Which way do you disbud? By pressing the iron directly down onto the horn bud? Or do you roll the iron around the edges? I talked to a couple goat keepers who say the latter method heals quicker. Also do you use an electric iron or butane or something else?

-- Lynn (moonspinner@bluefrognet.net), March 04, 2002

Answers

Lynn the "root" of the horn is around the outside of the horn also. So just rocking it ontop of the bud is not going to get all of it, and leave scurs around the base. If the horn is up and pointy at all, cut it off flat, and burn the bleeders with the flat side of the iron. Then make a nice burn around the base, then take your finger and flip at it, like picking a scab off your knee when you were young. Now go back and burn until you get a pretty cooper circle all the way around. Spray with anything antiseptic to cool it. I use a Rhinehart 50, purchased out of Jeffers, they do now have the round 3/4 inch tip for it always before you only could buy the goat tip which was shaped like and ice cream cone, which once again unless done nearly at birth would not burn around the whole base. We have used about all the irons, and even for years used a big ole soldering iron that my husband made for me with a 3/4 inch copper fitting on it. When we originally got our Rhinehart 50 I was very unhappy at how many heads we had to go back and redo once their caps had fallen off. So we retrofitted the rhinehart with a 3/4 inch copper fitting, and now only fix 1 or 2 a year. Actually the very best iron we have ever used wasn't even an iron, a pair of vice grips holding a 3/4 inch copper fitting, which was placed in a propane torch till cherry red and applied to the head. We were out in a pasture doing boer cross kids with no electricity in sight! It was fast and clean. If you can't stick your thumb in the hole of the head of your iron (with it unplugged :) than it is to small! Vicki

-- Vicki McGaugh TX (vickilonesomedoe@hotmail.com), March 04, 2002.

Vicki - (with it unplugged) LOL

-- shari (smillers@snowcrest.net), March 04, 2002.