# disbudding problem



## jpmaynard (Jan 28, 2012)

My dad has been disbudding kids for over 20 years with an iron, hundreds, we figure. So, I took my 3 one week old Saanen kids to him to get them disbudded. I have seen it done forever but did not feel competent enough to do it myself. Anyway, the kids had buds bigger than any 3 week old Nubian kid we had ever seen. Five weeks later the buck has another bud growing. My dad has never even had a scur grow after he has disbudded. It was not easy but he used the iron to kill the blood supply again and burn off the nub. Now 7 weeks later one of the does has a bud growing. I am still feeding them 3 times a day. I am very observant and I noticed this as a small bump at first now it is a full on bud. What is going on? Is this a Saanen thing or has my dad lost his touch?


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## NubianSoaps.com (Oct 26, 2007)

You just waited to long, hit them again. Swiss breeds are done the first week of life, including LaManchas and even our tiny minimancha bucks.

But never a scur, never one needing to be redone....that is impossible 

When you disbud, or purchase a kid, or have someone else do it for you...check the buds every weekend, if you see growth or scurs, hit them again. Don't then complain when you have horns, unicorns or bad scurs on adults......get them fixed young. Vicki


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## jpmaynard (Jan 28, 2012)

I will tell him you said he is full of it. Haha! He is my dad. God knows I cannot say it. 
I actually go to their place tomorrow and will take the kids to have him work on them again. This is more information I failed to learn about the Swiss breeds before I went out and bought one. Now the poor kids have to suffer but they will not have horns or scurs. Thank you, Jen


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## Trysta (Apr 5, 2011)

But they were only one week old, right? it was 3 (three) 1 week old Saanens? Anyway, I wonder if you actually were a bit too early and couldn't feel the outcropping of especially that bucklings horns yet? I do mine between 10 and 18 days (14 days is my ideal), and I have seldom had scurrs after my second year (I was a whimp the first year and totally messed up by ot burning long enough...). For doelings I just burn one spot on each side, right on/around the little horn tip, make sure the horntip comes off and then burn one more time, but for bucklings I burn at least one more ring overlapping the first ring and hitting the rim (towards the fore head) of the horn outcropping since Saanen bucks have a larger horn-base than does (I am not sure if I'm using the right terminology here, but I hope you can understand what I mean... the buckling's hornbases are more oval than round in my experience)

This has been working for me, as long as i don't forget..... I do have a few Saanens with full horns, because i totally missed the disbudding time frame.... :blush


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## swgoats (May 21, 2010)

I second the additional circle. Every kid I had this year, when I shaved, I could feel a ridge. On my minis it is almost like burning straight across. Even so had to reburn one buckling the other day, he had one tiny little growth on the outside edge. It was tempting to ignore it, but those tiny scurs can end up not so tiny when they are grown.


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## fmg (Jul 4, 2011)

I'm not sure the time frame, Marion, but you can band those horns. Do a search on Google, should find lots of info. That is, if you still want them to be hornless.

Jen- If you go look in GK101 on here, there is a topic called Disbudding Swiss breeds, or something like that, and they show pictures of the little ridge that the bucks have, it is forward and to the center of the main horn base, and this is what Marion is describing.


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## Trysta (Apr 5, 2011)

Yep, indeed! Thanks for helping me describe, I'm not so great at that! :lol


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## jpmaynard (Jan 28, 2012)

Thanks so much everyone....on my way out to my dad's and will take the GK101 document with me. BTW, the buck was born with little nubbs and the girls were only a few days old when theirs appeared. We usually do my mom and dad's Nubian kids at 6 -7 days old so that is what I did with my Saanens. Thanks again, Jen


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## [email protected] (Sep 18, 2008)

I have 3 buck kids that have small (for now) scurs. :/ One born 2/7, about 50# and two born 3/6 and 3/14, about 40#. Any tricks/suggestions to restraining them? I disbud by myself--no help. I'm not liking the idea of a hot iron and a thrashing buckling. :/


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## swgoats (May 21, 2010)

I actually had to burn one of my ND bucks a few months back. He has bad scurs and when he broke it, it wouldn't stop bleeding. I knelt with him between my knees and put a little weight on him so he'd lay down, and then I held his head to the ground with one hand. I prefer doing it myself to having help.


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## Anita Martin (Dec 26, 2007)

I helped Jennifer re-burn an older buck kid last week and honestly, I think it was easier on him than on the younger kids! Apparently the nerves in the area were already dead and he really did not seem to mind much at all.


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## MF-Alpines (Mar 29, 2010)

Anita Martin said:


> I helped Jennifer re-burn an older buck kid last week and honestly, I think it was easier on him than on the younger kids! Apparently the nerves in the area were already dead and he really did not seem to mind much at all.


Really? How much older is "older"?

I've got a couple of doelings that will need to be reburned. I thought I did a good job, but now I'm thinking it wasn't the burn, it was the timing. We did a few of them at about 8 - 10 days. Usually if I do them before 7 days, they're good (Alpines).


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## nightskyfarm (Sep 7, 2009)

He was a March kid. My problem is the tip is the middle sized one and not the 3/4" one, I need to order it for the iron. I have had to re-burn 2 bucks so far this year, a Saanen and the Alpine. Does are fine. They were all done on time, but that smaller tip did not kill the cells in the front on the bucks, so that is where I needed to re-burn. There is still one more Alpine buck to re-burn.


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## Cotton Eyed Does (Oct 26, 2007)

I have an Alpine buckling I am going to have to reburn also. He has a bit of a ridge on the left side coming up. I am also going to do the little Nupines this weekend too. I always have to burn the Alpines younger and keep the iron on longer than the Nubians or the boers.


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## [email protected] (Sep 18, 2008)

Well...they're done. :/ Not the most fun we've ever had. They were NOT easier than younger kids.  The last was the worst. Poor guy thought he was dieing. I thought he was gonna stroke out on me for a minute. Good thing he was last, or the other two wouldn't have been done.
I felt so bad for them, that I locked the does in the jr pen (which is empty right now) and the boys and I romped in the doe pasture for a couple hours.  I think they like me again.


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## SherrieC (Oct 26, 2007)

my Darn iron died on me, and I didn't realize it at first, I've had to do all my babies again with a new one, and the saanen bucklings this year will definately have scurs!


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