Disbudding 101

The time has come to disbud our newest set of kids and it occurred to me that I've never done a post on our method.  So here it is.

First, you need a disbudding iron.  Don't skimp on quality here.  There are many irons on the market that will do "just fine" but you want one that will work well and that will last.  This is the disbudding iron I have used for nearly a decade.

Use some sort of metal grate for resting the iron on while it heats up.  This thing gets HOT, keep any burnable surface far from it.

You will also need a holding box for the kid.  I really feel it is far too dangerous to hold a kid without the box, you could seriously injure the kid and/or your assistant.

You will also need a pair of leather gloves.  I actually only use one glove, to protect the hand holding the kid's head.

Next, always use a test board.  You want the iron to begin smoking as soon as it makes contact with the board.

Next you will need a volunteer from the audience.  Gingersnap chose first place over Gypsy today so she got to go first.

The first thing I do is clip the hair from the area.  Many folks don't do this step, and that's fine...but I have nightmares of holding the hot iron to a kids head and all the hair catching on fire. 

So I shave them really well.

Then I apply the iron to each bud.  Probably for about 10 seconds....

You know when to stop as you feel the iron scrape against the skull.  I burn to the skull but I do it in 2 phases.  In the next picture, I have done the second burn on the bud on the right, and popped the cap off with a knife.  Since I started popping off that cap I've never had a goat develop a scur.

Then I do the same on the other side...

For the next couple of minutes I watch for any bleeding.  If there is some seeping or bleeding I cauterize the area with the disbudding iron.

Then they get a full dropper of Bach's Rescue Remedy

After that they get a hug and some love and a nice drink of milk.  Within minutes they are up and playing.

Within just a few weeks, the hair grows back and they have that beautiful smooth head.

Sometimes I also tattoo at this time....which is why there is green ink on the box.