[Jacob-list] problems with castrating

[southwindfarms at frontiernet.net]

Problems with castrating

We castrate any male bottle lambs we have.  We use an elastractor.   
Haven't had a problem yet.  We castrate as soon as we can feel two  
descended testicles.  Some lambs take longer than others but we like  
to castrate as young as possible.  We use two people.  One person  
holds the lamb at chest height in a fairly normal standing position   
(so gravity helps keep the testes in position)The second person slides  
the elastracator in position and then makes certain both testes are  
palpable  before closing the band.  This is essential as often the  
placement of the band will push one or both testes back into the body  
cavity.  We always manipulate the testes after placing the band in  
position and before closing it.  Two people definitely help.  If we  
can't find two testes in the scrotum at this point we don't castrate  
and will wait until we can be certain that we have both.

It sounds as if surgical removal by the vet would be the next step if  
one or both testes have been retained.

Laura
Southwind Farms
www.southwindfarms.org


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>    1. Problems with Castrating (ARTHUR PARTRIDGE)

>    2. Re: Problems with Castrating (Meg Steensland)

>    3. Re: Problems with Castrating (Linda)

>    4. Re: bottle jaw (Betty Berlenbach)

>    5. Re: Problems with Castrating (Meg Steensland)

>

>

> ----------------------------------------------------------------------

>

> Message: 1

> Date: Sun, 9 Sep 2007 13:30:04 -0700

> From: "ARTHUR PARTRIDGE" <aztreaz at earthlink.net>

> Subject: [Jacob-list] Problems with Castrating

> To: "jacob-list" <jacob-list at jacobsheep.com>

> Cc: beryl5145 at wirelessbeehive.com

> Message-ID: <410-2200790920304109 at earthlink.net>

> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII

>

>> The question I have is about the other one with the one testicle). He has

>> nice wool, but I don't want him breeding my ewes. Any advice?

>> Also, how can I avoid this next year? Would another method help?

>> Thanks,

>> Beryl Schwartz

>> Stockton, Utah

> ============

> It might not be too late to castrate again.  We castrated ram lambs at 8

> months, so the horns could develop fully, and they did.  It will require a

> vet though because it is a larger surgical area and requires a local

> anesthetic to reduce pain and discomfort.  I helped hold the ram lamb and

> she surgically castrated.  I was charged $50, she is a neighbor so she

> waves the farm call charge.  The ram lamb walked strange for a few days and

> is just fine.

>

> I have my vet surgically castrate every spring, so there is nothing left

> that shouldn't be there.  Of course, my vet is my neighbor and seems to

> wait at the fence with her scalpel ready every spring.

>

> Cathy

> Moscow, Idaho

>

>

>

>

>

> ------------------------------

>

> Message: 2

> Date: Sun, 9 Sep 2007 13:49:07 -0700 (PDT)

> From: Meg Steensland <beegal7 at yahoo.com>

> Subject: Re: [Jacob-list] Problems with Castrating

> To: aztreaz at earthlink.net, jacob-list <jacob-list at jacobsheep.com>

> Cc: beryl5145 at wirelessbeehive.com

> Message-ID: <206866.90251.qm at web31514.mail.mud.yahoo.com>

> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"

>

> Hi I have a vintage college sheep and goat textbook (1984 I think)   

> that mentions a way of castrating involving shoving the testicles   

> back up and then banding the empty scrotum - this allows the animal   

> its hormones so it is still a full ram, but he should be   

> dysfunctional for actually breeding ewes.  But he should still   

> behave lke a ram, so don't do this if you just want a fiber guy.    

> Anyone tried this?

>

>   The one-testicle, short scrotum ram should not be able to breed   

> ewes-doesn't mean he won't try tho.

>

> ARTHUR PARTRIDGE <aztreaz at earthlink.net> wrote:

>   >The question I have is about the other one with the one testicle). He has

>> nice wool, but I don't want him breeding my ewes. Any advice?

>> Also, how can I avoid this next year? Would another method help?

