"Best" age to castrate bull calves?

[VtMapleGal]

I dont see any post on here about (i think my vet called it) "crushing" where he took a crimper type tool and crushed the cord. Does anyone use that method? If not, how come? It was what my vet did to my 2 calfs last year, but than again im not in cow country. This is what he learned in vet school 25 years ago.

 

[Katie]

Iquote="VtMapleGal"]I dont see any post on here about (i think my vet called it) "crushing" where he took a crimper type tool and crushed the cord. Does anyone use that method? If not, how come? It was what my vet did to my 2 calfs last year, but than again im not in cow country. This is what he learned in vet school 25 years ago.[/quote]
I believe that is common practice with a surgical removal. They cut the sac pull the testes down and crimp the cord it helps stop the bleeding. Our vet does the same thing with horses also.

 

[ALX.]

I dont see any post on here about (i think my vet called it) "crushing" where he took a crimper type tool and crushed the cord. Does anyone use that method? If not, how come? It was what my vet did to my 2 calfs last year, but than again im not in cow country. This is what he learned in vet school 25 years ago.

Called pinching, bloodless castration using a "Burdizzo" tool.

Good newbie link here. Also speaks to other questions asked here.

http://www.omafra.gov.on.ca/english/liv ... htm#choice

 

[Weaver]

We use the calicrate bander on our calves in the fall when we run them through the chute to vaccinate them. They average 600 pounds. We used to band at birth and would never go back. Never again do i have to chase calves that are a couple days old, watch out for the momma cows, and nows it only takes a minute or two to band them now. The bulls in the last group were not noticably lathargic, didnt act any different than the heifers in the group, and were eating an hour later. Not to knock anyone else's method, but its worked great the years we have used it.

 

[pdfangus]

I use to use a Burdizzo back in past years.

When i started with my own herd i just did not have the spare change to buy one.

They work well if the operator knows how to use it. I have done a couple thousand with one and as far as i know never had a miss.

You do have to have quality help to assist in calf holding. Must be held better than for banding or surgical.

Vet did not have a burdizzo either. So I went with the way he preferred until we lost some steers. then he got the bander.

Adjustment of the burdizzo is critical and they should be handled and stored carefully and not in the closed position. To test one it should be able to clip a string between two sheets of paper.

for proper use do each side seperately and do each side twice in two different locations.

 

[BC]

I've been banding around 60 days of age. However, I'm not sure I'll castrate at all next year. Like you, I believe a bull calf will put on more weight than a steer. For calves at weaning here, there is very little difference in the pound price for steers versus bulls. I actually believe, in some cases, the head price is greater for bulls because there are more pounds there.

Here in East Texas, from Late July on to winter, bull calves over 500 lbs and especially 600 lbs and up will get docked $5 to $7 per cwt. Some of the order buyers have orders for steers only, so that also knocks some of the competitive bidding out. Does the weight gain offset the discounted price enough? Besides, there is research that shows that early castrated calves have a better chance of grading than late castrated calves.

 

[flaboy]

I have a Burdizzo that is over 50 years old at a minimum sitting in a can of oil if anyone wants to see a picture.

 

[novatech]

I have a Burdizzo that is over 50 years old at a minimum sitting in a can of oil if anyone wants to see a picture.

I've got a set hanging on the wall of the barn. When we used them last, many years ago, never had a problem with them. We do not castrate anything anymore as there is no doc at the barn for not doing it.

 

[flaboy]

I have a Burdizzo that is over 50 years old at a minimum sitting in a can of oil if anyone wants to see a picture.

I've got a set hanging on the wall of the barn. When we used them last, many years ago, never had a problem with them. We do not castrate anything anymore as there is no doc at the barn for not doing it.

The time was the mid 50's. Grandpa had a dairy. He also had a Holstein bull that was so mean he was penned in a corral made of rail road ties. Grandpa calls a vet. The vet shows up and shoots the bull with a dart gun. Grandpa goes in with the clamps and does his thing to the bull. Some months later the bull is in the freezer. I still have that set of clamps.

