Castrating older goat

Reed77 · #1 07/15/11, 08:37 PM

I saw this ad on craigslist and it made me wonder what method people use to castrate older goats?

http://redding.craigslist.org/grd/2496551167.html

Rechellef · #2 07/15/11, 08:56 PM

I would assume it would be surgically. Any older horse would be gelded surgically (or at all that way).

Wags · #3 07/15/11, 09:11 PM

Doubt he could be banded at that age give he is a Boer. Might be able to use one of the other methods but surgical is probably the best bet at this point. If there is a vet college near they might be able to get it done at a greatly reduced fee.

OldHippyWitch · #4 07/15/11, 10:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rechellef

I would assume it would be surgically. Any older horse would be gelded surgically (or at all that way).

All horses are surgically gelded.

Reed77 · #5 07/15/11, 10:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by OldHippyWitch

All horses are surgically gelded.

Thats what I was thinking too

TwosCompany · #6 07/16/11, 12:29 AM

A friend of mine bought 3 bucklings (one of whom was atleast 5 months old) and wanted them wethered. We drove to the vet's office the day she bought them. I thought we'd be dropping them off for sedation procedures to be wethered. I was WRONG. I'm scarred for life. The vet came out with 2 assistants and a BOX KNIFE. He had the assistants hold the poor bucklings up in the air by their hind legs then he grabbed their testicles, twisted them and cut them off with the box knife. *shudder* He sprayed some disinfectant on them and sent them home.

Reed77 · #7 07/16/11, 01:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TwosCompany

A friend of mine bought 3 bucklings (one of whom was atleast 5 months old) and wanted them wethered. We drove to the vet's office the day she bought them. I thought we'd be dropping them off for sedation procedures to be wethered. I was WRONG. I'm scarred for life. The vet came out with 2 assistants and a BOX KNIFE. He had the assistants hold the poor bucklings up in the air by their hind legs then he grabbed their testicles, twisted them and cut them off with the box knife. *shudder* He sprayed some disinfectant on them and sent them home.

O.o a box knife? wow, I'd understand a surgical knife, but a box cutter?

Manchamom · #8 07/16/11, 01:19 AM

I did the Calicate banding method on a couple of 3 year old Saanen bucks. It went well and seemed relatively painless.

CarolT · #9 07/16/11, 01:33 AM

Scalpel blades are expensive for the larger ones and for a one-time use, box blades are almost as sharp. Also, box blades come in shapes I've not seen in scalpels. Vets are all for what works best and if that's a box blade, that's what they'll use. I'm the sort that would be asking why and trying to pick up all the information I could to use around my home place LOL I'm all for what works too :-)

TwosCompany · #10 07/16/11, 01:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CarolT

Scalpel blades are expensive for the larger ones and for a one-time use, box blades are almost as sharp. Also, box blades come in shapes I've not seen in scalpels. Vets are all for what works best and if that's a box blade, that's what they'll use. I'm the sort that would be asking why and trying to pick up all the information I could to use around my home place LOL I'm all for what works too :-)

We seem to be in the same area--you might even know the vet! lol He cut them assembly-line style. Grab, twist, cut, spray NEXT grab, twist, cut, spray and so on. I was probably pale by the end of it. LOL I'm ok given proper warning, but my mind was in a whooooooole different place than the reality of the situation. After it was said and done I did wonder why she took them to the vet because it was something that we definitely could have done at home.

noeskimo · #11 07/16/11, 02:03 AM

But do you HAVE box cutters? lol

TwosCompany · #12 07/16/11, 02:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by noeskimo

But do you HAVE box cutters? lol

Indeed I do. Several of them in fact! They were left over from us removing all the carpet in the house. I'll never look at one the same way again...

Rechellef · #13 07/16/11, 08:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by OldHippyWitch

All horses are surgically gelded.

That is what I meant with the comment in parathesis - sorry I wasn't clear. What I meant was is that all horses are surgically caterated despite age, and do fine, so this may be the only option for an older kid.

TwosCompany · #14 07/16/11, 08:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rechellef

That is what I meant with the comment in parathesis - sorry I wasn't clear. What I meant was is that all horses are surgically caterated despite age, and do fine, so this may be the only option for an older kid.

The vet here told me that he'll come out here to geld my colts. I'm kinda scared and am invisioning biiiiiiiig box cutters.

CarolT · #15 07/16/11, 09:13 AM

LOL He'll come to your place, give the horse a shot that makes it drunk and while it concentrates on standing on all 4 feet, snip, snip :-) It'll probably bother you more than the colts LOL

I keep boxcutters and _big_ packages of blades on hand. We do a lot of our own slaughtering and they work great! Don't have to try sharpening a bloody knife, just change blades! Have to learn to be careful, they're so sharp, you _will_ get cut if you get careless. We have a container to put old blades in and when it's full, you pour plaster of paris or some left-over Quikrete in there and dispose of it :-) Can you imagine what tthey'll think in the future when they dig that up?

Cheryl aka JM · #16 07/16/11, 09:14 AM

As they said above~ they sedate horses and probably put a little more effort into not freaking out owners. Horses are generally considered pets. I definitely see a difference in the gentle nature as well as the price between my "pets" and my "Livestock" at my vet. Pet owners are willing to pay more for vet care, and it's in the vets best interest to keep the pet owners coming back to his/her clinic. The cost of Vet school is prohibitively high in comparison to reported annual incomes of most vets. So when my vet see's my horse or my puppy I get a very patient, calm man and a HUGE bill but when he see's my cow or my goat the same man is all about getting whatever it is done in a hurry and the bill reflects his brusk nature then.

Do you remember what your friend had to pay for three goats done with box cutters? Bet it's gonna be a LOT less than what you'll pay for three colts.

CarolT · #17 07/16/11, 09:20 AM

Oh, and TwosCompany? He does it so fast the goats don't have time to object. If you are too slow, and I would be, the goat struggles and you don't get it clean, then the next one is all nervous from the commotion, etc. That's why the green cheerios (elastrators) are so nice, it takes a strong will to do the grab, twist, cut, spray to a live animal. I'll do a lot that other people shy away from, but haven't made that leap yet LOL

Doubt I know the vet, but bet he went to my vet's school LOL Unless it was in AL :-)

Haha! Hi, Cheryl! Thanks for teaching me the value of a good boxcutter :-)

TwosCompany · #18 07/16/11, 11:07 AM

Carol, I live just above Huntsville AL and the vet is in the Harvest(ish) area. He was fast--I think we were gone in about 15 minutes!

Cheryl, I bet you're correct on the price! It'll be $99 per colt plus a single $65 farm-call fee, so it probably was far cheaper for the three goats, lol. Here's hoping my rescue mares all have fillies.

(They came from their original home bred--not something that I've done. Just wanted to clarify! lol)

Cygnet · #19 07/16/11, 11:43 AM

It's probably safer to do them without sedation. I've had a goat die under sedation for a surgical procedure -- it happens more often with goats than other animals. They're not going to die from being castrated conscious.

Do make sure you keep fly spray on the wound, by the way.

Cheryl aka JM · #20 07/16/11, 12:14 PM

Not our vet then~ Carol and I both live about an hour North of Huntsville~ we see a vet in Cullman.