>> Thanks,

>> Beryl Schwartz

>> Stockton, Utah

> ============

> It might not be too late to castrate again. We castrated ram lambs at 8

> months, so the horns could develop fully, and they did. It will require a

> vet though because it is a larger surgical area and requires a local

> anesthetic to reduce pain and discomfort. I helped hold the ram lamb and

> she surgically castrated. I was charged $50, she is a neighbor so she

> waves the farm call charge. The ram lamb walked strange for a few days and

> is just fine.

>

> I have my vet surgically castrate every spring, so there is nothing left

> that shouldn't be there. Of course, my vet is my neighbor and seems to

> wait at the fence with her scalpel ready every spring.

>

> Cathy

> Moscow, Idaho

>

>

>

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> ------------------------------

>

> Message: 3

> Date: Sun, 9 Sep 2007 17:14:49 -0400

> From: Linda <patchworkfibers at alltel.net>

> Subject: Re: [Jacob-list] Problems with Castrating

> To: Beryl Schwartz <beryl5145 at wirelessbeehive.com>,

> 	<jacob-list at jacobsheep.com>

> Message-ID: <200799171449.231053 at patchwor-efob1t>

> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

>

> I was just working on a blog entry about the subject.  I am perhaps   

> the worst castrator in sheep history.  Once again, I have missed a   

> crucial part of the castration process!  And that pretty "wether" is  

>  just another freezer ram. He was butting heads yesterday and I   

> thought I'd better check - and yep, he's a scrotumless ram. I'm   

> going to have to start calling my wethers, whethers - as in whether   

> or not I finally managed to get both testicles.

>

> Since the testicle is in the body cavity, the heat should render   

> your "rig" sterile.  But, he will breed and he will fight your real   

> ram over the ewes.  And, like my first attempt, a bottle raised half  

>  castrated ram will not make a good pet.  It was quite embarrassing   

> when my "wether" charged a perspective buyer.  I've read that the   

> process of removing just the scrotum makes the sheep grow better for  

>  market.  I just pretend that's why I leave one testicle.

>

> My favorite method is to have the vet do it.  At least she gets the   

> job done.  It might be a somewhat more complicated operation to   

> wether your boy now.

>

> If anyone has advice on how to castrate properly, I'd sure be   

> interested.  I very seldom wether anything, but when I do, it would   

> be nice if it were a success.

>

> Linda

>

> www.patchworkfibers.com

> Registered Jacob Sheep, Angora Rabbits, Handspun Yarn

>

>> All,

>>

>>

>> This is my first year raising sheep, and I “castrated” two ram

>> lambs by the elastrator method.  Well, today I saw the two of them

>> acting rammy, and interested in the girls.  I caught them and

>> checked and saw that I removed the scrotums of both and one

>> testicle of one of them.  I’m selling the one ram (the one with two

>> testicles) tomorrow anyway, since his horns point straight down.

>>

>>

>> The question I have is about the other one with the one testicle).

>> He has nice wool, but I don’t want him breeding my ewes.  Any

>> advice?

>>

>>

>> Also, how can I avoid this next year?  Would another method help?

>>

>>

>> Thanks,

>>

>>

>> Beryl Schwartz

>>

>> Stockton, Utah

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> ------------------------------

>

> Message: 4

> Date: Sun, 9 Sep 2007 19:56:31 -0400

> From: "Betty Berlenbach" <lambfarm at sover.net>

> Subject: Re: [Jacob-list] bottle jaw

> To: "gordon johnston" <gordon at westergladstone.fsnet.co.uk>,

> 	<jacob-list at jacobsheep.com>

> Message-ID: <011f01c7f33d$98a91180$cdad72d8 at USER5AFE0954BF>

> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"

>

> all of which brings up the point that you need to not only know the   

> culprit, or the symptom, but also the history of parasites in a   

> particular area.

>   ----- Original Message -----

>   From: gordon johnston

>   To: jacob-list at jacobsheep.com

>   Sent: Sunday, September 09, 2007 7:18 AM

>   Subject: Re: [Jacob-list] bottle jaw

>

>

>   << Haemonchus contortus is the killer parasite here and is the   

> most common cause of bottle jaw. We do see liver flukes, but not   

> that often.>>

>

>   Thank you Linda and Jennifer, this is very interesting. Perhaps   

> because Britain is such a wet country, liver fluke is the biggest   

> problem here, causing large economic losses.  However, haemonchus   

> contortus has recently been found in the south of Scotland,   

> presumably having made its way north with the many sheep movements   

> which take place across the border. This is the first year we have   

> been officially warned about it - very useful to hear your experience.

