4 



farmers' BULLETIN 949. 



cially on the western ranges, dehorning chutes of heavy timbers have 

 been constructed and the horns removed with an ax or a saw. At the' 

 same time numerous concoctions have been used for applying to the 

 wound made by removing the horn. 



In this bulletin are shown illustrations and plans of a simple, con- 

 venient, and secure dehorning chute that has proved to be very sat- 

 isfactory. The expense of building a chute of this kind is very small, 

 and the chute can be conveniently arranged and used for castrating, 

 branding, and vaccinating as well as for dehorning. 



In general the purposes to be accomplished by dehorning are: 



1. To make the animals more easily handled. 



2. To insure that each animal has an equal chance at the feed 

 trough when placed in the feed lot. 



3. To render the animals less dangerous to attendants, and to pre- 

 vent their goring one another in the feed lot or in transit to market, 

 which causes a greater shrinkage in weight, injures the skin for 

 commercial purposes, and leaves the flesh in a bruised condition, thus 

 detracting from its value. 



4. To give more uniformity to the appearance of the bunch of 

 cattle. 



In the dehorning operation the horns may be removed either when 

 the calf is only a few days old, by means of a caustic, or, when the 

 horn is either partially or wholly developed, by sawing or clipping. 

 The latter may be done any time after the animal is past four months 

 of age. 



USE OF CAUSTIC FOR YOUNG CALVES. 



A simple and easy though not always practicable method of de- 

 horning is to use a caustic on the undeveloped horns when the calves 

 are only a few days old. Either caustic soda or caustic potash may 

 be used. These come in sticks about the size of a lead pencil and 

 may be purchased at any drug store. 



The main objection to this method of dehorning is that it requires 

 too much attention on the part of the stockman. Calves, coming as 

 they do in seasons when there is a rush to get crops either planted 

 or harvested, are almost certain to be neglected and some will become 

 too old for the use of the caustic. However, if the calves are kept in 

 a pen or separated from their mothers a part of the time there 

 should be no difficulty on this score. Another objection to the use 

 of caustic is that more pains must be taken than is necessary in 

 cutting off the horns with a saw or clippers. The method of using 

 the caustic is very simple, however, and if a few precautions are 

 observed no trouble should result. 



To obtain the best results the operation should be performed when 

 the calf is from 4 to 10 days old. At this age the knob or bud is 



