# So the Burdizzo arrived in the mail...



## mydog8it (Oct 7, 2011)

...and man, this thing is scary looking. It's been sitting on our kitchen table for a week, and my husband and I just keep walking by, staring at it and shivering. We still haven't worked up the nerve to schedule a day to do it.  I really hope it's easier on the little guy than banding, because it sure is going to be harder on us. 

Can anyone who's used one of these things offer any advice/tips? Do we actually clamp it down until it clicks and leave it there for 20 seconds as the directions say to do? 

Also, I tried finding some banamine and the vet doesn't carry it in stock - they said it would be at least 3 weeks to special order it, and the feed store doesn't have any either. Do you guys think aspirin or tylenol will be adequate, (or is there something better OTC?) and does anyone know the correct dose for goats? The little boy is a nigerian dwarf & he's three months - I don't mind waiting for the drugs to come in, but I'm not sure if wethering via burdizzo needs to be done by a certain age?

Thanks in advance for the help!


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## kstaven (Oct 8, 2011)

Close it VERY quickly or you run the real risk of not crushing the cord. Personally, I have had far better results and less problems from banding.


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## elevan (Oct 8, 2011)

I've never used it...just not want I've deemed good for my herd.  And there's no way on this planet the I'd be able to get DH to assist with that - I have a hard enough time getting his assistance with banding and anything else he's squeamish about


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## mydog8it (Oct 8, 2011)

So, do you guys think it's just more difficult to do, or harder on them? I only ordered it because it seemed like the recovery would be easier on the little boys.  It took almost 6 weeks for the banding to work on the older boys, and then they were left with an open wound when their dangles finally fell off...it was all around unpleasant.


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## elevan (Oct 8, 2011)

My opinion is that banding is easier on them and me AND more accurate with less problems than other methods.

One of the hardest things you'll find about raising goats is that their are so many opinions that differ.  The best you can do is to do your homework and decide which direction is best for your herd.

I've seen a few people post on here about their experiences with the burdizzo.  Hopefully they'll give you some insight into why they use it over other methods.


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## mydog8it (Oct 8, 2011)

Another day passed...still staring at this thing. Couldn't work up the nerve to do it.  :/


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## elevan (Oct 8, 2011)

Another reason I didn't even consider it...just the pictures of them looked scary to me.


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## RareBreedFancier (Oct 9, 2011)

I don't blame you, I looked at the pics of them on the net and decided nope, not an option for me.


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## mydog8it (Nov 1, 2011)

Well, we did it. I have to say, we were making much bigger a deal of it than it was. In the end, I think it was much easier on the little guy than banding, but much harder on us. It was absolutely much easier on him than disbudding. Here's how it went:

1. Poured the baby a heavy dose of pain killers.
2. Poured my husband a shot of vodka.
3. Poured myself a shot of vodka.
4. Snuggled the baby for 20 minutes while the drugs & alcohol kicked in.
5. Poured my husband another shot of vodka.
6. Held the baby really tight, whispering apologies in his little ear while my husband applied the burdizzo.
7. Nearly passed out when the little guy screamed. It's a good thing I was already on the floor. I hate this stuff.
8. Gave the baby a bottle for comfort and had another shot.

He was walking funny for a couple of hours but recovered _really_ quickly. By the next day he was acting as if nothing happened but I gave him pain meds for a few days anyways. Assuming it worked correctly and he's officially wethered, I will be doing this rather than banding in the future.

Mostly just glad to have it over and done with!


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## SheepGirl (Nov 1, 2011)

Make sure you actually clamped the cords completely. We tried this method with a ram lamb born in 2009 and we put him in with his mother, his twin sister, his maternal sister, a couple paternal sisters, and an urelated ewe, thinking he was a wether. He wasn't! We had lambs born in March 2010. Funny thing was, he _never_ showed any interest in the ewes, and he was the only male in there so we can guarantee those were his lambs.

Because of that, we are sticking to castrating with the elastrator. Just something to think about with your goats.


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## Stacykins (Nov 1, 2011)

mydog8it said:
			
		

> Well, we did it. I have to say, we were making much bigger a deal of it than it was. In the end, I think it was much easier on the little guy than banding, but much harder on us. It was absolutely much easier on him than disbudding. Here's how it went:
> 
> 1. Poured the baby a heavy dose of pain killers.
> 2. Poured my husband a shot of vodka.
> ...


Congrats! Your husband must have had an iron will to be the one to actually use the burdizzo on your lil guy! Glad you, your little guy, and your hubby all came out OK!


