In my opinion there is no reason to dehorn goats other than as a convenience to the owner. I am not going to try and change anyone's mind as it is a personal choice. I just want to give my reasoning for this with some of the most common answer's given to why you should disbud. First off, I have been around goats for around 25 years, and currently keep a mixed herd of boers and Nigerian dwarfs on just over 5 acres. If your goats are getting stuck in the fence, then you are using the wrong type of fencing. They make pasture fence specifically for goats to avoid this problem. Yes it's more expensive, but after all, you wouldn't keep a horse in a dog kennel because it was cheaper than a pipe stall would you? No matter what animal you have, big, small, horned, disbudded, etc. You will always have damage and need to mend fence and structures inside the pasture. That is just the nature of having livestock of any kind. As for injuries, I have personally never had a horn related injury, but have commonly seen injuries from lack of horns with other herds. Specifically when disbudded goats head-but and the skin on the skull splits. As for injuries to people, more often than not it always comes down to lack of training/respect of the handler or an animal that was not properly socialized. When it comes to feeding, we use a raised trough as opposed to the "v" style feeders for several reasons. No fighting for food and less waste are two, but also no clearance problem due to horns is also a big one. These are how I deal with the most common answers to why people often disbud goats(head gets stuck in fence/damage to fencing and structures, injuries to people and feeding). Again, I am not trying to change anyone's mind or infer they are wrong, as they are your goats and it is your decision.
