DEHORNING

New Zealand Mail, 8 February 1900, Page 7

DEHORNING

. ■ vanort, on the work carried \ a Jf the Momohaki Experimental flfV “ Mr F. Gillanders, the farm ggfe has the following to say on "f dehorning, alSnSy done the operation i., no more r D S being’ and if expeditiously gone *>S a S done in an equally short fw’ The evidence is conclusive that I done properly the animals experience very little pain or inconvenience. I repeated v seen cattle, dehorned, £ when turned out of the bail they ■have commenced feeding at once. 'Neither does the milk flow of cows change to any great, extent it done under favourable circumstances. In the height of last milking season I dehorned forty cows for a settler in this 'district. His opinion was that after the first milking there was no perceptible difference in the yield of milk. It has also been maintained, and I think with some truth, that; the yield of milk from a bad-tempered or restless cow is generally increased by dehorn’inir. In every instance I have seen, dehorning has' had a quietening iniuence on cattle, and there is no doubt the quiet cow is the butter-fat cow. ■Moreover, it is invariably admitted that dehorned cattle fatten,, quicker, are ouieter and safer to handle in every way. We no doubt hear a deal from time to time from a class of people •who condemn dehorning as a cruel and; 'unmerciful operation, which should-be prohibited by law. I would advise anyone who disapproves of the custom of dehorning from a humane point of view 'to visit a railway station or a- saleyard when a mob of wild; cattle are being landed or yarded, as the case may be. He will then see the necessity of it from a humane standpoint. Objectors are, a 9 a rule, people who know next to nothing about the handling of cattle on a large scale. 3 The photographs attached show our. dehorning bad (1) closed 1 . An ordinary strong bail at the end 1 of a race, with a Y-shaped log in front to hold the neck in, and a strong lever to press the neck •down, is all that is required. The second picture (2) shows the same bail with a cow fixed in it, and the dehomer in the proper position for, operating. It is always advisable to cut as close to the head as possible. Immediately after the hom has been removed, the ; wound should be dressed with Stockholm tar. . From observation, I would favour dehorning when the cattle are from fifteen to twenty months old. If done sooner, the horn has a tendency to grow again. . T* l ? photographs referred to will be round or. our illustration pages.