We used a Rhinehart Dehorner x30. Worked great for our small herd. No complaints. The winter/spring before i sold my herd we debudded 28 kids. None got scurrs. And in the years we dehorned, we never had health issues with any of the kids after burning. First year i had a few bucks that had very small scurrs..almost not showing. I got real good at it. Darrell did the holding and i did the head burning.
There are some great youtube videos you can watch. It helps to see it done.
I held the tip firmly over the bud with no rotation of the tip. For a bit longer then recommended. Lift. Start on the other side. Lift. Go back to the first burn. It burned in layers. I did this till the ring was fully thru the scalp. Pull the top meat and fur off to expose the bud cap. Hold a final time to cook the cap so it will come away from the skull, then pull the cap off, the skull will be exposed. If a doeling, its done at this point. If a buck, i burned ahead and behind where the bud was, otherwise there was a better chance of scurrs developing.
Doelings (and runts) have a thinner scalp and will be burned thru faster..their buds detach easier too.
With ours, a copper ring colour was not enough! We had to burn past this point. The first year we burned till a copper ring showed and had to go back and re-do some at an older age...not fun!
You want to catch them when their bud is ready, different for each baby. Some i could wait 9 days, some could be done the day after kidding. And take your time. Give them and yourself a break if need be. The first year i was scarred to hold it on for any length and it showed. You gotta use good judgement but not be shy at the same time. The better you get, the faster the whole process becomes.
Jess
