Introduction

• Disbudding of calves is a very common procedure to destroy the horn-forming tissues in young animals, so that horns do not develop.
  • The horn consists of an outer keratin layer and inside this lies an extension of the frontal bone and sinus from the cows’ skull.
  • Destroying the skin around the edge of the horn bud in the first few weeks of life prevents horn growth.  
    • Skin may be destroyed by hot iron or by chemical cautery.
    • Chemical cautery with dehorning paste (sodium hydroxide) is only permitted in the first week of life.
  • The procedure can be carried out by the animal owner rather than a veterinary surgeon.
  • The Mutilations (Permitted Procedures) (England) Regulations 2007 identifies disbudding as permitted on animals not more than six months old.
  • This article aims to lay out the best practice procedures for disbudding.
• Dehorning involves removal of horns from older animals and should only be carried out by a qualified veterinary surgeon.

Uses

Advantages

• It is widely recognized that horned cattle can present a health and safety risk for stockpersons and veterinarians when handling.
• Horned cattle also pose a risk of injury to their herd mates during aggressive interactions, as well as a risk of self injury due to getting stuck in feed barriers, fences or other structures around the farm.
• Disbudding, rather than dehorning, means the procedure is carried out in the young animal when restraint is simple and trauma minimized.
• Hot-iron cauterization is a simple method with very few post operative complications and does not involve isolation of treated animals (as with chemical cautery). For these reasons the use of hot-iron cauterization is the only method recommended here.

Disadvantages

• Disbudding is a permitted mutilation and potential welfare issue.
  • Good technique and appropriate anesthesia and analgesia are required to prevent poor animal welfare.
• Operator skill is required in restraint and anesthesia to minimise the risk of injury.
• Chemical cauterization:
  • The use of chemical cautery poses a real risk of serious tissue damage to the calf as well as accidental injury to the operator if not used correctly.
  • It requires the procedure to be done while animals are in individual pens with no physical contact between animals.  
  • It has been reported that calves have been blinded by cautery paste, when they have been allowed out in the rain soon after its application.

Requirements

Preparation

Procedure

Aftercare

Outcomes

Further Reading

Publications

Refereed Papers

• Recent references from PubMed and VetMedResource.
• Bates A J, Laven R A, Chapple F & Weeks D S (2016) The effect of different combinations of local anaesthesia, sedative and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs on daily growth rates of dairy calves after disbudding. NZ Vet J 64 (5), 282-7 PubMed.
• Stock M, Baldridge S, Griffin D & Coetzee J (2013) Pain Management; Bovine Dehorning : Assessing Pain and Providing Analgesic Management. Vet Clin North Am Food Anim Pract 29 (1), 103–133 PubMed.
• Stilwell G, Lima M S, Carvalho R C & Broom D M (2012) Effects of hot-iron disbudding, using regional anaesthesia with and without carprofen, on cortisol and behaviour of calves. Res Vet Sci 92 (2), 338–341 PubMed.
•  Gottardo F, Nalon E, Contiero B, Normando S, Dalvit P & Cozzi G (2011) The dehorning of dairy calves: Practices and opinions of 639 farmers. J Dairy Sci 94 (11), 5724–5734 PubMed.
• Heinrich A, Duffield T, Lissemore K, Squires E & Millman S (2009) The impact of meloxicam on postsurgical stress associated with cautery dehorning. J Dairy Sci 92 (2), 540–547 PubMed.

Other sources of information

• BVA guide to analgesia in calves: www.bcva.eu.
• Blowey R W(1999) A Veterinary Book for Dairy Farmers. 3rd edn. Farming Press Ltd. pp 435.