castrating my buckling. When? How? Pros/cons

[Fangeddeer]

Been thinking of immediately neutering Bambi, but I don’t know when. Wouldn’t it be early ? He’s almost 3 weeks old but google says 4-6+ weeks.
And how do I do this? I see talk about using a burdizzo but also talk about using bands? Should I ask someone to come out here instead or do it myself?

And will there be any cons more than pros? Any help is appreciated

 

[Ridgetop]

Did you say the breeder was coming out to disbud him? You will need to vaccinate him for CDT. 2 ml now and 2 ml in 1 month for his second shot. After that you can use bands since the tetanus immunity will have started from the CDT shots. As long as the testes can fit through the band you can band castrate up to several months. I wouldn't wait past 3-4 months though.

 

[Ridgetop]

There are no cons with castrating a buck being kept for a pet. Castration will make him gentler, and he won't stink. He won't come into rut, smell bad, pee on everything including himself, and breed everything he can get to. You will be able to keep him in with the does.

 

[Fangeddeer]

Did you say the breeder was coming out to disbud him? You will need to vaccinate him for CDT. 2 ml now and 2 ml in 1 month for his second shot. After that you can use bands since the tetanus immunity will have started from the CDT shots. As long as the testes can fit through the band you can band castrate up to several months. I wouldn't wait past 3-4 months though.

No, but would come out to give stuff to neuter him. How does it work? Will his testicles just fall off during banding? And do I need a specific band or can I use a rubber band or hair tie

 

[Mini Horses]

They will dry up and fall off. Time depends on testicle size but, 1-2 weeks or so is pretty average.

 

[Ridgetop]

And do I need a specific band or can I use a rubber band or hair tie

You have to use a specific band for castrating. Do not use a rubber band or hair tie.

To band your buckling, you will need an elastrator. This is a tool with 4 prongs that stretch the heavy rubber band wide enough to go over the testes. You need to use special bands that are sold for the purpose. You will need to wait until he is large enough that his testicles descend properly. You can band/castrate as early as 2 months depending on the breed. We used to do it at 3-4 months if the bucks were being used for meat. Bucks grow faster than wethers up to a certain age, so it gave them a head start in growth. Not necessary for pets, but if your goat is a small breed you want to be able to manipulate his testicles to make sure they are through the band.

First you want to make sure you can find the urethra. This is what he pees out of. If you catch it in the band without realizing it can kill him. If you accidentally catch it in the band just cut the band and try again. The urethra feels like a cord between the testicles. Make sure you recognize it when banding. Once the band is around his testicles and you can feel that the urethra is not caught in it, slide the band off the elastrator. At first, he will walk kind of funny for a couple steps since the band will pinch him, but it quickly goes numb and he will be fine. Watch to make sure he pees afterwards. With bottle kids we usually gave a bottle of milk afterwards and they would pee right away. The testicles will shrivel up and fall off in about 3 weeks.

If you prefer using a burdizzo, this is a handheld tool that crushes the blood vessels cutting off blood supply to the testicles and causing them to die. However, if you are not adept at this method, it is not always completely successful. You will need to purchase a burdizzo.

The third method is surgical castration. Surgical castration requires slicing open the testicular sac, pulling the testicles out of the sac and cutting them off. For this you can use either a sharp knife, a surgical scalpel, or even a single edge razor blade. Since you are invading the skin you will need to disinfect the cut well.

We have used the banding method for goats and sheep for 30 years and find it to be the easiest method. We have had no problems with it but do give CDT at least a week before castrating to make sure the animal is vaccinated against tetanus. Purchasing the elastrator and packet of bands from a livestock supply company is much cheaper than using a vet.