# Age for Castration for Goats



## FarmGuru

Hi
What is ideal age for castration of buck which are bred for meat ?

What is the ideal weight for castration ?

Regards


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## 20kidsonhill

We banded some 55 lb kids at 8 weeks of age and we barely could get the band on them, I would say it would depend on how long it is taking you to feed them out, If it is taking you 4 months compared to 9 months. We market many of ours at 4 months and we normally band around 4 weeks of age after we get the boosters done for the CD&T. We tried to do it later this year, but it wasn't easy getting some of them in the bander.  

I have a few June bucklings that are 8 weeks and they aren't growing as well as my winter kids, at 8 weeks I still could easily band them. They are maybe 35lbs.


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## FarmGuru

Thanks for answer
One more thing what should we do in order to reduce the stress induced by castration. Is there any food to give or any thing not to give
I means do's and don't's


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## Goatherd

Don't be so sure that you're going to have stressed animals over this; you may not have any.  I banded two bucklings which were the first I ever banded.  They were nine weeks old.  Put the bands on and, quite frankly, off they went as if nothing had happened.  In anticipation of possible pain or stress I had on hand, Banimine, from my vet which is used to manage pain.  I never needed to use it.
Everything is progressing quite well, but the testicles haven't fallen off yet as it's only been two weeks.


This is not to say that you may not have some issues, as I'm sure it certainly is possible, so something for pain might be a good idea to have on hand.


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## elevan

Goatherd said:
			
		

> Don't be so sure that you're going to have stressed animals over this; you may not have any.  I banded two bucklings which were the first I ever banded.  They were nine weeks old.  Put the bands on and, quite frankly, off they went as if nothing had happened.  In anticipation of possible pain or stress I had on hand, Banimine, from my vet which is used to manage pain.  I never needed to use it.
> Everything is progressing quite well, but the testicles haven't fallen off yet as it's only been two weeks.
> 
> 
> This is not to say that you may not have some issues, as I'm sure it certainly is possible, so something for pain might be a good idea to have on hand.


Be prepared with some pain reliever just in case as goatherd said.  But not everyone is dramatic about it    I had a buckling that was a drama queen for 2 days...he was fine, I did give him some banamine though...and as it turned out he's still a "yeller".

eta: it can take 30-60 days for those danglies to fall off


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## FarmGuru

Goatherd said:
			
		

> Don't be so sure that you're going to have stressed animals over this; you may not have any.  I banded two bucklings which were the first I ever banded.  They were nine weeks old.  Put the bands on and, quite frankly, off they went as if nothing had happened.  In anticipation of possible pain or stress I had on hand, Banimine, from my vet which is used to manage pain.  I never needed to use it.
> Everything is progressing quite well, but the testicles haven't fallen off yet as it's only been two weeks.
> 
> 
> This is not to say that you may not have some issues, as I'm sure it certainly is possible, so something for pain might be a good idea to have on hand.


Dont you think if I use Burdizzo method which is common in my country , stress is a problem ?


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## elevan

FarmGuru said:
			
		

> Goatherd said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Don't be so sure that you're going to have stressed animals over this; you may not have any.  I banded two bucklings which were the first I ever banded.  They were nine weeks old.  Put the bands on and, quite frankly, off they went as if nothing had happened.  In anticipation of possible pain or stress I had on hand, Banimine, from my vet which is used to manage pain.  I never needed to use it.
> Everything is progressing quite well, but the testicles haven't fallen off yet as it's only been two weeks.
> 
> 
> This is not to say that you may not have some issues, as I'm sure it certainly is possible, so something for pain might be a good idea to have on hand.
> 
> 
> 
> Dont you think if I use Burdizzo method which is common in my country , stress is a problem ?
Click to expand...

Stress can be a problem no matter which method you choose.  It really depends on the individual goat and how he will react.


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## 20kidsonhill

I just read my comments and realized I hadn't had my coffee yet. 

