LPT 312: Abattoir Practices and Animal Products Technology (1+1)

HORNS AND HOOFS

• Horns vary in size, shape colour and curvature according to the breed, age, sex, etc.
• The term horn in everyday language is commonly applied to both the horn pith, the inner part and the horn proper and these are used for different purposes.
• Horn pith is also called horn core and similar to bone.
  • It contains more ossein.
  • As a result it is a very valuable raw material for gelatin production.
  • Alternatively may be used for the production of bone meal.
  • The Horn, on the other hand, has as its main component keratin.
  • It is unpalatable and indigestible as stock feed; horns should not be used in the production of bone meal.
• After the animal is slaughtered, the horns are cut off with a saw or a cleaver at their base.
• The horn pith can be removed by steaming for a few moments or by immersing the horn in hot water at approximately 65.6°C (150°F).
• After this, a blow from a hammer will separate the pith from the horn.
  • The horns are used for the manufacture of articles like buttons, knife handles, combs, snuffboxes, toys and fancy articles.
• The most valuable part is the pith (its tip) and therefore any horn showing the slightest damage to this part should be discarded.
• Hence, it is worthwhile, separating the good horns suitable for manufacture from those, which are only good for grinding into meal.
  • Hoofs (shine bones) are used for similar purposes to horns and are removed from the feet in the same way that is by steaming and immersing in warm water.
• The hoofs must be dried carefully without direct heat or sun.

Horn and hoof meal

• The horn and hoofs of cattle are steamed digested crushed and disintegrated for preparation of horn and hoof meal.
• This contains from 16 to 17% nitrogen and is specially used as manure in tea gardens, coffee plantations.
• The horn and hoof meal should not be mixed with cattle feed bone meal because it is partially indigestible to livestock and unpalatable but may be mixed with bone meal, which is used as a fertilizer.
• Horns and hoofs of sheep and goats and hoofs from pigs are usually allowed to go waste.
• It can also be profitably processed wherever facilities for the production of bone meal exist, that is, either wet-or dry-rendering machinery.
  • Horns and hoofs from cattle, sheep, goats and pigs are digested in the renderer for 8 hours, dried and milled to a fine powder.
  • This meal is not used as livestock feed supplement due to its unpalatablity and very poor digestibility.
  • However, horn and hoof meal enriches the fertility of the soil because of its high nitrogen content.
  • This fertilizer commands a price approximately 50 percent higher than bone meal.