260 PRINCIPLES OF VETERINARY SCIENCE 



DEHORNING 



When cattle are allowed to run together they should be de- 

 horned. If the operation is delayed until the animals are mature, 

 considerable trouble is incurred in restraining them, besides the 

 bleeding which follows may be serious. To avoid those diffi- 

 culties, the calf should be dehorned when from five to seven days 

 old by the simple, humane method described below. 



At this age a small elevation or "button" can be felt on each 

 side of the head. The hair should be clipped from an area about 

 the size of a nickel around the button. The denuded area is 

 then moistened with a little water and the projection rubbed 

 with a stick of caustic potash until it becomes white and the skin 

 gets very thin. 



Care must be taken to wrap the end of the caustic stick with 

 cloth or paper to prevent the chemical from burning the opera- 

 tor's fingers. A little vaseline smeared around the clipped area 

 will protect the surrounding skin from the destructive action 

 of the caustic. 



When the operation is deferred until the little horns have 

 developed sufficiently to show a "cap" of true horn, it has been 

 found best to remove the cap with a knife before the caustic 

 is applied, otherwise "scurs" or "stubs" are liable to appear 

 after the animal grows older. If these directions are closely 

 followed success is assured, and the set back which usually results 

 from late dehorning will be avoided. 



Mature cattle may be dehorned at any time except when flies 

 are numerous. The animals must be confined for the operation, 

 which is performed with a saw or special dehorning instrument. 

 Precautions must be used to prevent serious hemorrhage by tying 

 absorbent cotton about the horn stubs of all animals which 

 bleed freely, or by drawing a small cord tightly around the horn 

 close to the head. Persistent hemorrhage after dehorning may 

 be controlled by the application of an iron poker, heated to a 

 cherry-red heat, to the spurting vessels. When pus forms the 

 wound should be cleaned with 2 per cent, solution of potassium 

 permanganate and then packed with oakum or surgeons' cotton 

 which has been soaked in this solution. 



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