WETHERING

To WETHER a goat is to castrate a male goat. The goat is then called a wether. Wethers are widely used for pets and pack animals and more recently are used in herds to clear unwanted weeds from river banks. I actually just sold a wether that has gone to a weed eating herd.

There is a variety of ways to wether a goat. The two most common ways are cutting and banding.

1. CUTTING is just as it implies. A cutting tool is used to open the goat's scrotum and cut out the testicles. Quick and easy but leaves the goat vunerable to infection.
2. BANDING is the use of an elastrator. A very tight, very small but thick rubber band is placed over the scrotum, above the testies. The scrotum and the testies subsequently necrous and fall off (...yes Alan, it is awful...).

Banding is the method I use to wether my goats. There are many articles for and against wethering goats. Of these, I have found an article which describes the process and the risks and benefits pretty simply, (sorry, no pics).

DISBUDDING

Disbudding is removing horn buds before a kids horns mature.
There are several ways of disbudding. Some of these ways are chemical disbudding, mechanical disbudding, and burning. Of these methods I choose to use the latter.

1. CHEMICAL DISBUDDING is when a caustic compound is used to chemically corrode the horn buds. It is vitally important to follow the manufacturers directions for use. Accidental exposure to the compound is not uncommon and can cause severe, permanent damage to the subject goat or its pen mates or careless people.
2. MECHANICAL DISBUDDING (or gouging) is when a tool is used to cut and gouge out the horn bud. It takes a lot of strength and a sharp, clean gouging tool. Once the horn bud is cut out, the cavity that remains must be cauterized to stop the bleeding that occurs in this highly vascular area. This method is used more often on cattle and is not recommended for use on goats.
3. BURNING is to burn the base of the horn buds with a hot iron rod. The rod can be heated from an outside source (like hot coals) or an internal, electrical source depending upon the type of tool that is chosen. When it is done depends alot on the kid you are dealing with. It should be done when the first signs of a horn appear. This can be as early as 2 days old, (especially with bucklings) but should not be latter than 10 days old. The goal is to put the iron over the horn bud and burn the base until a gold ring appears. This kills the bed of cells responsible for horn growth. This method is relatively quick and very effective if done correctly. The kids recover quickly and really don't hold it against you. Some herders recommend repeating the process on scurs that begin to grow if you don't get the entire horn bud the first go 'round. Of course there are those who advocate against this.

Burning is the method I have chosen to use. I use an electric iron and have gotten pretty good at it (after some expert instruction from another herder). I have re-burned for scurs and have had good success with it. It is sure better than having to deal with and adult goat with horns or horn scurs. My goal, of course, is to get the kids at the right time and get the entire horn bud the first time so I don't have to repeat the process.

There are many articles for and against disbudding and dehorning. Of these, I have found one article that has really good illustrations of the process of burning the horns. The pictures are at the end of the article so if you don't want to read the article (although it is very informative) and just want to see the pictures, scroll past the text until you come to the pictures.