Castration, 7 month old

[lead_dog]

I researched the archives and saw some posts in the past about castration, but wanted to be sure about this since it's my first time. We have a 7 month old bull calf that wasn't castrated prior to our acquiring him. Therefore, we want/need to do it very soon.

Is banding appropriate at this age? Is it the preferred choice? I'd prefer to do it myself (with the help of my neighbor, who has done it both ways), but wanted to get your collective wisdom on the best way.

Thanks.

 

[Jogeephus]

I prefer to cut them. I prefer to cut the cap and snatch each one out. By leaving the cap open, it allows for drainage and they heal surprising fast.

 

[TheBullLady]

I would also recommend cutting him at that age. I think they heal and recover quicker that way.

 

[shorty]

I band my bulls after weaning at about 7 months ,it seems like they do fine , I guess I band because I have no experience with cutting and I feel banding puts less stress on the calf. I always give a tetnas shot. Two of my friends that cut always get the vet to do it . I figure I can save that cost by banding them myself.

 

[lead_dog]

At 7 months, do you use a special bander? Can I just pick one up at Tractor Supply, or do I need to buy the $$$ callicrate bander I read about?

 

[toby]

I haven't found any banders at TSC that will work on a 7mo old calf. The more expensive ones are the only ones I've found for that old of calf.

 

[cfpinz]

For larger calves we use one of these:

http://www.valleyvet.com/ct_detail.html?pgguid=30e0772c-7b6a-11d5-a192-00b0d0204ae5

cfpinz

 

[dyates]

If you have a large animal vet nearby, take him in and let the vet do it. If you only have the one animal, the vet should do it for less than the bander cost. At our clinic, $10/head gets you wormed, vaccinated, implanted, whole nine yards. I think banding is a couple dollars extra.

 

[shorty]

I use a big bander called EZE bander , I don't think TSC would have them . I agree with dyates , if you only have one to do the cost of the bander would be too much , I think I paid $160 for mine about 5 years ago .

 

[Wild Cattle]

Learn to use the knife....get some help the first couple of times. I just have seen to many problems with banded cattle. Think about how you would like this done on your self????

Paul T

 

[cowgirl_telly_369]

We band at weaning, about 6-7 months. It works good for us. We use the EZ Bloodless Castrator..

 

[msscamp]

We have a 7 month old bull calf that wasn't castrated prior to our acquiring him. Therefore, we want/need to do it very soon.

Is banding appropriate at this age? Is it the preferred choice? I'd prefer to do it myself (with the help of my neighbor, who has done it both ways), but wanted to get your collective wisdom on the best way.

Thanks.

Banding is appropriate, as is knife castration. For banding at this age, we used the ratchet type bander - I don't know what the name of the bander is. Be aware that, if you choose to knife castrate, there is a greater chance of the animal bleeding to death at this age. Regardless of the method you choose there is also a high risk of him going off feed for several days. You also need to be aware that, if you choose to band him, he needs to be vaccinated for tetanus.

 

[TR]

I researched the archives and saw some posts in the past about castration, but wanted to be sure about this since it's my first time. We have a 7 month old bull calf that wasn't castrated prior to our acquiring him. Therefore, we want/need to do it very soon.

Is banding appropriate at this age? Is it the preferred choice? I'd prefer to do it myself (with the help of my neighbor, who has done it both ways), but wanted to get your collective wisdom on the best way.

Thanks.

I had this very question a couple of weeks ago with a 600lb bull calf, and the advice gven there was to take him to the vet and have him do it. I elected to cut him myself because I wanted those things off NOW! He was extremely uh....er...."well endowed" for his age and size, so there was much more blood than what I expected, and he had quite a bit of fat down there too. Needless to say, it was messy and I wasn't comfortable with the result at all, so we ended up hauling him to the vet the next day just to make sure he was ok. Vet said it was fine although not very pretty.

The other bull calf that we needed to castrate that was the same weight as this one was only as developed as our 4 month old calves were, so cutting him was zero problem. I think what I've learned through this is that the testicle size plays big in the decision on which method is the best for one of that weight. If I had it to do over again, I would have banded that big boy or followed the advice given and hauled him to the vet. I will say however, throughout this whole ordeal that the stinker never went off his feed, kept pushing around his pen mate, and two weeks later is still heat checking the girls.....and yes, I counted to two! I think it was much more traumatic for me than it was for him.

 

[Stocker Steve]

For the really big guys we use the Calibrate bander, and then cut off the sack when they are back in the chute for the second round of shots. Some smell but no blood. Otherwise you see a few that hang on forever and really pull the bull/steer health down.

We don't have a head table, so we have also started using the Calibrate bander for de horning the big ones. (The band will just slip off the short stubs.) It is effective if you get the bands up close to the head but it can take as long as 50 days for the horns to fall off.

Banding is a little more expensive than using sharp tools, but if it keeps them from getting stressed and sick it is money well spent.

 

[larryshoat]

For the really big guys we use the Calibrate bander, and then cut off the sack when they are back in the chute for the second round of shots. Some smell but no blood. Otherwise you see a few that hang on forever and really pull the bull/steer health down.

We don't have a head table, so we have also started using the Calibrate bander for de horning the big ones. (The band will just slip off the short stubs.) It is effective if you get the bands up close to the head but it can take as long as 50 days for the horns to fall off.

Banding is a little more expensive than using sharp tools, but if it keeps them from getting stressed and sick it is money well spent.

We've been banding the bigger ones for three or four years now and have been satisfied. These calves go into our feedlot so there is not a resell issue. It does seem to me from what I've read on this board that far too many lack the skills to band properly, so for that reason I have come to the conclusion in the hands of the inexperienced the knife is the lesser of the evils.

Larry

 

[Holmesfarm]

by Jogeephus on Sun Jan 20, 2008 10:54 pm

I prefer to cut them. I prefer to cut the cap and snatch each one out. By leaving the cap open, it allows for drainage and they heal surprising fast

never cut before want to try it soon, do you pull out one at a time or both together?

 

[dun]

by Jogeephus on Sun Jan 20, 2008 10:54 pm

I prefer to cut them. I prefer to cut the cap and snatch each one out. By leaving the cap open, it allows for drainage and they heal surprising fast

never cut before want to try it soon, do you pull out one at a time or both together?

One at a time

 

[simangus23]

cuttem and yankem --no problem