Disbudding Here at Texas Skyz Farm

To be honest I'm so tired of seeing botched disbudding jobs.  Kids that are burned to the point of brain damage, eye swelling or not burned enough and grow terrible scurs.  We all have a learning curve but it really gives Disbudding a bad name!  
Here is how we disbud here.  Kids bounce right back to normal as soon as they are out of the box.  There is no crying in pain and no swelling.

​Every breeder has a different way of disbudding.  Our way is NOT the only right way! 

I use a Rhinehart X30 with a STANDARD 1/2" (Calf) tip.  I do NOT use a pygmy tip!  If you disbud my way with a pygmy tip you will most likely get scurs.  A Pygmy tip should be used on much younger goats or you will not get the whole horn bud! 
 

Here Buck Kids are disbudded from 6-9 days old.  I go by size of the kid and size of the horn buds.   Many breeders disbud bucks younger however this works for ME.  I need bucks small enough to get the whole horn bud and NOT just the tips.   
On a buck they have the normal pointed horn bud but they also have a RIDGE that shoots off the horn bud.  This ridge is frequently missed and a common reason for small scurs.  The pictures below show's approximately where the ridge is.  It is nearly impossible to see in a picture but you can feel it on the kid.  

The RED circle shows approximately the horn bud and the RIDGE that shoots off it.  

The PURPLE circle shows where the iron needs to fit.  If the kid is too big for the iron to fit you will need to burn an extra area over the ridge.  Some people do a figure 8 burn here.  If the kid is small enough and your iron tip large enough you don't need to do the figure 8 burn.

I put my Iron on for 3-4 SECONDS.  This burn is NOT complete!  Leaving a burn like this may still be painful for the kid and grow scurs.  I always take my iron off after 3-4 SECONDS because some kids (Doe's specifically) have really think skin.  I've burned all the way to white bone on a few does on 3-4 seconds.

I take a quick look at the burn after 3-4 seconds to see how the burn is looking.  Sometimes I will catch an area that didn't burn as well as the rest.  
​Then I put the Iron back on for another 3-4 seconds.