Vulkan Gas Debudder/Dehorner

Vulkan – Debud early, debud humanely.

With free venturi cleaner, spare jet and gas filling adaptor

This is a totally portable butane gas dehorner designed to debud young calves up to about 8 weeks old depending on size. In Europe farmers are given a financial incentive to debud before four weeks of age, as you have a much smaller horn bud to burn and it is quicker and less stressful for the calf.
The Vulkan has an automatic starter and heats to full temperature in around three minutes. Working temperature is adjustable up to 750 degrees centigrade – test by pressing on wood block – should smoke immediately. Will operate for up to 60 minutes from one fill. This is a great tool to use as it is so portable – you can move from pen to pen without moving a gas bottle and hoses, and you can bale a calf up wherever suits and have the tool to hand.

This product is normally used with butane, but comes with an adaptor so you can use blowtorch gas (butane/propane). The standard blowtorch gas is a mixture of Propane/Butane with a higher content of propane. Butane alone has a higher mix of butane with a lower propane mix. The Vulkan unit can be powered by either it or the blowtorch gas giving you more choice and top up availability. The propane mix provides stronger and faster gas flow and tends to burn off any contamination coming through the nozzle. The adaptor is not needed if the unit is filled with butane as the canister fits straight into the bottom of the Vulkan unit for refill.

Note this product is not supplied with butane refills and we cannot supply butane due to shipping regulations. Lighter filling butane can be purchased at most local hardware shops and tobacconists. This tool has a stainless steel body and can give many years of use if looked after. It comes with a sturdy plastic storage case. Features include a comfortable hand grip, hand guard/stand so you can put the tool down without the tip touching the ground. Comes with instructions. This is a safer tool to use than the LPG debudders as it operates with a catalytic tip and no naked flame.
Specifications – Length 238mm, weight 330g, refill time 20 seconds, butane fuelled, pietzo ignition and temperature adjustable to 750 degrees centigrade.

A note on dehorning/debudding/disbudding

The terms dehorning/debudding/disbudding are often used to mean the same thing, whereas in reality dehorning is the process of cutting grown horns off as against debudding/disbudding which is the process of removing (or isolating by cauterising around) the horn bud to prevent horn growth.

There is least stress on the animal and operator if the animal is debudded rather than cutting off grown horns. In the case of debudding, as long as the horn bud can be identified the earlier you debud the better the result. To cauterise the bud on a small calf can be done with a small tip dehorner in under a minute. If healthy calves can be debudded from about 3 days old.

Genetics Australia calf debudding is done by the cauterisation method and we prefer this to other methods, such as cutting the tip off with a knife or scoop debudder. Hot iron cauterisation seals and completely isolates the horn bud and we believe this gives a better result with less blood loss.

Note that you have to take care not to burn yourself, assistants, the animals or set fire to anything when working with hot iron dehorning equipment.

This web site is designed to sell products and provide information to professional farmers and farm operators. If you have any concerns about the process of debudding or any other animal husbandry operation please contact your local vet.

Note that Genetics Australia offers a calf debudding service – please contact your local branch or area representative for details.