# Best way to castrate a goat?



## Bricheze (Jun 21, 2008)

I am madly in love with my little boy (he is going to be my new pack goat/hiking companion) because I have been bottle raising him. I am disbudding him monday (I want to do it sooner, but that's when I can get help...) 

As for castrating I was planning on just banding him... but I want to do it in a less painful way. Is there a shot or something I can give him to numb it for the first hour? Should I do it in a more surgical way? What is the best, safest, and most humane way in your opinion (and in that order too)?


----------



## Bricheze (Jun 21, 2008)

thinking about buying this to do it (and do other ones in the future): http://www.premier1supplies.com/detail.php?prod_id=362&cat_id=13


----------



## Cannon_Farms (Aug 28, 2008)

I have banded several, they dont like being restrained more than having the band placed on them, I have never seen them as so much as to walk funny afterword and I wait longer than most people.
the testies fall off (i cut mine off in 10 days) in about two weeks, by far its my prefered method since you dont open the skin, you dont open the door for infection as much. The burzzedo, it takes too long to see the results to know they are castrated for me, but many people prefer it, it can also leave a sac which isnt liked in the show ring.


----------



## Rockytopsis (Dec 29, 2007)

We band here, I just cant bring myself to cut those little guys. At the latest I band by 8 weeks. I have done it at 4 weeks though. Get a farmers almanac and band when the signs say to castrate. It may or not help, in my mind it helps.


----------



## chamoisee (May 15, 2005)

Cutting is hard on the owner, but it's more reliable and humane for the kid. And it isn't hard to do. I learned from a simple description in a book.


----------



## Chaty (Apr 4, 2008)

With my Nigis I band at 8 weeks and with the larger type bucklings I wait till they barely fit in the band to do it. The longer you wait the better they will be. I dont trust the Burdizzo as sometimes it dont work but with the band make sure you dont get the teats in the band when you do it and get both testicles in there also as sometimes they tend to get out when releasing the band. I have given a tad of Banamine when doing it to help them but you dont really have to do that und\less they are older like 1 ot 2 yrs old.I cant cut them either as that just looks so painful and with flies not a wise idea.


----------



## saanengirl (Apr 7, 2009)

I like the Burdizzo. As long as the procedure is done properly, there should be no problems. Yes, it takes longer to see evidence, but there is a much lower risk of infection than with any other procedure.


----------



## betsy h. (Sep 28, 2008)

I second that Sara.

Place testes in the middle of the burdizzo, click shut, count one-two-three, open burdizzo, done.

Besides, the things make 'excellent' boyfriend behavior modification tools- when my girls were growing up and dating, I would bring out the burdizzo and open it and clamp it shut several times during a conversation- worked wonders......


----------



## Bricheze (Jun 21, 2008)

betsy h. said:


> I second that Sara.
> 
> Place testes in the middle of the burdizzo, click shut, count one-two-three, open burdizzo, done.
> 
> Besides, the things make 'excellent' boyfriend behavior modification tools- when my girls were growing up and dating, I would bring out the burdizzo and open it and clamp it shut several times during a conversation- worked wonders......



Your not supposed to do both testes at the same time, it makes it much more likely that you won't get one.

What I like about it is, if you don't get one of the testes it's not super hard to fix, just re clamp it and done. But with banding... it is isn't so easy!


----------



## BackfourtyMI. (Sep 3, 2007)

I band any bucklings not being sold here. This is the first year I have had to band one in 2 or 3 years, but 1 little boy wants a wether.

I have never had problems before, they act just like Cannon farm says. Just walk a little funny for a few hours. I did my last one's at about 3 weeks(they were a pygmy mix) & were bigger than the Nigerians I have now. This little buckling is pretty small at 2 weeks still so I may have to wait even longer I think on this one.

Cannon farms, You band them & then 10 days later cut the sack off? Is it open after cutting or bleeding, etc? I would think it would still hurt? I have always just waited for it to fall off before.


----------



## goatsareus (Jun 23, 2007)

i use the knife method....I think it is the best, most humane and best tolerated by the kid, method. We castrate in the evening and by the next morning, the kids have forgotten all about the procedure....and you are sure the deed was accomplished!


----------



## mpete (Mar 4, 2008)

I use the banding... After 6 minutes of no blood flow the tissue is dead so feeling anything, I doubt, but does it bleed?

ok, now my question.... What is the burdizzo?


----------



## Bricheze (Jun 21, 2008)

mpete said:


> I use the banding... After 6 minutes of no blood flow the tissue is dead so feeling anything, I doubt, but does it bleed?
> 
> ok, now my question.... What is the burdizzo?


It's a tool you use to clamp in between the teste and the body, that immediately cuts blood flow, and the testes die within a few hours. Animals castrated this way still have their scrotum, but their testicals are dead and it's much smaller. And the pain only really lasts for an hour or so after it's done... it's considered more humane then banding by _some_ but I don't think any of those people have actually banded their animals before, so I don't think they can really judge.


----------



## mpete (Mar 4, 2008)

hmmm... interesting... how do you tell that it damaged the testes but not the skin around the scrotum? Is it possible that it misses?
How do you tell that bothe testes have "died"? 

Sorry if these sound like strange questions,


----------



## Bricheze (Jun 21, 2008)

Yes, you can miss sometimes (just like how with banding a teste might escape), there really isn't a way to know either then taking a picture, waiting a few weeks, and seeing if they either of the testes have grown, if they have you just have to reclamp that teste.

You can sometimes get the nipple caught to you have to be extra carfeul that you don't. But otherwise it can be considered safer, as they can't get gangrene.


----------



## hoofinitnorth (Oct 18, 2006)

We castrate by knife here and will be doing the 13-week-olds this weekend. We last used banamine but this time will use lidocaine if it gets here in time from the vet. Goat Medicine has good diagrams on where to inject the lidocaine sub-q. Use ice packs and follow the simple directions to remove the testes. There is no guessing and it's done. The boys go on a nice pen on the lawn for a few days to keep shavings from getting up into the sack and causing infection. We give tetanus anti-toxin afterward and if any infection shows up, we would give antibiotics. They barely even walk funny and mostly protest to being restrained.


----------



## motdaugrnds (Jul 3, 2002)

I use to castrate my bucks when they were about a week old .. that was when I could find "pig" rubber bands to use. The rubber used on piglets was smaller in diameter than the ones I have been able to find now. (If anyone knows where I can find the smaller bands, I would appreciate knowing.)

The small bands apparently available now are not small enough for young bucklings; thus, I have not been castrating any of the ones I put up for slaughter. I do slaughter then between 8-9 months of age; so this may make a difference in taste. (I have never eaten a grown buck except for deer.)


----------



## Rowena (Feb 7, 2008)

Could you use lidocaine with the banding or Burdizzo?? Yes, new here!


----------

