[Expert advice] "Dehorn young, with good support, then take care of the pain"

• ifashionclothing
• 25/04/2022
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F or the safety of operators and animals, many cattle farmers dehorn their calves. Indeed, this limits the risks during handling and it also limits competition and the risk of injury in the herd (dominant horned animals). A survey of Web-agri readers reveals that nearly 80% of breeders dehorn their calves (see survey at the bottom of the page).

Dehorn before 2 months of age

Vincent Dufour, from the Livestock Institute, works regularly with breeders through training. He recommends dehorning the calves as soon as possible: “We talk about disbudding. Indeed, before the animal is two months old, the calf presents a cornual bud (the cornillon) which, unlike the horn of the adult calf, is not attached to the bone of the skull. It is then necessary to act before this bud does not weld itself to the bone of the skull because the zone will then be very vascularized. The objective is to be the least intrusive possible to limit the animal's suffering. »

French regulations do not impose anything on breeders. On the other hand, the Council of Europe recommends using local or general anesthesia for the disbudding and dehorning of animals over 4 weeks old. The expert comments: “Anesthesia can be performed on dairy calves because they can be stuck to the headlocks. Several calves are tied and then the sting is made. The product acts in approximately four minutes, which makes it possible to continue with the dehorning of the first calf after having stung the last attached. On the other hand, it is more complicated when breastfeeding where you cannot (generally) not trap the animals individually, hence the importance of starting before 4 weeks of age. To do this, it will still be necessary to have a suitable restraint cage. »

“As a reminder, dehorning consists of burning the cornillon. The burn then persists after removing the iron. To cool and clean the wound, you can apply a fresh disinfectant (can be placed in the refrigerator) or simply cold soapy water. It will then be necessary to take care of the animal's pain via an anti-inflammatory. This is done by subcutaneous injection. Again, the younger the calf is dehorned, the lower the dose of anti-inflammatory to be injected and therefore economical. Vincent Dufour also recommends putting on fly repellent in the summer, but applying it around and not on the wound.

A good MASTERY of the material is essential

The destruction of the cornillon is done by cauterization. The specialist then cites the various materials available on the market: “The breeder can use a dehorner with a ceramic head. It will have to act on young calves (15 days max) to be as effective as possible. The younger the calf, the faster the application. There are also gas or electric irons. For the latter, it will be necessary to equip yourself with a transformer between the socket and the dehorner. The gas iron can be autonomous or not, the size will not be the same in both cases. »

Some breeders prefer chemical cautery. They use a caustic paste for this. “This method only applies to calves less than two weeks old and cannot be done while breastfeeding. Indeed, it presents a risk of burns: the breeder must wear gloves to apply the product and the calf must not be released too quickly at the risk of burning its congeners or its mother if it tries to suckle it. »

According to the survey published on Web-agri from November 27 to December 4, 2018 (results at the bottom of the page), breeders would prefer iron, whether electric or gas (66.5% of respondents). Dehorning paste does not seem to have unanimous support, as only 12.1% of respondents use it. Another alternative: 17.2% of breeders who responded to the survey prefer to leave the polled and 4.2% do not ask themselves the question since they select the polled gene.

Maximizing dehorning success with restraint

“The ideal is to create a habit of dehorning regularly, recommends the expert. This task can be associated with the identification of calves, for example. He also insists on the importance of restraint: “You really have to be able to immobilize the calf's head in order to be able to intervene more easily and quickly. In dairy breeds, a ring can be added to the headlock of calves or the animal tied to a halter. When breastfeeding, on the other hand, the restraint cage is essential. Moreover, it is better to get the calf used to going through it before disbudding to limit its stress.

“A free-range breeder in my area has equipped himself with a bell that he hitches to his tractor to isolate the calf from its mother and handle it in complete safety. Thanks to this tool, he acts from birth: he weighs it, buckles it, dehorns it and disinfects its navel. It became a habit. “says Vincent Dufour.

In 2016, the Livestock Institute published a technical sheet entitled Dehorning young cattle effectively, easily and painlessly. It lists the seven stages of thermal disbudding:

- Contain the calf

- Mow the cornillon to properly identify the cornual bud, limit the fouling of the iron and the risks of infection and visualize the cauterization ring after disbudding

- Disbudding with the right equipment (choose the size of tip adapted to the diameter of the cornillon)

- Check for cauterization (a continuous white ring should be visible around the bud)

- Disinfect the wound with an antiseptic spray

- Check the condition of the wound

- Monitor the disbudded animals during the days following the intervention (check the evolution of the wound, monitor the signs of pain and the state of the beauty)

Vincent Dufour advises breeders: “You really have to master your equipment, learn to dehorn so as not to burn the animal. You also have to get used to if you change equipment and don't hesitate to go see other colleagues who are chipping away to find out what the practices are. A failed dehorning will of course be seen later if the horn ends up coming out. On the other hand, you can see some bleeding during disbudding if the iron touches the cornual vein. Sometimes the calf bumps next to the cauterized area by hitting the headlock and it starts to bleed. In this case, we can make a point of compression and apply a coagulating powder. To check that the dehorning is well done, the wound is inspected: the ring must be clearly visible and the skin must come off around the bud. On the other hand, the cornillon should not be pulled out after disbudding, it will fall off on its own afterwards. »

Dehorn adult cattle? Turn instead to the polled gene…

When stockbreeders associate and there is regrouping of the herds, certain animals with horns can enter a dehorned herd. Very often, the latter become dominant. In this case, breeders sometimes take the decision to dehorn them. But how do you properly dehorn adult animals? On this subject, Vincent Dufour is clear: it is better to avoid chipping. “On adults, dehorning is very invasive. It is absolutely necessary to take care of the pain by anesthesia. »

Hydrolic horn cutter, wire saw, electric saw…: no preference in terms of equipment. “The pain being to be taken care of obligatorily, the material does not matter. It must be fast and efficient. On the other hand, the specialist warns: “Adult animals should not be dehorned by containing them with the headlocks. It's a place where cows are supposed to eat, so they love it. It should not be associated with pain. You can attach a cow to the yokes to give it a vaccine, for example, because it is not invasive, but it is better to avoid carrying out painful manipulations. In this case, the cow must be blocked in a crush. » Once the dehorning has been carried out, it is mandatory to disinfect and make a tourniquet because the bleeding can be heavy. This must be removed a maximum of 8 hours after the operation to prevent the remaining piece of horn from falling.

If it is strongly discouraged to dehorn adult animals, turning to the polled gene allows you to no longer have to ask yourself the question. According to the trainer, “the polled gene tends to popularize. In the future, it will be an alternative to dehorning. Some breeders who have tested it, however, claim that polled animals are more lively, even too fiery sometimes. “To introduce the polled gene into our French breeds, it was necessary to integrate other breeds, in particular Anglo-Saxon, into the French selection schemes. This mixture actually gave animals more juice. finally explains the expert.

NB: The results of this survey are indicative (the sample has not been adjusted).

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