Cosmetic dehorning in goats

The effectiveness of clove oil and two different cautery disbudding methods on preventing horn growth in dairy goat kids

The effectiveness of clove oil and cautery disbudding on horn growth was evaluated in goat kids. The study used 243 Saanen doe kids (4±1 days old; mean±SD) on two goat farms that were disbudded with either (i) clove oil injection (CLOVE), (ii) a cautery iron and bud removed (BUDOFF), or (iii) a cautery iron with bud left intact (BUDON). Each kid received a different treatment per bud, which were balanced between buds (left/right) and randomly allocated. A trained observer monitored bud growth following treatment for 3 months recording either: N: no growth, H: normal horn, S: abnormal horn (scur), or SC: soft, fibrous lump (scorn). After the final observation, buds were assessed for the probability of detecting (i) success (no growth), (ii) scurs, (iii) horns or (iv) scorns [with 95% CI]. The probability of success for BUDOFF (0.77 [0.63, 0.87]) was higher than for BUDON (0.20 [0.11, 0.34]) and CLOVE (0.09 [0.04, 0.18]; P ≤ 0.05). Furthermore, the probability of success for BUDON was higher than for CLOVE (P ≤ 0.05). The probability of scurs was higher for CLOVE (0.72 [0.63, 0.80]) than BUDOFF (0.25 [0.17, 0.34]) and BUDON (0.30 [0.21, 0.39]; P ≤ 0.05). There was no difference in the probability of scurs for BUDOFF and BUDON (P > 0.05). The probability of horns was higher for CLOVE (0.21 [0.15, 0.29]) than BUDON (0.02 [0.01, 0.06]; P ≤ 0.05); horns were not observed for BUDOFF. The probability of scorns for BUDON, the only treatment that led to scorns, was 0.41 (0.25, 0.60). These results suggest that BUDOFF was more effective at preventing growth than CLOVE and BUDON and appears the most effective method, of the methods tested, for disbudding kids. Future research should explore other alternatives to cautery disbudding that may be both efficacious and cause less pain.

Chemical disbudding of goat kids with subcutaneous administration of synthetic eugenol: Histopathology and morphometry

This study was conducted to evaluate the effect of subcutaneous administration of synthetic eugenol (EG) for disbudding of goat kids, as a new chemical method. Thirty apparently healthy Raieni (Cashmere) goat kids (five-day-old) were divided randomly into six groups (n = 5). In the pathology (P) groups (P3, P8 and P60 according to the sample collection day after injection) an amount of 0.10 mL of EG was subcutaneously administrated in both horn buds. In the disbudding 1 and 2 (DB1, DB2) groups, 0.10 mL of EG, and in the control (C) group 0.10 mL normal saline was subcutaneously injected in the right horn buds, respectively. Eugenol injection in DB2 group was done in twelve-day-old goat kids. The left horn buds of DB1, DB2 and C groups were considered as control of horn outgrowing. The horn buds, kidneys, liver, lung, brain and heart, tissue specimens were collected from P3 and P8 groups, and bud skin samples were collected from P60 group. The results showed that the EG was able to stop the horn growth in the first week of goat life. There was no significant difference between left and right horn size in the C group. Histopathological study revealed complete necrosis of bud tissue in dermal and epidermal layers, in P3 animals. Healing and re-epithelialization were seen in the samples taken from P8 group. Subcutaneous injection of the synthetic EG can be considered as a new method for goat kids disbudding.

Complications associated with surgical dehorning in goats: A retrospective study of 239 cases

OBJECTIVE

This article describes complications following surgical dehorning of goats.

STUDY DESIGN

Retrospective. Medical records of goats that underwent surgical dehorning were reviewed.

ANIMALS

Two hundred thirty-nine goats.

METHODS

The medical records of 239 goats, not previously dehorned by other methods, that were cosmetically dehorned between January 2006 and April 2016, were reviewed. Data retrieved from the medical records included breed, weight, the surgeon performing the procedure, intraoperative complications, and the occurrence of return visits to the teaching hospital because of complications related to the dehorning procedure. The owner of record then completed a standard questionnaire during a telephone interview.

RESULTS

One or more complications following the surgical dehorning procedure were reported in 93/239 (38.91%) of goats. Complications were divided into major and minor categories. Eighty-four of 239 goats (35.14%) had minor complications, 3/239 goats (1.26%) experienced major complications, and 6/239 (2.51%) had both major and minor complications. The mean weight of goats with complications was 29.73 kg compared to 24.91 kg for goats without complications. This difference was statistically significant (P = .015).

CONCLUSION

Surgical dehorning of goats results in a high rate of complications; however, the majority of these complications are minor and do not affect health and performance of the goats. Goats experiencing complications weighed significantly more than goats without complications.

CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE

Surgical dehorning of goats requires minimal aftercare and results in a low rate of serious complications.