castrating my bulls

[ny_grass]

I'm in the process of finishing a corral and soon I'll finally be able to castrate my 3 bulls. The oldest was born 4/30/08. The youngest about 5/25/08 making them 4-5 months old.

Is it a problem that I've waited this long? I'm very anxious to remove their boys as they seem to be getting pretty full of themselves. One of them puts his head down and won't back up when I come near him. Normal? How old might a bull be before he would actually get agressive?

A fellow farmer is going to help me. He favors the surgical method. I've heard that there are fewer problems with it compared to banding. Good call?

thanks

 

[I luv herfrds]

You can either cut them or band them. Now if you do band a tetanisis (sp?) shot is needed.
No it is not a problem waiting this long, I know guys who wait til they are 6 months old or older. We band our bull calves at birth.
As long as he does know what he is doing then there should be no problems.

As for the bull that is putting his head down and not moving that is a sign of aggressive behavior. Don't turn your back on them. Even the "nice" ones can get you. A nice big stick is good to carry with you when you are near that one. A pitchfork works rather nicely too. The sharp end. :nod:

 

[angie1]

They are not too old, and you should not anticipate difficulties based on their age. Cutting is a fine option, especially since that is what the free help knows how to do! :nod:

The one that will not back up needs to go away after he heals and is started on feed. At his age testerone plays less of a role in his aggression than does genetics ~ just a guess. This means that castrating him will not impact his behavior as much as say a bullet might. If you are comfortable finishing him regardless of this challenging, then be careful. Always when you are with him be careful.

 

[larryshoat]

I agree with angie,either method is effective if done properly, either method will cause problems if done improperly . If your neighbor uses the surgical method and has the skill to do it properly that should work well . 4 to 5 months is ok to castrate .

Larry

 

[Fred Belknap]

I tried to band a couple of bulls that were in that age range and I couldnt do it with my bands. There testicles were to large to fit through the band. I sold them as bulls. Like someone else said I don't think castrating will change there behavior much.
Fred

 

[redcowsrule33]

Good time to castrate. It'll take the wind out of their sails, but steers can still be sassy. You should see any testosterone-related behavior decrease in about a month. I usually castrate even older and the ones that are acting bully (rump-sniffing, etc) lose that behavior after a while. But nothing is sassier than a steer - they don't have a job besides eating and figuring out how to crap on/break stuff.

 

[Betty]

-you can cut them at that age.
Might give them 15 cc of LA Pen and maybe 5 cc of Banamine on surgery day
Might not vaccinate (for BVD etc/blackleg) the same day I cut them if they were that big.
Would cut them and leave them on the cow, let her nurse them back to health,then do my vaccines

 

[CattleHand]

My grandpa and I cut and we turn them back in with the cow that had the calf. We never turn them back into a pasture with other open cows that the newly-cut steers may try to breed. My grandpa says they will bleed to death if they try to. Just a word of advice.

 

[SRBeef]

-you can cut them at that age.
Might give them 15 cc of LA Pen and maybe 5 cc of Banamine on surgery day
Might not vaccinate (for BVD etc/blackleg) the same day I cut them if they were that big.
Would cut them and leave them on the cow, let her nurse them back to health,then do my vaccines

MY vet came in to give vacination shots and cut the calves in July. The steers were knife cut did get an extra shot of pennicillin. They went back out with the cows who did seem to take care of them - licking them clean. But after the vets visit they all go out onto a clean pasture. You do not want them lying down in mud or manure. They were dragging for about a week or two but did not bleed at all that I saw. I think it is good to leave them with the cow after castration for a while.

I would not wean them at the same time but don't see any problem with giving the shots at the same time as cutting. Two trips through the headgate that close together may be more stressful on the calf and you than just get it all done at once. Especially since the memory of the last time is fresh. Vet said to do it all at one visit. He is very good.

It's been 2-1/2 months now and calves come back into the corral for grain occasionally without a problem where for awhile after castration they would not enter the corral on their own no matter what sweet feed I used.