MY point about, "depends on how long it is taking you to feed them out," was kind of a two fold statement. First being, if yours are grain fed and growing quickly you may need to band a little sooner, compared to grass fed, since they will get bigger a lot faster and harder to band. further more, if you are planning on having them for 8 to 10 months then banding them a little later like 8 to 10 weeks would possibly help prevent Urinary calculi problems with your older whethers. Since we market at 4 to 6 months, we don't worry about it as much.

I did have one 3 month old whether die from UC in the last 10 years. 

Fresh water all the time is very very important for the whethers. Dehydration for even 4 or 5 hours can cause a build up of phosphorus in the urine resulting in UC. 

Some daily long steamy grass or hay, even if feeding the goats out on grain is important, since they need the saliva from chewing the long stems to help with proper phosphorus digestion. 

grain and minerals should always have the 2 to 1 ratio of calcium to phosphorus and grain should have ammonia chloride in it. I keep extra ammonia chloride on the farm, and add a little extra to the feed every now and then. Around 1/2 teaspoon per 150lbs of animals, Since my feed already has Ammonia chloride in it.  the recommend dose is 1 teaspoon per 150lbs of animal for prevention per day. 


We also wean at 8 weeks and I like to get the banding done before I wean, I find it is easier on the kids to beable to run to mom for comfort and some nursing. We don't do anything else special for them. We always feed on a regular schedule, so I wouldn't change when I feed because I banded that day. If banding in the summer months, it is recommended to cut the scrotum off at 10 to 14 days, cut below the band and then slip off the band. this will help with infection setting in. At the very least in the summer you should go back at 1 week or so and spray and check and apply iodine or blu-kote spray. 

We band in cooler weather. I didn't band my summer kids this year. 

So if you have a grass fed operation and are keeping kids on mom for 12 weeks, and not selling until 6 to 9 months of age or even older then, I would consider banding closer to 10 weeks of age, as long as your kids aren't topping 50lbs by then.  even 50lbs was a big job. 


Sorry for so much information. I had my coffee.


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## Ms. Research

elevan said:
			
		

> FarmGuru said:
> 
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> 
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> Goatherd said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Don't be so sure that you're going to have stressed animals over this; you may not have any.  I banded two bucklings which were the first I ever banded.  They were nine weeks old.  Put the bands on and, quite frankly, off they went as if nothing had happened.  In anticipation of possible pain or stress I had on hand, Banimine, from my vet which is used to manage pain.  I never needed to use it.
> Everything is progressing quite well, but the testicles haven't fallen off yet as it's only been two weeks.
> 
> 
> This is not to say that you may not have some issues, as I'm sure it certainly is possible, so something for pain might be a good idea to have on hand.
> 
> 
> 
> Dont you think if I use Burdizzo method which is common in my country , stress is a problem ?
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> Stress can be a problem no matter which method you choose.  It really depends on the individual goat and how he will react.
Click to expand...

x2 on the individual.  I think that goes with any animal.  Some can deal with stress better than others.   No matter what method you use.


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## Goatherd

> Dont you think if I use Burdizzo method which is common in my country , stress is a problem ?


My understanding of the Burdizzo method is that it is the least stressful of all the castration techniques.  You are crushing and severing the cords internally so there is no cutting, blood or chance of potential infection.
I believe you can cause some skin surface stress if the tool abrades the scrotum, but that is usually not the case.

There certainly could be some temporary pain so having a pain control med certainly wouldn't hurt to have on hand.

Personally, I thought about doing this method, but just didn't have the nerve to do it!  Maybe in the future...


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## Goatmasta

Personally I would not use the Burdizzo method because of the failure rate.  If the failure rate isn't an issue to you then guess it doesn't matter.   I have a article on my blog concerning castration if your interested.


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## FarmGuru

Goatmasta said:
			
		

> Personally I would not use the Burdizzo method because of the failure rate.  If the failure rate isn't an issue to you then guess it doesn't matter.   I have a article on my blog concerning castration if your interested.


Nice blog


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## Goatmasta

Thanks hope it was helpful


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## aggieterpkatie

I really think there can be failure with any method if the person doing it doesn't know what he/she is doing.  Banding is probably one of the easiest things to get wrong, especially if the kid is small.  I personally like cutting best, but I like doing that with lambs because it is quick and easy and they recover quicker than they do with banding.


