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Description

Hot-iron disbudding is the most commonly used method for horn bud removal in dairy calves. While factors such as post-treatment care, calf age, and hot-iron brand have been studied in relation to wound healing, procedural factors—such as application time and tip size—have received little attention. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of hot-iron application time and tip size on wound characteristics and healing progression. Female Holstein calves (n = 24) were randomly assigned to one of two application times: 10 s vs. 20 s. Within each calf, one horn bud was disbudded using a small tip and the other with a large tip. Disbudding was performed at 28 d of age using multimodal pain management (sedation, local nerve block, and analgesics). Wound size and depth were measured on the day of disbudding and every three days thereafter until the wounds had fully re-epithelialized. Wounds were also photographed for classification of tissue type. Wounds resulting from the large tip were larger and shallower than those created with the smaller tip, requiring more time to re-epithelialize (51.9 ± 2.04 d vs. 45.3 ± 2.04 d). Wounds from the 20-s application were larger and deeper than those from the 10-s application, but this did not result in increased time to re-epithelialization. Evidence of horn development after disbudding was observed in 15 of the 24 buds treated with the small tip versus 3 of the 24 treated with the larger tip. These findings suggest that larger tips increase wound size and healing times, and that a 10-s application time is sufficient to prevent horn growth.