Disbudding is not a necessary practice in goats. Their horns are part of their cooling mechanism in warm weather. They are also handy to hold onto when you need to catch them. The most common reason for disbudding is a concern for the safety of children or other disbudded goats in the herd.
If you choose to disbud, it is important to perform this procedure at 7–14 days of age. For bucklings, the window should be closer to 7 days to minimize the risk of scurs. Scurs (small horn regrowth) are always a possibility when disbudding and can occur up to 25% of the time in males. Scurs are a cosmetic concern but generally do not pose a health or safety risk or grow to a significant size.
It is important to give a dose of CDT vaccine at the time of disbudding. We also recommend pain management for this procedure.
If you plan to have us disbud your kids, be sure to call the office at (804) 876-0370 when the kids are born so that we can schedule to either come to you or have you attend the Disbudding Clinic in the appropriate age window.