Dehorning Question

[FriedgesCharolais]

I am an Angus breeder so this is unfamiliar territory for me on the show side of things, but I purchased some pb simmi embryos in a sale a couple winters ago and just weaned the calf off the cow and noticed she had scurs. Havent decided if I am going to keep her or sell her yet, but would like to get rid of them if I do end up selling her as a show heifer. Curious what all of you crossbred breeders do with calves that are going to be shown that have horns or scurs? Will a Barnes dehorner do a nice enough job that the scar wont be noticeable when their heads are clipped or is there something else I should do to get rid of them? Thanks in advance

 

[maverick33]

I have never dealt with scurs before, but I have burned horns off numerous times. If you burn off the horns the most important thing to do is get the dehorner hot enough before use. I use an electrical one that plugs into an outlet. I always plug it in and let it heat up 15 minutes before use. During this time we will get a calf into the chute and vaccinate. We usually do a group of calves at a time and the dehorner always works best towards the end of the group, since it is so much hotter.
A few other things to keep in mind is that the dehorner has to be placed on the horns long enough to burn them and stop their growth and not just stunt them. If not left on long enough the horns are likely to regrow and become stub horns. If the dehorner is left on too long you can actually burn into the skull. You have to find a happy medium. We usually leave it on then knock the horn cap off then reapply the dehorner again. I usually look for a copper colored ring around the horn to form. I usually try and take care of horns when they are younger since it is easier to get the horn taken care of with little chance of regrowth.
I would suggest having a veterinarian help you if you do not have much experience. Dehorning is a fairly easy task but if done wrong you can burn into the calf's skull or have regrowth and you will not be happy with your job.

 

[obie105]

For show calves surgical is the way to go. Around here $40 will have them looking polled. Many people and vets do it and depending on your location I'm sure someone can point you in the right way.

 

[cowboy_nyk]

Back when we showed Charolais, we always had good luck scooping scurs on the show heifers.  You can get them pretty smooth.  Burning will not leave the poll as angular.