I think this is an example of the importance of preconditioning calves. jmho.

 

[ny_grass]

Never did all that just soaked the knife in blue lotion before each cutting and once finished cutting sprayed blue lotion on it gave em their black leg and IBR, BVD, etc shots and turned em out. Calves never really seemed in pain they would initially beller because they didnt like being caught in the head gate but they would just stand there and let us cut em. They put up no fight. They went about eating like nothing had ever happened. Where as with banding they hurt for a while before it dries up and falls off.

Is this the blue lotion that you use?
http://www.arcatapet.com/item.cfm?cat=10856

 

[CattleHand]

I dont know how much your blue lotion costs but to sanitize we just use concentrated lysol I think. Buy it at wal mart

 

[KNERSIE]

-you can cut them at that age.
Might give them 15 cc of LA Pen and maybe 5 cc of Banamine on surgery day
Might not vaccinate (for BVD etc/blackleg) the same day I cut them if they were that big.
Would cut them and leave them on the cow, let her nurse them back to health,then do my vaccines

MY vet came in to give vacination shots and cut the calves in July. The steers were knife cut did get an extra shot of pennicillin. They went back out with the cows who did seem to take care of them - licking them clean. But after the vets visit they all go out onto a clean pasture. You do not want them lying down in mud or manure. They were dragging for about a week or two but did not bleed at all that I saw. I think it is good to leave them with the cow after castration for a while.

I would not wean them at the same time but don't see any problem with giving the shots at the same time as cutting. Two trips through the headgate that close together may be more stressful on the calf and you than just get it all done at once. Especially since the memory of the last time is fresh. Vet said to do it all at one visit. He is very good.

It's been 2-1/2 months now and calves come back into the corral for grain occasionally without a problem where for awhile after castration they would not enter the corral on their own no matter what sweet feed I used.

I think this is an example of the importance of preconditioning calves. jmho.

If you're going to give penicillin as a precaution the same day as the vaccines you might as well squirt the vaccines on the ground.

 

[angus9259]

I've seen the bander and bands used for 5-6 mo bulls and am interested in trying them. I understand the tetanus shot is the biggest precaution . . . anyone else use this method? Concerns/suggestions?

 

[msscamp]

My grandpa and I cut and we turn them back in with the cow that had the calf. We never turn them back into a pasture with other open cows that the newly-cut steers may try to breed. My grandpa says they will bleed to death if they try to. Just a word of advice.

Ummmm, maybe I'm missing something here, but I seriously doubt a freshly castrated bull will even be thinking about trying to breed open animals. His mind is on how bad he hurts, not who is cycling. ;-)

 

[Red Bull Breeder]

I use a bander and have never had any problems. A big bunch of calves will get to smelling pretty bad in about 3or 4 days. If you use the bander make sure you get the band tight enough.

 

[CattleHand]

My grandpa and I cut and we turn them back in with the cow that had the calf. We never turn them back into a pasture with other open cows that the newly-cut steers may try to breed. My grandpa says they will bleed to death if they try to. Just a word of advice.

Ummmm, maybe I'm missing something here, but I seriously doubt a freshly castrated bull will even be thinking about trying to breed open animals. His mind is on how bad he hurts, not who is cycling. ;-)

I dont know. But where my grandpa lives his nickname is Doc because he knows about just about everything about cattle. And that is what he told me. Just sharing it for what its worth.

 

[ONEGICOP]

We use a bander and haven't had any problems. It actually helps if they are a little older when you use it so there is a little more to work with under there. I seen this type of bander used on bulls 7-8 months old.
http://www.pbsanimalhealth.com/cgi-...or.html?L+scstore+czvg7423ff163b16+1223655089

 

[Howdyjabo]

A bull with testosterone running high isn't going to let a little thing like pain get it his way for awhile--- after the fourth or fifth time he might think better of it .

 

[cowpunk'd]

Stud colts also will try to breed a mare even if they just got castrated, infact they can have enough sperm stored to impregnate a mare up to a week after castration, some say a month!