Dehorning calves and adult cattle

Vet's vision
with Phil Rennie
Tauranga Vets

With the onset of calving around most of the country, for some there will be an accompanying need for disbudding young calves, preferably within the first one to two months of their life.

General guidelines are provided below to help make an informed decision on how to best remove these horn buds before they grow into large troublesome horns. This traditional procedure on farm is a welfare concern, as it’s regarded as a significantly painful procedure, whatever the age of the animal.

Since October 2019, it has been a legal requirement that all cattle being disbudded/dehorned will need “an appropriately placed and effective local anaesthetic that is authorised by a veterinarian for the purpose of the procedure”. This is true for all methods of horn tissue removal including hot iron cautery, scoop dehorning, amputation dehorning and even caustic paste.

In addition to this, anyone disbudding/dehorning must: be experienced with, or have received training in, the correct use of the method being used; and be able to recognise early signs of significant distress, injury, or ill-health so that prompt remedial action is taken or seek advice.

The three options available are: veterinary staff can perform the disbudding/dehorning procedure, veterinary operating instructions (VOIs) can be provided for local anaesthetic for non-veterinary providers to proceed, or disbudding training and assessment for veterinarians to train non-veterinary (such as farm) personnel to effectively administer local anaesthetic and disbud calves.

Where owners are non-compliant with the above welfare protocols, infringement fines are now coming into force. Calves as well as adults can also benefit and recover faster by using a long acting anti-inflammatory/ pain relief injection following a disbudding or dehorning procedure. Feel free to contact your local vet clinic for more details.

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