just one little nub

cattleluvr18

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Curtis Nebraska
ok so i have a maine and it has one little horn nub. first of all i didnt even think that maine's got horns? and second is that gonna hurt her when i show her this fall? and plus wont it grow back out? my dad says its not gonna hurt anything. but even if it doesnt grow out i still think it looks stupid and i dont think i should show her if she just one little nub sticking out of her head. am i right and what should i do about it?
 
I would get it removed and check to make sure that there isn't one on the other side. In the long run, it shouldn't hurt her in the show ring, but it looks so much better if they don't have any. If you don't want to get it removed you can always leave some hair on top of her poll to kinda hide it.
 
That is pretty normal for a Maine to have some kind of horn. Deffinatly not unheard of. I think that traditionaly they were horned but when they started breeding the angus in them to get black they also got polled. Notice I put I think because I am not 100% sure of this. Thanks Matthew Kane
 
Originally all Maine-Anjou cattle were Horned, and Red & White. The majority of purebred Maine-Anjou are still horned, but that number is dropping every day.

You Do Not want to show your heifer with a nub. Your calf may be scurred, and may have it only on one side. You can take her to a Vet, who will probably use a burning iron. I use this method all the time up to about 5 month old calves. It does hurt, but they get over it in about five minutes. It usually takes about 30 days for the nub and scab come loose, but after that, you can shape her poll just as if she were born smooth polled. Here's the idea:

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Hot Iron Method
Both the 120 volt electric and the gas-fired irons will destroy the horn producing skin at the base of the horn. This technique works well for calves up to 12 weeks old. However, the technique requires good restraint of the calf. Except in very young calves, blocking the nerve to the horn is recommended. There are several sizes of dehorning irons. The proper size is one where the burner makes a complete ring around the base of the horn. Use a short extension cord as voltage drops with a long cord, limiting the amount of heat generated by the dehorner.




Technique
1. Wear gloves to protect your hands.

2. Hold the calf’s ear out of the way to keep it from being burned.

3. Preheat the dehorning iron to a red colour. Both electric and gas irons work best when they are "red" hot.

4. Place the tip of the burner over the horn and apply slight pressure. When the burning hair begins to smoke, slowly rotate the dehorner by twisting your wrist.

5. Continue the application of heat for 10 to 15 seconds. Do not leave the dehorner in place for much longer, especially in young calves. Heat can be transferred through the thin bones of the skull and damage the calf’s brain.
 
good description AAOK, all I can add is the burnt skin should be a copper/bronze colour after burning. Applying a bit of gention violet in the fly season is also recommended.
 
killing the hair growing tissue around the base of the horn is what prevents the horn from regrowing. The vet does exactly the same, instead of killing the tissue he removes it either with a barnes dehorner or with a scalpel. Same principle, the one have blood, the other don't.

Millions of calves the world over gets dehorned that way, including show calves. It would still be my prefered choice after using a homozygous polled bull.
 
Good advice. I have never personally had a show calf with worns but I have dehorned many head of cattle. I always cut nub off then burn always works good for us. Thanks Kaneranch
 

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