# dehorned calf still bleeding



## Levonsa (Dec 17, 2008)

We had our 5 month old pineywoods x zebu heifer dehorned this afternoon. The vet cauterized the wounds, but one started bleeding by the time we got home. I put some blood stop poweder on it, but it didn't stop all the bleeding. We have her stalled since it supposed to rain tonight. I thought that I would let settle down for a bit and then check on her again. Does anyone have any other sugguestions for me, if the bleeding hasn't stopped by then? 

Thanks,
Levon


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## Oakshire_Farm (Dec 4, 2008)

is it squirting or just dripping a little bit??? If it is just dripping slowly she will be fine. If it is a squirt or a fast drip I would call the vet!


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## ksfarmer (Apr 28, 2007)

Oakshire_Farm said:


> is it squirting or just dripping a little bit??? If it is just dripping slowly she will be fine. If it is a squirt or a fast drip I would call the vet!


Right. If spraying out, then call the vet, but if it is just a slow drip or seeping it will soon quit and be ok.


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## ozark_jewels (Oct 7, 2005)

Oakshire_Farm said:


> is it squirting or just dripping a little bit??? If it is just dripping slowly she will be fine. If it is a squirt or a fast drip I would call the vet!



Agreed. Some bleeding is normal. A spray calls for a vet!


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## Levonsa (Dec 17, 2008)

It had slowed to a trickle and I was able to get some more of the blood stopper powder in there. She had calmed down a lot and was chewing her cud like nothing had happened.

Thanks for the replies.


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## Tad (Apr 2, 2003)

Next time there are too tricks from the old timers. First is to pack the area with cob webs, the second is to tie panty hose over their head. They look kind of silly but that does work.


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## francismilker (Jan 12, 2006)

I've used tooth picks to push cotton balls into the sinus hole in the middle of the horn base before before putting the blood stop powder in. It works great.


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## Cotton Picker (Oct 10, 2008)

Hi Levonsa

Glad to hear that your heifer is OK.

Just curious..... Why the wait until five months to dehorn? 

For future reference..... IMHO if the calf is born on the place the best time to take care of that chore is while they're still small enough to manhandle. The barns dehorner works pretty well at that age and if you don't want an open wound you can invest in an electric to de-bud 'em. the calves bounce back pretty quick at that age and they usually don't bleed much either.

Here's a site that gives types of dehorners and the current prices for them. If you add up the vet bills for the procedure, they'll pay for themselves in short order.

http://www.jefferslivestock.com/ssc/products.asp?CID=2&area=goat&dept_id=493

The Keystone's are for adult cattle and larger calves. They weigh every bit of 20 pounds and are nearly four feet long. They're not fun for either you or the stock in question.

I don't know how slick the vet cut your heifer's horns. On larger horned cattle where you need the man-killer Keystones, I would recommend that you bob the horns down to about two to three inches away from the head, depending on the size of the horns and the age of the animal. Leave 'em a bit longer on older cattle. The reason being is that you want to avoid exposing the sinus cavity. The horns will grow out some with age, however they will remain blunted. Depending on your particular cattle market, bobbed horns will not have a negative effect if you are selling the cattle at auction, where full horns most likely will.

As for the bleeding. Bobbed horns usually don't bleed nearly as bad as when you cut clean down to the skull. I've been a part of separating the horns and manhood from more than a few head of cattle. In my experience you will have some that get pretty bloodied by the dehorning, however, it's mighty rare to loose one to blood loss because of of it.

If you want, you can invest in a pair of hemostats:

http://www.bluelakeproducts.com/hemostats.htm

And try to pull the blood vessels on the bleeders. Or if you don't have an electric dehorner handy, you can invest in a soldering iron and cauterize 'em that way.

Hope this helps.


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## Levonsa (Dec 17, 2008)

Thanks for all the replies and the extra info. We bought the calf at 4 months old and this was the earliest the we could get an appointment set up to have it done. When we start to have calves born here, we plan to disbud when they are very young. We ordered the Rhinehart X50 earlier this week. We should have plenty of practice on ND kids before we have the first calf to do. 

Thanks again,
Levon


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## Levonsa (Dec 17, 2008)

I just madeit back from the barn. It looks like the last blood stopper powder last night did the trick. Everything is dried out this morning and no signs of bleeding. 

Thanks,
Levon


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## Farmsteader (Nov 7, 2008)

We made the mistake of having our little Jersey/Holstein's done at 10 weeks old , partally due to the Ice Storm. Anyways, she developed a small amount of puss coming out of one side,and an Oder that scared us , so we poured Benadine and finished with Sulfur powder, this one treatment did the trick, a couple of days she was like her old self, but she never stopped eating .Glad to hear yours is in Fine shape . Aj

ps important detail, Vet who scooped out the horn s, stuffed paper towels in holes to help stop bleeding,then powerdered them, one i took out completely next day, the other one that gave us trouble could only get half out,Calf gave me hard time to get other one so i left it in, never again- although Vet told us no problem on leaving it in, i don't like the idea of it not drying out.


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