questions about castration

TroutRiver · #1 03/22/11, 01:46 PM

How do you castrate your bucklings (if you do)? I would like to castrate my bucklings this year and raise them for the freezer as yearlings (give them a year to grow, since hay is cheap around here I think it is worth feeding them for the winter to let them get bigger and butcher toward the end of their second summer).

I am looking for the safe, economical and humane way to castrate bucklings. Do you guys do it yourselves? Call the vet out to do it? I probably won't do it myself since I've never done it before, but I don't think I can afford to have the vet out to perform surgery, especially if I end up with several bucklings...

I have heard that banding is the cleanest and easiest way to do it, but I've also heard that it's one of the more painful methods. Just want to open it up for discussion and hear your opinions.

Alice In TX/MO · #2 03/22/11, 02:13 PM

Yup, elastrator banding. After the first few minutes, they walk funny, but it's not bad after that.

Backfourty,MI. · #3 03/22/11, 02:17 PM

I also band them if I have any boys that need the deed done on. As Alice says usually 15 minutes they don't even know it's done.

Make sure you don't get their teats or belly skin in there, or too much hair pulling. Also I always doulble check before I let the band go that both testicles are in there cause sometimes it's like they suck it up inside or something.

April · #4 03/23/11, 09:25 AM

We burdizzo. We used to band, but I like the burdizzo much much better. There's a risk of not getting it done right, but we haven't had that happen.

Tallabred · #5 03/23/11, 09:57 AM

I was surprised how easy banding was. The boys were more upset with the tetnus shot than the banding.

Cannon_Farms · #6 03/23/11, 10:03 AM

I also band, got to do some today, anyone want a video?
I find them more upset that we are holding them like we do rather than the actual banding. I have three to do from smaller to larger. I will say that the larger the kid is the harder it is to band, ones they get 25 or more lbs they can get too big to go into the band or its more difficult.

Backfourty,MI. · #7 03/23/11, 10:36 AM

Cannon A video is a great idea for all the new folks that we have here I'm sure they'd really appreciate it & you are so good at the viedeo step by step things too.