Disbudding
Cattle with horns present a significant risk of inflicting severe injury to both people and other animals. The practice of humanely disbudding calves prior to two months of age effectively lessens that risk.
Disbudding best practices
Dairy Australia supports disbudding calves before two months of age whilst providing pain relief, rather than dehorning cattle at an older age. To achieve optimal results, effective disbudding should be performed when the calf is between two and six weeks of age, using hot iron cautery on the developing horn bud.
Pain relief is strongly recommended to decrease calf stress and make the procedure easier for the operator. Options include:
- Over-the-counter anaesthetic and antiseptic spray or gel.
- Veterinarian disbudding which involves the sedation of calves, cornual nerve blocks using local anaesthetic and long-acting pain relief.
Dehorning
The Australian dairy industry discourages the dehorning of calves, heifers or cows at any age and believes the practice can be avoided completely by disbudding calves before two months of age. It is a legal requirement under the Australian Animal Welfare Standards and Guidelines for Cattle that appropriate pain relief is used when dehorning cattle over six months of age.
Polled Genetics
Dairy Australia encourages the selection of dairy sires which are polled or carriers of the polled gene, allowing for the breeding of animals that do not develop horns. Identification of these bulls can be done through the Good Bulls Guide.