Will it hurt to cut off my goats horns?

Answer 1

The cutting of the horn does cause some pain to the animal and the area will bleed for some time. The outside layer of horn is dead and insensitive but the inner core will have lots of blood vessels and pain receptors. You can cut higher up on the horn where the sensitive tissue no longer exists but it's hard to determine how big that area is. Generally it's about 4-5 in from the base of the skull.

Unfortunately, sometimes complete removal of horns is necessary either for safety (either yours or the animal's) or for health reasons. Horned animals do have a habit of getting their heads stuck in fences and other places which can lead to a lingering death if not found and released. Also, I had a ram who had one horn which grew into the side of his face. Only by cutting the horn every 6 months or so could we stop it from growing into his skull.

The best way to cut the horn to cause as little pain and bleeding as possible is to use a wire saw and a strong person (and you'll need another strong person to hold the animal still) http://www.campingsurvival.com/comwirsaw...

Make a few passes to start a groove (this will be cutting the outer layer which won't cause any pain) and then begin to saw as quickly as possible. The saw gets very hot and cauterizes the wound and also cuts through the horn in less than 45 seconds if you stay with it.

Answer 2

Horns are very vascular at the base. The base also has many nerve endings. While shortening the horns of an adult goat doesn't hurt the goat, actual removal of the horns is a major surgical procedure. It actualy involves cutting into the skull of the goat and exposing the sinuses, thus healing takes a long time and infection is a concern.

Some people dehorn adult goats by wrapping rubber bands around the horn base. This cuts off the blood to the horn, and it will eventually fal off. However pain, infection and flystrike are major concerns with this method, and it often doesn't work- the bands break when the horn is half-off and you have a major mess.

Most goat raisers remove the horns when the kid is just a few days old and they are just tiny buds. While the procedure is unpleasant, it's much more humane than removing the horns of an adult goat.

Answer 3

I imagine it is fine if you are humane with it and don't cut to short to where you hit the nerves

Answer 4

will it hurt to cut off your fingernails?