# Castrating An Older Goat



## stano40

Can an older goat be castrated or is it advisable not to?


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## mully

WHY would you want to at this late date.... don't band him, get a vet to do it surgically.


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## warthog

I have a 11 month old buck, and have decided I am not going to breed anymore.

I have spoken to my Vet and she tells me it will not be a problem, but it will be done surgically.

Hopefully it's being done this Saturday.


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## stano40

The pygmy buck that's coming back to us is the very same who impregnated my does.  He did produce some good babies though.

If we can't find him a good home then the castration will be the next route.

I was wondering if there would be a health issue to have an adult goat castrated.

bob


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## cmjust0

By "health issue," I assume you mean _besides_ the loss of his testicles?


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## stano40

Yes, Before, During & After the fact.

bob


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## rusty66211

Hold old is to old for rubberbanding?


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## ThreeBoysChicks

I am not sure, but I know that people castrate horses that are in their teens some times becasue they don't intend to breed anymore and want to keep the animal.

Contact your vet - That is the best thing to do.


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## stano40

I received a few emails concerning this issue and according to other goat people that it is not wise to try and castrate an older buck.

This may be open for debate but this is what I received.

Castrating an older buck could endanger his health and possibly shorten his life.  Castration does not stop the odor on an older buck.

Castration would have to be done surgically. 

bob


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## ksalvagno

I don't understand why it would threaten their life. We castrate alpacas at 2 years of age and I know plenty of people who castrated their breeding males even older than that. It is done by a vet though.


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## helmstead

It only endangers their life if you DIY and don't pay attention...older bucks are at increased risk for excessive bleeding and infection.  Bucks over 1 yr I recommend snip n pull to be done by a vet under local anethesia, under 1 yr we've banded ourselves, with a course of antibiotics for anything over 6 mos of age precautionarily.


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## FunnyFarm

Well heres my personal experience with the banding of my 2 year old buck. I am fortunate enough to have found a vet nearby who is very experienced with farm animals. I spoke with him about castrating my buck and he said it would be no problem to band a 2 year old. He used a bander that used rubber tubing like they use on your arm when you give blood to find your veins. He pulled it tight & secured it with a metal clip. The buck laid down in his stall for about a half hour then was up acting completely normal. This was done on April 15th. His tesiticles turned purple & swollen in the 2 days after the procedure then started to get the droopy deflated look to them. After about a week I smelled what I thought was a dead animal in the barn only to realize it was him! When I had my 2 month old buckling done there was no smell the entire time. Three week past & the testicles were dried & flat but still attached & without any signs of infection although the rotting flesh smell still was strong. After about 2 more weeks the smell left & the testicles fell off without any additional bleeding. I am happy to report he is much easier for me to handle, getting along better with the other goats, & no longer pees on himself so I can now touch him without having that smell on me for the rest of the day. I do recommend if you do this to have it done during the months when the flies are not out. I think the lack of flies bothering the area helped with the smooth completion of the whole process & with the rotting flesh smell I'm sure the flies would have been unbearable for him.


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