>   Over here too whole flock worming is no longer recommended, except  

>  for fluke which does a lot of damage to the animal before it is   

> noticed. We lost a shearling to fluke a few years ago; she had been   

> grazing away for a month but on high pasture similar to our own   

> which does not have wet areas for the snails which host the disease   

> to live, so we had not thought of fluke. After her death we dosed   

> the whole flock then with a specific flukicide , on our vet's   

> advice, and have had no further incidence.  Normally we allow the   

> animals to build up their own resistance to worms and dose only when  

>  necessary.  This way of dealing with worms is slow to catch on   

> amongst the commercial, largescale breeders over here.

>   Juliet in Scotland

>

>

> ------------------------------------------------------------------------------

>

>

>   _______________________________________________

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> ------------------------------

>

> Message: 5

> Date: Sun, 9 Sep 2007 17:47:17 -0700 (PDT)

> From: Meg Steensland <beegal7 at yahoo.com>

> Subject: Re: [Jacob-list] Problems with Castrating

> To: Linda <patchworkfibers at alltel.net>,	Beryl Schwartz

> 	<beryl5145 at wirelessbeehive.com>, jacob-list at jacobsheep.com

> Message-ID: <294297.1464.qm at web31505.mail.mud.yahoo.com>

> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"

>

> I have never wethered a sheep-wish I had done so to my 4H ram with   

> lovely spots and really bad lobster horns.  But I did help someone   

> with an angora goat once.  My job was just to hold the guy so she   

> could do the job properly-takes longer than docking a tail.  From   

> that experience, I would say it takes at least 2 people and the   

> younger the guy, the easier.

>

> Linda <patchworkfibers at alltel.net> wrote:          I was just   

> working on a blog entry about the subject.  I am perhaps the worst   

> castrator in sheep history.  Once again, I have missed a crucial   

> part of the castration process!  And that pretty "wether" is just   

> another freezer ram. He was butting heads yesterday and I thought   

> I'd better check - and yep, he's a scrotumless ram. I'm going to   

> have to start calling my wethers, whethers - as in whether or not I   

> finally managed to get both testicles.

>

>   Since the testicle is in the body cavity, the heat should render   

> your "rig" sterile.  But, he will breed and he will fight your real   

> ram over the ewes.  And, like my first attempt, a bottle raised half  

>  castrated ram will not make a good pet.  It was quite embarrassing   

> when my "wether" charged a perspective buyer.  I've read that the   

> process of removing just the scrotum makes the sheep grow better for  

>  market.  I just pretend that's why I leave one testicle.

>

>   My favorite method is to have the vet do it.  At least she gets   

> the job done.  It might be a somewhat more complicated operation to   

> wether your boy now.

>

>   If anyone has advice on how to castrate properly, I'd sure be   

> interested.  I very seldom wether anything, but when I do, it would   

> be nice if it were a success.

>

>   Linda

>

>   www.patchworkfibers.com

>   Registered Jacob Sheep, Angora Rabbits, Handspun Yarn

>

>

>   > All,

>   >

>   >

>   > This is my first year raising sheep, and I ?castrated? two ram

>   > lambs by the elastrator method.  Well, today I saw the two of them

>   > acting rammy, and interested in the girls.  I caught them and

>   > checked and saw that I removed the scrotums of both and one

>   > testicle of one of them.  I?m selling the one ram (the one with two

>   > testicles) tomorrow anyway, since his horns point straight down.

>   >

>   >

>   > The question I have is about the other one with the one testicle).

>   > He has nice wool, but I don?t want him breeding my ewes.  Any

>   > advice?

>   >

>   >

>   > Also, how can I avoid this next year?  Would another method help?

>   >

>   >

>   > Thanks,

>   >

>   >

>   > Beryl Schwartz

>   >

>   > Stockton, Utah

> _______________________________________________

> Jacob-list mailing list, sponsored by Swallow Lane Farm & Fiberworks

> Jacob-list at jacobsheep.com

> http://www.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/jacob-list

>

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