JerTheVintner
Ridin' The Range
I just did all three of my new born Nigerian Dwarf bucklings this morning. They are 5 days old, 3 days old, and 2 days old. Last season we waited over a week and that was too long and we had very minor scurs on one.
This morning, I checked and all 3 had their nubs sticking up so I decided to just bite the bullet and do it today. It went pretty smoothly. Here is how I did it. I plugged in our Rhinehart 3/8" iron and let it get good and hot. I got towels, iodine, and a frozen gel pack. I used electric clippers to shave around the buds. Then I wrapped the first guy in a towel like a burrito so he couldn't move. Then, while I was sitting down, I held him in my lap with his body between my legs and his face pointing away from me and I wrapped my left hand around his face with my my fingers and thumb wrapped under his chin. With my right hand I grabbed the iron and applied it firmly for about 2-3 seconds around the nub rolling it slightly to enure good contact and then immediately applied the gel pack. Then I did the other side the same way. Then I went back and did the first side for another 2-3 seconds until I got a nice copper ring and held the gel pack on it again for a few seconds. I did the other side again until I got the copper ring and then I applied the gel pack again. Then I went back and used the side of the iron tip to burn out the center of the ring for about 2-3 seconds followed again by the gel pack. I repeated on the other side and again held the gel pack on. I then applied iodine to the area and as soon as this was done I unwrapped the little fellow and put him right on his dam's nipple and held him there until he poked and latched on and a few seconds of nursing later, he was fine. The most difficult part was actually shaving the area around the nub. Start to finish the entire process took less than a minute on each guy.
My new little doelings get a reprieve of a week or so until I can feel the nubs of their horns starting. Disbudding is not fun, but it is so much better than dealing with horns. For me I think the important thing is you can apply the iron more than once and still get the copper ring. On our little Nigerian Dwarf males, the trick was cooling it off with a gel pack in between and not doing it took long at one time. I never had the iron on them for more than 3 seconds at a time. It really isn't as bad as some make it out to be. I always made sure the Dams were right there, not only so the little guy could nurse immediately afterwards, but also so the Dam could see that the little guy was returned in one piece and not much worse for wear.
This morning, I checked and all 3 had their nubs sticking up so I decided to just bite the bullet and do it today. It went pretty smoothly. Here is how I did it. I plugged in our Rhinehart 3/8" iron and let it get good and hot. I got towels, iodine, and a frozen gel pack. I used electric clippers to shave around the buds. Then I wrapped the first guy in a towel like a burrito so he couldn't move. Then, while I was sitting down, I held him in my lap with his body between my legs and his face pointing away from me and I wrapped my left hand around his face with my my fingers and thumb wrapped under his chin. With my right hand I grabbed the iron and applied it firmly for about 2-3 seconds around the nub rolling it slightly to enure good contact and then immediately applied the gel pack. Then I did the other side the same way. Then I went back and did the first side for another 2-3 seconds until I got a nice copper ring and held the gel pack on it again for a few seconds. I did the other side again until I got the copper ring and then I applied the gel pack again. Then I went back and used the side of the iron tip to burn out the center of the ring for about 2-3 seconds followed again by the gel pack. I repeated on the other side and again held the gel pack on. I then applied iodine to the area and as soon as this was done I unwrapped the little fellow and put him right on his dam's nipple and held him there until he poked and latched on and a few seconds of nursing later, he was fine. The most difficult part was actually shaving the area around the nub. Start to finish the entire process took less than a minute on each guy.
My new little doelings get a reprieve of a week or so until I can feel the nubs of their horns starting. Disbudding is not fun, but it is so much better than dealing with horns. For me I think the important thing is you can apply the iron more than once and still get the copper ring. On our little Nigerian Dwarf males, the trick was cooling it off with a gel pack in between and not doing it took long at one time. I never had the iron on them for more than 3 seconds at a time. It really isn't as bad as some make it out to be. I always made sure the Dams were right there, not only so the little guy could nurse immediately afterwards, but also so the Dam could see that the little guy was returned in one piece and not much worse for wear.
