No homesteader, farmer, or goat owner likes the process of disbudding goats. But preventing horns from growing on your goat prevents a whole lot more troubles down the line for you.
There are 3 main reasons we disbud all our animals.
- Safety of our family and friends. Goats are animals that can not be completely trained. Even the nicest goat can panic in a scary situation and wind up hurting someone around it with it’s horns. It is just safer for you, and your loved ones, if your goats don’t have horns on their heads.
- Safety of our other animals. People are not the only things goats with horns can hurt. Other livestock, including cows and horses, can injur themselves, or be injured by goat’s horns.
- Safety of the goat. Goats that live on a farm or homestead have to live within fencing. That means they are more likely to get their head caught in the fencing when sporting a pair of horns. This can be dangerous and even deadly! If a neiborhood dog finds your goat stuck in a fence, it could kill it.
The point is this, for You, Your animals, and Your goat’s sake, disbudding is the right decision for your goats.
Even though it is painful (to watch) I agree on getting goats disbudded.
I once took care of someone elses horned goats, and one got her horns stuck in a cattle fence section, knocking it down, and stepping on it so that she couldn’t get loose. It was a heck of a mess, till I was able to rescue her. I feel that captive goats with horns are a danger to themselves, each other and their human companions.
I’m sorry but if horns are an issue DONT buy goats with horns it really is that simple. I have a zoo myself but I don’t go chopping random bits off my animals and putting babies through all that pain just because it’s the breed I wanted. Humans are the worst I swear.
Agree 💯
I prefer my goats to have horns. While my goats can be hand fed, it is difficult to worm a hornless goat. Thankfully, my grandsons can snag a horn, press back and down on the horns and I can shoot their meds in their mouth rather quickly. Job done, send it out a gate and grab the next. Polled goats are hard and slightly more upsetting for the goat. We did invest in welded wire horse fence ( small holes in fence). So they can’t get their head stuck. Cost slightly more but it’s what works for us.