Talk me through castrating please?

GBov · #1 08/23/12, 10:14 AM

I have posted our ND buck at a realistic price ( Nigerian Dwarf Dairy Buck ) and have given him four weeks to sell. If he doesn't sell I plan to castrate him, fatten him for 8 or so weeks and then eat him.

Only problem is I have never castrated anything!

So a bit of advice on how to do it would be lovely.

coso · #2 08/23/12, 10:30 AM

Cut the bottom 1/2 to 3/4 inch of the scrotum off. Grab a teste and pull gently until it comes out , grab the other teste and pull till it comes out. Spray wound with blue lotion. Done

GBov · #3 08/23/12, 10:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by coso

Cut the bottom 1/2 to 3/4 inch of the scrotum off. Grab a teste and pull gently until it comes out , grab the other teste and pull till it comes out. Spray wound with blue lotion. Done

Wow! That sounds within my skill set lol.

Wonder if I can get my hubby to hold him down for me?

suzyhomemaker09 · #4 08/23/12, 10:54 AM

Need to make sure you twist when pulling....DO NOT CUT!!!! the testes as you are pulling....the pull/twist encourages clotting...cutting will not.

FrogTacos · #5 08/23/12, 12:12 PM

Banding works well...

CaliannG · #6 08/23/12, 12:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FrogTacos

Banding works well...

Not on a full grown buck!!

PaulNKS · #7 08/23/12, 12:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CaliannG

Not on a full grown buck!!

On a dwarf it could work fine!

CaliannG · #8 08/23/12, 12:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PaulNKS

On a dwarf it could work fine!

~laughs~ The dwarfs *I* had were blessed with danglies that would NOT fit through a standard sheep/goat band when they were full grown.

Now, if one wanted to spend the $$ for a cattle bander, that opens up to 3-4 inhes, it certainly can be done. But who wants to spend that kind of money on a piece of equipment that they might use once every 5-10 years?

GBov · #9 08/23/12, 12:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CaliannG

~laughs~ The dwarfs *I* had were blessed with danglies that would NOT fit through a standard sheep/goat band when they were full grown.

Now, if one wanted to spend the $$ for a cattle bander, that opens up to 3-4 inches, it certainly can be done. But who wants to spend that kind of money on a piece of equipment that they might use once every 5-10 years?

Yeh, especially as my cows number exactly zero!

And talk about well endowed, I have never seen such danglies! Talk about over kill lol.

Is there any pain relief I can give him for this operation? Or is it a case of do it as quick as possible?

Cliff · #10 08/23/12, 12:54 PM

Agree with above posters but the most important thing is speed. And you don't really need to pull the testicles out gently. Do it fast. Milk them down so you can grab them then pull one at a time out. If you push the scrotal skin up to grab them instead of milking them down you risk contaminating up inside there. You want to leave it clean. The pulling and stretching shreds the vessels and helps them to clot off. Don't cut as mentioned above. You should have the whole deed done in around 3 seconds. Goat will be left standing there wondering what the heck just happened

Also you want to cut about 1/3 of the scrotal sac off so there's a big enough hole left for drainage even after the swelling and any blood clots.

coso · #11 08/23/12, 01:14 PM

Quote:

Wonder if I can get my hubby to hold him down for me?

Restraining is really the hardest part, once you get over that fear of cutting the animal.

P.S. Make sure you have a good sharp knife to cut end of scrotum off with. One slice should bring the whole end off.

CaliannG · #12 08/23/12, 01:16 PM

For this time, you might have a vet do it, or someone else that is experienced, while you watch. That way you can see the technique irl so you know what to do in the future should this arise again.

Another option is if you KNOW someone that has cows, and can borrow their bander.

If you have a vet do it, you can ask him/her to numb the area first. I know people don't generally do that, but frankly, I know for a fact that animals DO feel pain, just like we do, they just don't SHOW it like we do....and I, for one, would prefer my minor surgeries to be accompanied by some sort of numbing agent.

AJohnston · #13 08/23/12, 01:19 PM

Home castration scares me these days. I had two Boar Goats that we banded when they were young. One died from an infection from the banding. It scared me to death. Now days, I'll haul them off/call the vet for that procedure.

CJBegins · #14 08/23/12, 01:27 PM

Don't forget to make sure he has a current tetanus shot.

