Ram with injured horn

[Little Bo Boop]

I have a young Dorper ram here, with really just nubbin type horns, 3/4 of an inch maybe? He appears to have knocked one pretty good, and its fairly well broken off at the base. It's still attached, but I would imagine it will be coming off soon. When I initially noticed it I sprayed it with Iodine spray, like you would put on navels, and now spraying it with Furazone spray. It doesn't seem to bother him too much...just wondering if there is anything I should watch for, and if I should try to cut it off (not really into that) but I will if thats what needs to be done. He's a pretty good guy, so would probably be a good patient.

 

 

Thanks, Betty

[jdarling]

Betty, I had a Dorper/Katahdin cross ram that had one lovely horn, and one horn that he was always breaking. I was told to leave it, but to keep an eye on it. I never did anything to it, it never caused him a problem, and it would grow back just fine ... until, of course, he found something to break it on again. Jodi

[Little Bo Boop]

Thanks Jodi. It doesn't appear to be too bad, the only reason I noticed it was because my ewes had blood on them, and I couldn't figure out what the heck was going on lol. At first I thought they'd gotten grape juice on them. They hang out under a huge Mustang grape vine...but then I noticed his head, and figured that must have been the source. I'll just keep some antibiotic on it and maybe hit him with some fly spray, and call it good then.

 

Thanks,

 

Betty

[kajarrel]

I never do anything with broken horns unless they keep knocking them and bleed excessively. THis usually looks worse than it is. The scur will probably fall off of its own accord.

 

Kim

[Rebecca, Irena Farm]

Don't try to cut it off unless it's good and dead. Horns have a really good supply and bleed and bleed and bleed and bleed.

 

If it's bothersome or keeps being a problem, you can ask around and see whether someone has dehorning equipment around you (I had someone give me an electric dealio - that thing terrifies me and I've never even plugged it in).

[Little Bo Boop]

Oh I can imagine it would bleed like a mutha' ;-) thats why I didn't want to mess with it (as in cutting it off). I figure it will fall off on its own soon enough. He's not my ram, just borrowing him for a bit...just wanted to make sure I took the best care of him possible.

[juliepoudrier]

I was told by the breeder I got my ram from that you could break the scurs off to prevent them from being broken later. I think I'd be sure to keep screw worm spray on it so you don't get flystrike.

 

 

And even though you didn't ask this question, I want to put this out here because it's important--I think that nitrofurazone has been disallowed in sheep that are going to eventually go to slaughter, so you might want to switch from that to screw worm spray, which has an antibiotic and fly repellent.

 

Here, from this WSU link

 

Drugs expressly prohibited in food animals:

 

Chloramphenicol

Clenbuterol

Diethylstilbestrol (DES)

Dimetridazole

Fluroquinolones (except as specifically approved)

Furazolidone

Ipronidazole

Glycopeptides

Nitrofurazone

Phenylbutazone (female dairy cattle 20 months of age or older)

Sulfonamides in lactating dairy cows, except those specifically approved.

For examples of FDA's actions and resulting penalties when producers or veterinarians violate these provisions, see the "Regulatory Activities" section news items in the issues of the bi-monthly FDA Veterinarian

 

Here's an FDA link with the same info.

 

I realize that many folks don't slaughter rams to eat themselves, but we have a strong ethnic market around here who wants only rams, so I wouldn't use nitrofurazone at all.

 

J.

[Little Bo Boop]

I was told by the breeder I got my ram from that you could break the scurs off to prevent them from being broken later. I think I'd be sure to keep screw worm spray on it so you don't get flystrike.

And even though you didn't ask this question, I want to put this out here because it's important--I think that nitrofurazone has been disallowed in sheep that are going to eventually go to slaughter, so you might want to switch from that to screw worm spray, which has an antibiotic and fly repellent.

 

Here, from this WSU link

 

Drugs expressly prohibited in food animals:

 

Chloramphenicol

Clenbuterol

Diethylstilbestrol (DES)

Dimetridazole

Fluroquinolones (except as specifically approved)

Furazolidone

Ipronidazole

Glycopeptides

Nitrofurazone

Phenylbutazone (female dairy cattle 20 months of age or older)

Sulfonamides in lactating dairy cows, except those specifically approved.

For examples of FDA's actions and resulting penalties when producers or veterinarians violate these provisions, see the "Regulatory Activities" section news items in the issues of the bi-monthly FDA Veterinarian

 

Here's an FDA link with the same info.

 

I realize that many folks don't slaughter rams to eat themselves, but we have a strong ethnic market around here who wants only rams, so I wouldn't use nitrofurazone at all.

 

J.

 

I was told by the breeder I got my ram from that you could break the scurs off to prevent them from being broken later. I think I'd be sure to keep screw worm spray on it so you don't get flystrike.

 

Thanks. thats what I was really concerned about, as I thought I had heard or read that somewhere, about the flystrike. And no worries with using the Furazone, this guy won't be heading to market anytime soon (read prob. never), he's just here to romance my gals ; -) I don't know that we have much of a market around here for sheep/lamb/mutton, ethnic or otherwise...although I think if the word ever got out on how good hair sheep meat is ;-)...but thats a good list to have/know about prohibited drugs, thanks

 

 

Betty

[Bill Fosher]

Hi Betty,

 

Unless you intend to put him in a hole in the ground yourself, you must treat him as a food animal. A trip to the sale barn is a trip to slaughter.

[ItsADogsLyfe]

I used to disbud all my goat kids. After cauterizing the horn bud I would spray it with furazone? This was years ago so I don't remember for sure what it was. It was an aerosol spray and was yellow. After they stopped selling it I started using "wonder dust." I found the wonder dust worked better anyway because it is also a blood stop powder. I had a buck that used to grow a scur as big as a solid horn (I didn't disbud him) and when it started growing into his head I would take my hoof clippers and grab hold of it and let him pull his head till it popped off. Then I would put the wonder dust on it to stop the bleeding. I tried using my disbudding iron on it but he was too big to hold still. I called around to see if I could get him properly de-horned, but no vet would do it. So I just had to pull the thing off occasionally and apply the wonder dust. I'm not sure what is in it, but I dont' think there are any active ingredients that can't be given a food animal.