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## manybirds

we our first goat at 8 weeks and after that we've been doing it at disbudding (around a week)


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## elevan

manybirds said:
			
		

> we our first goat at 8 weeks and after that we've been doing it at disbudding (around a week)


If they are going to the freezer at a young at it's not a problem to castrate at a week of age...but if they are a longer term critter you'll need to be on watch and prevention for UC.


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## manybirds

elevan said:
			
		

> manybirds said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> we our first goat at 8 weeks and after that we've been doing it at disbudding (around a week)
> 
> 
> 
> If they are going to the freezer at a young at it's not a problem to castrate at a week of age...but if they are a longer term critter you'll need to be on watch and prevention for UC.
Click to expand...

really......????????


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## elevan

manybirds said:
			
		

> elevan said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> manybirds said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> we our first goat at 8 weeks and after that we've been doing it at disbudding (around a week)
> 
> 
> 
> If they are going to the freezer at a young at it's not a problem to castrate at a week of age...but if they are a longer term critter you'll need to be on watch and prevention for UC.
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> really......????????
Click to expand...

Do some searches on here for UC or urinary calculi...

The urethral curve takes time to develop in the male goat and it's where "stones" typically get caught up.  The longer you can wait to castrate the better for the future health of the goat.  My vet recommends waiting until 4-6 months of age...he knows I can't separate young ones until then so the youngest age of castration for my farm is 8 weeks.  8 weeks still carries some risk, but the longer you can go the better.


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## manybirds

elevan said:
			
		

> manybirds said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> elevan said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> If they are going to the freezer at a young at it's not a problem to castrate at a week of age...but if they are a longer term critter you'll need to be on watch and prevention for UC.
> 
> 
> 
> really......????????
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> Do some searches on here for UC or urinary calculi...
> 
> The urethral curve takes time to develop in the male goat and it's where "stones" typically get caught up.  The longer you can wait to castrate the better for the future health of the goat.  My vet recommends waiting until 4-6 months of age...he knows I can't separate young ones until then so the youngest age of castration for my farm is 8 weeks.  8 weeks still carries some risk, but the longer you can go the better.
Click to expand...

the first one we tutured was at eight weeks and his 'jewels' took months to fall off. but i don't suppose that matters to me how long it takes. the lady i got my one goat from does it at that age and has never had a problem. but why take the risk?


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## elevan

manybirds said:
			
		

> elevan said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> manybirds said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> really......????????
> 
> 
> 
> Do some searches on here for UC or urinary calculi...
> 
> The urethral curve takes time to develop in the male goat and it's where "stones" typically get caught up.  The longer you can wait to castrate the better for the future health of the goat.  My vet recommends waiting until 4-6 months of age...he knows I can't separate young ones until then so the youngest age of castration for my farm is 8 weeks.  8 weeks still carries some risk, but the longer you can go the better.
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> the first one we tutured was at eight weeks and his 'jewels' took months to fall off. but i don't suppose that matters to me how long it takes. the lady i got my one goat from does it at that age and has never had a problem. but why take the risk?
Click to expand...

How long it takes to fall off doesn't matter...the urethral curve can stop growing within 48 hours of placing the band...can be quicker with other techniques.

Just because she's _never_ had a problem doesn't mean that she won't...what is she using those wethers for?  I'm guessing that they aren't pets (I could be wrong).

It's just not worth the risk imo.


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## 20kidsonhill

It is recommended for long term pets that males be castrated as late as 6 months to help the urethra have plenty of time to grow. This would then require, for the comfort of the animal, to be surgically castrated by a vet. 

10 to 12 weeks is the youngest a buckling should be done that isn't going to be butchered for meat by the time they are a few months old. 

Now with that said, are there whethers out there that are 10 years old that were banded at a week old, I am sure there are many. But your risk of UC does go up with a smaller urethra. And UC is not a pretty death and very expensive to have fixed.


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