 

[pdfangus]

Found this from Dr. Wahlberg at Va Tech.

 

[dun]

Last time I saw them used was when castrating a horse. Clamped the cords then cut the nuts off below the crushed area. Didn;t bleed hardly a drop. Let's see, that would have been around 1959 or there abouts.

 

[pdfangus]

I have never seen them used on a horse.

Don't know why as it sounds entirely too logical.

The horse guys around here still use the emasculatome that both crushes and cuts but they still bleed a lot.

When i had my colts done a couple of years ago the mule colt got real kicky about the daily rinsing and one side closed up prematurely and now he has a bit of a scrotal sack and almost looks like he was not cut.
He was though, as I counted.

He got over the kicking. Had it been me I would have been kicky too.

 

[dun]

Had it been me I would have been kicky too.

You're a better man then I am. I would have just moaned and cried and tried to get into the fetal position.

 

[flaboy]

There is more to cutting a horse then just taking his balls off. You need to make sure there is no remnants of testicular tissue. I don't mean leave part of the balls in. There is testicular tissue that can still make testosterone and this is what we refer to as the brains of the horse. If you look at the base (upper side) of where the testicles were removed you will see what looks sort of like brain tissue. This is what the vets refer to as the horses brains. If you don't remove this tissue along with the balls you could end up with a proud cut horse. Of course a retained testicle that never dropped from the abdomen will cause the same issue.

 

[pdfangus]

There is more to cutting a horse then just taking his balls off. You need to make sure there is no remnants of testicular tissue. I don't mean leave part of the balls in. There is testicular tissue that can still make testosterone and this is what we refer to as the brains of the horse. If you look at the base (upper side) of where the testicles were removed you will see what looks sort of like brain tissue. This is what the vets refer to as the horses brains. If you don't remove this tissue along with the balls you could end up with a proud cut horse. Of course a retained testicle that never dropped from the abdomen will cause the same issue.

This, of course, is true but once the testical is freed from the connective tissue there should still be plenty of room to get above the testicle and the brains tissue and use a burdizzo to crimp the cord. The testicle could then be removed below the crimp.

I don't think anyone advocated using the burdizzo as bloodless castration as it would be used in cattle.

 

[Raeleigh26]

Just a note, the reason they say there is no benefit to waiting for bulls to grow before castration, is that the older they are when it's done, the more they lose and slow growth, more risk of infection, more signs of pain, (high cortisol), longer recovery, and high death risk.
Castrating a bull calf at 6+ months vs a calf banded in the first week, he'll slow down and not catch back up to the early cut steer.
That's what I've heard/read /seen.

 

[pdfangus]

you don't have to lose but one castrated around weaning to make up for a lot of "lost Growth".
even banding at that age can lead to some nasty infections...
I band em the day I tag em which hopefully is 12 hours after they are born.

 

[JMJ Farms]

you don't have to lose but one castrated around weaning to make up for a lot of "lost Growth".
even banding at that age can lead to some nasty infections...
I band em the day I tag em which hopefully is 12 hours after they are born.

+1. I know everybody can't do it but banding on day 1 works best for me.

 

[SPH]

We castrate a few weeks after weaning when we have the vet out for preg checking. That has given us enough time to evaluate the bull calves now that we've have collected weaning data on them and make our decisions on which ones to keep intact to develop as bulls to sell and which ones need to be cut and sent to the feedlot. Never have used bands, our vet will cut and disinfect and never have had any infection problems with him. And while I'm not a big fan of them, dad saves the nuts to fry up some rocky mountain oysters.

 

[Lazy M]

Just a note, the reason they say there is no benefit to waiting for bulls to grow before castration, is that the older they are when it's done, the more they lose and slow growth, more risk of infection, more signs of pain, (high cortisol), longer recovery, and high death risk.
Castrating a bull calf at 6+ months vs a calf banded in the first week, he'll slow down and not catch back up to the early cut steer.
That's what I've heard/read /seen.

I disagree. I often don't cut until after weaning and if you follow the signs right they will be up and eating at the trough within 20 minutes. Never lost one that I'd attribute to being castrated.