Cliff · #15 08/23/12, 02:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CaliannG

If you have a vet do it, you can ask him/her to numb the area first. I know people don't generally do that, but frankly, I know for a fact that animals DO feel pain, just like we do, they just don't SHOW it like we do....and I, for one, would prefer my minor surgeries to be accompanied by some sort of numbing agent.

That's why I recommended speed. Most country people aren't going to take goats, cattle etc to the vet for castration. For the least suffering it needs to be done as quickly and cleanly as possible.

I'd rather cut them quick and be done with it than band any day. Harder for squeamish humans but imo easier on the animal.

CaliannG · #16 08/23/12, 02:49 PM

I generally numb the area before I band on young goats. BUT, I can get my hands on things like novacaine, which a lot of folks can't.

If you have a REAL understanding vet who will let you take home a local such as Novacaine, Lidocaine, Xylocaine, etc., then banding is less painful. Just numb the area, apply the band, and by the time the numbing agent wears off, the lack of blood/oxygen has already killed the nerves. Less chance of infection with banding, too, although I DO recommend tetanus antitoxin along with the C,D&T vaccination first off.

If the nerves aren't dead by the time the numbing wears off, a quick shot to re-numb, and they are sure dead by the second time it wears off.

I agree though, that if you can't get a numbing agent, and can't afford a vet (either from being poor, or just having a LOT of animals to do at once), cutting is the fastest, most humane way to go.There are over-the-counter topical numbing agents one can use both before and after cutting that reduce pain and prevent infection, too.

The main thing is to attempt to make the procedure as painless as you can for the animal. They are giving up their lives for us, either working for us as a pack or cart animal, or doing so literally to feed us. They deserve to be spared as much pain as possible as they fulfill their fate.

**mygoat** · #17 08/23/12, 04:08 PM

I band kids. Usually whenever I can catch them, around 8-12 weeks.

Adult animals, from what I understand, should never be cut without a vet. They are supposedly very 'developed' and if it's not done right, can result in death of the animal. Maybe I'd be willing to try if I had cut kids.

Usually if I have an adult buck that doesn't need to reproduce, I just butcher him.

Recently I posted pics of a nubian buck kid that was cut by the vet - the cord was left too long and just hung out from his scrotum for WEEKS after he was done. It was hugely swollen and exposed. Even a 'professional' can do it wrong. I like bands because as long as I miss the teats and can count to 2, it's doable.

Cliff · #18 08/23/12, 04:31 PM

Mygoat I could see that happening with the nubian kid. Most large animal vets castrate just like we said above, they don't take the animal to surgery. Lol I've seen our vet do a goat on the front steps of the clinic. In your nubian kid the cord just happened to tear off too long. It could've been clipped off immediately but not if it was a blood vessel because of the bleeding without getting more in depth with the procedure (but in either case the vet just might not have wanted to contaminate the area by fooling around up in there without having everything sterile.) So not necessarily done wrong.

It's not complicated, farmers cut adult animals all the time. The vet would do it the same as the farmers do, unless sedation etc was specifically requested.

mariaricarto · #19 08/23/12, 04:41 PM

Your buck is a beauty, I hope he sells.

I would skip the castrating and just butcher him, that's what I do with my sheep.

**mygoat** · #20 08/23/12, 04:48 PM

I've seen a handful of cut goats, and in EVERY CASE, the animal was NOT comfortable post surgery for days or a week (or more). I'd rather band any day. I've seen the results of adults and kids done. The adults I had seen done were done under anesthesia, too. Maybe it's not a ton of experience with cut animals... but really? Every animal is that ouchie afterwords for several days?

Banding bothers the bucklings for MAYBE a day. Most are completely unaffected 8-12 hrs later. Issues with banding are very unusual. I see more issues with kids that are done younger, I think because circulation isn't completely cut off, where as more developed older bucklings go numb quicker. That's why I prefer to do at 8-12 weeks, but have done them as young as a handful of days old.

Burdizzo is another option but I don't like it because it's not 'sure'. I can see where I put a band, and if they're cut and you remove two testes... then there's no question. A burdizzo... did I clamp hard enough? In the right spot? Guess I won't know till his sisters are knocked up or if his testes shrink in a few months... blegh.