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## Queen Mum (Nov 1, 2011)

Well, I have a couple goat friends who swear by it and say it works great!  I've never used one.  But if you find that it works for you and it "aint so bad" then YAY!  you passed the test.   Sometimes what looks scarey is 
A.  More humane;  
B.  quicker, and 
C.  Look scarey, because the complication factor is just because it's technically more sophisticated due to it's effectiveness.  i.e.  car engines look scarey but they sure work pretty well.


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## ThornyRidgeII (Nov 2, 2011)

Man I must say I am going for a shot of vodka after reading that!!!  hope it gets easier.. and hope he continues to heal with no ill effects.. err the goat that is not your husband!!


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## mydog8it (Nov 3, 2011)

LOL! Yes, my husband was such a trooper about the whole thing...it's amazing what vodka can do! The baby is still healing fine - you'd never know anything happened. 

Although my husband said he was sure the cords were clamped (I had my eyes closed), I'm wondering if it was completely successful or not. I think he may be going into his first little rutt - he's been peeing all over himself the last two days. (The baby goat, not my husband.) I'm wondering if it will just take more time before the neutering fully takes effect? It's been about a week and 1/2 since we did it.

SheepGirl, I'm keeping him separated from his mom because I'm worried about that, too! Did your little guy's dangles shrivel up or did he still have them after you did it? I'd love to know what to look for as we don't want any accidents either.


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## Queen Mum (Nov 3, 2011)

My kids had little sacks for quite a while after they were fixed.  They had their testicles surgically removed by the vet.  They still acted like full bucks for about a month afterwards.  She said it would take about that long for the hormones to wear off but assured me that they couldn't produce babies without the testicles.


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## greybeard (Nov 3, 2011)

Queen Mum said:
			
		

> My kids had little sacks for quite a while after they were fixed.  They had their testicles surgically removed by the vet.  They still acted like full bucks for about a month afterwards.  She said it would take about that long for the hormones to wear off but assured me that they couldn't produce babies without the testicles.


agree!
Dunno about goats but just about everything else will still show their 'maleness' for some time after the deed is done.


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## SheepGirl (Nov 4, 2011)

mydog8it said:
			
		

> SheepGirl, I'm keeping him separated from his mom because I'm worried about that, too! Did your little guy's dangles shrivel up or did he still have them after you did it? I'd love to know what to look for as we don't want any accidents either.


He still had them hanging down like a full ram. I wasn't sure what the results were supposed to "look" like since we have never done it before (like with banding, you know you've done it successfully when you can feel both testicles under the band and then within about a week they start to shrivel up and then by week two or three they fall off). I still don't know what it's supposed to "look" like, since we only did it once and it was unsuccessful.

Hopefully you guys did it correctly!


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## greybeard (Nov 5, 2011)

Seems to be some pretty good info here

Been years since I've used Burdizos, and not sure I even remember how (I think I was in my late teens then--61 now)

To be honest, I've never understood how the 'vertical' edge of the tool keeps from puncturing the scrotum. No clearance there whatsoever on the bigger set I have.


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## mydog8it (Nov 9, 2011)

Thanks for the feedback and the link. That website is actually where I found the info on the burdizzo to begin with 

I'm still not sure it worked. I haven't actually felt them to see if they're getting hard. I suppose I need to. Gross.

Yesterday the baby and his mama were nose to nose through the fence, screaming for each other all afternoon. I broke down and decided to give them some supervised visitation, and I'm really glad I was there. First thing he did was try to mount her. I'm debating whether to keep waiting to see if it "kicks in" or if I should just band him and be done with it. Arg. :/


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## Queen Mum (Nov 9, 2011)

I would wait.  Mounting is a dominance behavior.   Give it time.


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## mydog8it (Nov 9, 2011)

I felt his dangles and they feel the same as his in-tact brother's, but they don't look like they're getting any bigger. I can't really compare the two side-by-side because one of the babies is about 1/2 the size of the other. 

Does anyone know how old is too old to band? I'd like to give it a couple more weeks to see if it worked, but he's 4 months as of tomorrow. Not sure if there's some sort of cut-off date it must be done by if I end up needed to do it.


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## mydog8it (Dec 8, 2011)

It definitely didn't work  

Bought a banding tool. It's too small now...or rather, the baby is too big to band now.  

I don't think we'll be using the burdizzo again in the future.  In the end, it seems like it's not really more humane if you have to redo it. Pretty disappointing.


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## ksalvagno (Dec 8, 2011)

That is too bad. I know there are people out there that think it is great and use it all the time. But I prefer banding. Getting him wethered surgically shouldn't cost too much if you take him to the vet. Hey, you tried it. We all have to find out what works best for us.


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