slick4591
Well-known member
Bigfoot":6vq9xwwi said:
Guess that's the 40th day for you, BF. I'm a few days behind you and she still has them both.
Horn banding - pics
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Guess that's the 40th day for you, BF. I'm a few days behind you and she still has them both.
slick4591
Well-known member
Well, that last post was from what I saw this morning. Took the granddaughter out there this afternoon after I posted and the heifer had lost one. The other can't be far behind.
slick4591
Well-known member
A.J.
Well-known member
Tried out horn banding on a heifer, and seems to be the trick. Put the bands on Jan 2nd, and the first one fell off yesterday. The other shouldn't be far behind. Electrical tape over the bands and gorilla tape over that like Bigfoot suggested held them in place.
Scabbed over nicely with very little blood loss.
Scabbed over nicely with very little blood loss.
SteppedInIt
Well-known member
Nice! We banded four heifers and a bull a couple days ago. Hope we have success with it as well.
Muddy
Well-known member
I don't know why most people didn't use the banding as a method for dehorning. It's less cruel and bloodless.
Double R Ranch
Well-known member
We only have polled cattle so I can't say how it's worked for us on cattle. Would I use it on a cow? Absolutely. When we've had calves from dairies (bottle calves) we've used paste with perfect success.
We have however used bands multiple times on goats. We've had rescues we've fostered in the past with big thick horns that's we've banded when they used them against us or other goats in excess. Works really well. Vets didn't want to do them so thats when we turned to banding.
We clipper the horn base. This seems to help greatly. If the base doesn't have a good area for the band to instantly catch under the horn and stay we take a hand file and make a small dip. This also helps keep the bands in place. Place two bands. Give banamine for pain relief. Place a piece of electrical or duct tape over the bands if they are with others. Release.
4-6 weeks the horns fall off.
I would do it again if needed. Have had zero problems with infection, blood loss or horns not coming off. Had one buck years ago that somehow managed to snap a band and had to re-apply it. That's when we added tape when with others and a second band.
As far as noticing pain? When we did it the first time without banamine there was a lot of head shaking and a little crying the first few hours. After that she was just careful on what was close to her horns. She still tried to use them on others for a week or so. Once the bands were digging in well she no longer used them. When they fell off she definitely said ouch. Was a little head shy for a few weeks but was still pushy for treats etc. Never for a minute did she go off feed or treats.
We have however used bands multiple times on goats. We've had rescues we've fostered in the past with big thick horns that's we've banded when they used them against us or other goats in excess. Works really well. Vets didn't want to do them so thats when we turned to banding.
We clipper the horn base. This seems to help greatly. If the base doesn't have a good area for the band to instantly catch under the horn and stay we take a hand file and make a small dip. This also helps keep the bands in place. Place two bands. Give banamine for pain relief. Place a piece of electrical or duct tape over the bands if they are with others. Release.
4-6 weeks the horns fall off.
I would do it again if needed. Have had zero problems with infection, blood loss or horns not coming off. Had one buck years ago that somehow managed to snap a band and had to re-apply it. That's when we added tape when with others and a second band.
As far as noticing pain? When we did it the first time without banamine there was a lot of head shaking and a little crying the first few hours. After that she was just careful on what was close to her horns. She still tried to use them on others for a week or so. Once the bands were digging in well she no longer used them. When they fell off she definitely said ouch. Was a little head shy for a few weeks but was still pushy for treats etc. Never for a minute did she go off feed or treats.
You have to put duck tape over the bands and use good thick bands- I am banded mine July 1, 2023. Two horns fell off yesterday and another cow has lost one and the other soon to fall off. I didn't use enough duck tape on the first two and as I saw they where tearing the tape off - I went back and did figure 8's around the horns back
And forth and went pretty high up on the actual horn. Then I applied fly drops to keep flys back.
midTN_Brangusman
Well-known member
You realize this post is 7 years old right.
TexasJerseyMilker
Well-known member
Yes it is 7 years old thread but just out of curiosity I read most of it. Whether and how much they are suffering from dehorning is kind of subjective. I found this study from Kansas Sate University.
Comparison of the Effects of Three DifferentDehorning Techniques on Behaviorand Performance in Feeder Cattle in a WesternKansas Feedlot
Kansas state did not test chemical dehorning. We did not have a dehoring iron so I used Dr. Naylor's dehoring pasteon my 6 week old jersey heifer. Because she might have rubbed it in her eyes she was cross tied like a horse. For the first 2 or 3 hours she showed signs of distress and wanting to rub her head but after that she mostly stood quiet. After six hours tissue where it was applied was sloughing. She was bottle fed so would not be rubbing this stuff on the cow's udder. It did a great job. No scurs or anything, she's just like a polled animal.
Comparison of the Effects of Three DifferentDehorning Techniques on Behaviorand Performance in Feeder Cattle in a WesternKansas Feedlot
Kansas state did not test chemical dehorning. We did not have a dehoring iron so I used Dr. Naylor's dehoring pasteon my 6 week old jersey heifer. Because she might have rubbed it in her eyes she was cross tied like a horse. For the first 2 or 3 hours she showed signs of distress and wanting to rub her head but after that she mostly stood quiet. After six hours tissue where it was applied was sloughing. She was bottle fed so would not be rubbing this stuff on the cow's udder. It did a great job. No scurs or anything, she's just like a polled animal.
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