. How old are the bucklings when you use the debudding paste? I have a boy and girl born yesterday 6-2-21 and he does have the little buds so I want to use the paste as soon as I can . Oh they are Mini Mancha. I have 8 not counting the new two and they all have been dehorned using the hot iron and only three do not have scurs but half were done at a vets and the others were either done by the owner or a seasoned dehorner person. I can't do it because it makes me cry. So I found the paste by accident the other day and found your video and really enjoyed it. Thank you so very much.

[@fixincrittersonthefarm8389]

Cheryl Gusbeth - I'm glad you liked my video!! Sorry I didn't get back with you more quickly! I try to get the paste on the bucklings before they are a week of age. Doelings can be closer to a week, week and a half. So far, the paste has worked great for us! Good luck!

[@gusbeth8]

@@fixincrittersonthefarm8389 So I did my buck at like 2.5 days because I could feel them really good. One spot looked like it did in your video where it looked like it missed a spot. So I did his sister today and that spot on his one again. Hers looked better but hers were much smaller. I am hopeful. I did do a crappy video I may post.

[@hermanbillings7835]

Where can i get this product?

[@gusbeth8]

I was using this brand sence I found it ,but I just read a post of a different one that comes in a tube. The post was about their vet showing them how to use it and they get better results because of the tube. So I will be trying it next year. if you have any questions just let me know. The best results you can get would be when the buckling are 24 hours old and for the doelings as soon as you can feel a horn bud.@@hermanbillings7835

[@rockashelle4380]

I've used on many calves, this is my first go at it on a little Nubian buck. I used duct tape to cover and vet wrap in a figure 8 around his little head to keep him from scratching it off. Waiting on the results... thanks so much! 😉👍

[@fixincrittersonthefarm8389]

Amy Toop - Good luck! I think as long as you don't wait too long to apply it, it works really well. Of course, same goes for calves. My current dairy cow was purchased at 6 weeks of age. They were planning to dehorn using the scoop method (which I'm not a fan of). I went ahead and clipped the horn buds, which were fairly evident by that time, and applied the paste. I got one horn to slough off, but the other came back like nothing had happened. I managed to get my vet to scoop it out when he came later for her brucellosis testing/tag. Every calf that I've done that was 2 weeks of age or less, has been wildly successful. Goat kids are a little more variable in when the best time to apply the paste, as some are early horn growers (Boers, Alpines, etc.) and others aren't (Nubians, Nigerians). If you think about it later - let everyone here know how the paste worked out for your little buckling! 🤞😀

[@rockashelle4380]

@@fixincrittersonthefarm8389 I was reviewing your video after I had applied the paste on the buckling. Wanted to make sure I hadn't forgotten anything. Lol! Turned out fantastic. His feelings were hurt a little but he didn't complain one bit until I used the vet wrap over the duct tape patches to make sure he wouldn't scratch them off. After the vinegar wash he was back to his bouncing self and hornbuds look great. I wish I could post a picture. I leave horns on our boers as it's ok in our State for 4H kids here, but not the Nubians. This will be my go to method from here on out. If I remember, I'll post again once his hair grows back for an update. Thanks again for the detailed video!

[@FM_2oo4]

@@rockashelle4380 Did any scurs grow back?

[@rockashelle4380]

@@FM_2oo4 Hey there! On one side I didn't cover a section as good as I should have. So he gets a small scur but knocks it off himself every time it gets any length. He doesn't act like it bothers him. He's as silly and goofy as normal. Kids this year I will make certain to do a quarter sized area over the horn bud.

[@FM_2oo4]

@@rockashelle4380 Great! Thank you so much! Just getting goats for the first time and was overwhelmed with disbudding. This method is a lot easier than the iron.

[@diananore1368]

Do you have a FB or Instagram I could follow?

[@fixincrittersonthefarm8389]

Diana Nore - My FB is only for bragging about my dog (lame, I know!). I find FB to be really confusing, so I'm rarely on there. My Insta is more about my daily life (dog, family, farm) and would probably be pretty boring. It's at boerboel_service_dog if you want to check it out. I post mostly so that my Mom can keep tabs on my life and see what I've been up to! 🥰