Dehorned Cattle

The Lebanon Pioneer
Thursday, February 10, 1887

DEHORNED CATTLE
A PAINLESS OPERATION WHICH INCREASES THEIR WORTH

Samuel West, of this county, has successfully experimented in the dehorning of cattle during the past two years, and during a call at The Pioneer office last Thursday spoke at some length on the subject. Mr. West never saw the operation performed until he did it himself. For a few years past he has read all the leading agricultural papers had to say on the subject, and from a description given in the Prairie Farmer successfully performed the first operation, since which he has removed the horns from about fifty head of cattle, from a young calf to an eight year-old milch cow. Mr. West says that cattle lose all their mean disposition with their horns, and that a third more can eat from the same trough and there are no masters among them. The operation is almost painless, and is attended with no bad effects whatever. In five minutes after the horns are removed the animal will go to eating or grazing as though nothing has happened. He experimented on a milch cow, and found that it made no difference whatever in the quantity or quality of milk or the yield of butter. Mr. West has given the results of his experiments to the agricultural press, and from a clipping from the Indiana Farmer, handed in by Mr. Kise for his department, the editor takes the privilege of embodying in this article a description of Mr. West's method of operation.

"Have a chute narrow enough for a cow to go through and at one end a staple fixed. When the head is through fasten it. If under three years old, take a large sized pruning knife, stand in front, rub hair back on top of horn, place the back of the knife under the horn and press to the head. Let the knife come down so as to cut a little skin with the horn; now, bring your hands together, and you will be surprised how easily it is done. To do nice work, use right and left knife so as to cut down on both horns. Put older cattle in, in the same way to fasten them, take a rope and tie a ring in one end; make two loops in the ring; throw one over head, the other around nose and tie to post or stanchion. Now take a tenon saw and saw horns off at the skin. Put nothing on horns. They will bleed but little, and in five days will be well."

Transcribed & Submitted by: T. Stover, August 2006

Transcriber Note: Samuel West was born May 29, 1825, in Estill County, KY, the son of Willis and Eleanor (Dixon) West. He married Susannah Evans, September 30, 1845 in Boone County, IN. He died November 12, 1895 in Boone County, IN.