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Show DEHORNING CATTLE FAVORED BY MANAGER OF LOCAL COMPANY v , J. A. Lee, manager of the Western Livestock and Commission company, with offices at the Union Stock Yards, is sending letters to most of the cattle men of Utah and Idaho containing the following information regarding tho dehorning of cattle. Mr. Lee is particularly particu-larly interested in this line of work as he made an extensive study of the advantages ad-vantages of dehorning cattle at the Kansas Agricultural college experiment experi-ment station. CatUe intended for thc feed lots this winter should bc dehorned early enough to permit the wounds to heal before they are put on full feed. Dehorning De-horning offers advantages which the feeder should not overlook. Thc cattle cat-tle are more easily and safely handled when dehorned, and each animal Is assured as-sured of fair play at the feed trough. Dehorning also prevents thc bruised condition of the flesh and torn hides caused by goring both in thc feed lots and in transit to market, as well as excessive ex-cessive shrinkage in shipments. Dehorning De-horning should be done in late fall or early winter. The most common method of dehorning de-horning cattle isto saw the horns off, and for this purpose an ordinary meat saw can be used, though thero are saws on the market that are especially especial-ly designed for the operation. By this method a good clean job can be done on any type of horn, and the wound Is left in a condition to heal readily. The use of dehorning clippers is becoming be-coming more common, especially where a large number of cattle are to bo dehorned when they are dehorned de-horned before the horn becomes hard and brittle. The chief objection to dehorning de-horning with the clippers is that thin or hard horns are sometimes crushed or splintered, resulting in a wound that heals slowly. This objection is partly overcome by using clippers that are constructed with two V-shaped blades, which, when pressed together, bring four cutting edges against the horn, lessening the tendency to crush or splinter the horn. A number of methods of restraining animals during the dehorning operation opera-tion have been practiced. Where only a few head are to be dehorned, tho quickest way is to throw the animal to the ground and hold it of tie it securely se-curely until thc horn is taken 4off. When a considerable number of cattle cat-tle are to be dehorned, it will pay to construct a dehorning chute. Plans of a chute that has proved very satisfactory satis-factory for this purpose are given herewith. This chute is made narrow enough so that tho animal will not have room to struggle a great deal, and with a stanchion-shaped head clamp at one end for holding the animal's ani-mal's head. After an animal Is in the chute and the head clamp closed a noose should be placed around thc neck with a loop over the nose. The head can then be snubbed down to tho peg indicated on the side post. This forces one horn forward so as to make It easily removed. After one horn Is removed the head should be snubbed to the other side for tho removal o tho other horn. A chute of this kind can be constructed at very low cost by using scrap material about the farm. Cattle should never bc dehorned during warm weather when there Is danger of the wound becoming infested infest-ed with scfew worms. The best time to dehorn is in late fall and early winter or during the cool weather of spring. If thc weather is sufficiently cool there is very little danger of the wound becoming be-coming Infested with screw worms. Howevor, it is best to apply some fly repellent, such as pine tar or one of the coal-tar products to the wound. The accompanying plans show the construction of two types of simple and satisfactory dehorning chutes. The dotted lines in both types of chute show the head clamps when open, and the lever in both cases Is used for closing the head clamps after the animal's ani-mal's head is in position. The sides that are shown in the plans, can be used for "either type. The gate is convenient con-venient for letting the animal out of the chute and also for branding and vaccinating. t |