does it pay to castrate

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cowperson

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tennessee
With the prices at the market now in Tn does it pay to castrate males calves if you have to pay a vet to do it. Steers at 400 lbs avg price 1.23, 500 lbs steers avg 1.17. Bull calf 400 lbs avg 1.20 and 500 lbs avg 1.13. Thanks
 
It certainly seems to me that for 4-5$$ a hundred it pays to castrate. Why pay a vet as it is a simple operation. I insiste that everyone working cattle here know how, too. Its just something that must be done and like dehorning isnt fun but part of management in this biz.
 
Usually I would say it pays to castrate but with the prices you've given I think you would be money ahead leaving them intact if you have a vet castrate for you when they are 400-500 lbs.

In general it would depend on when you castrate. Calves banded or cut at birth will weigh less at weaning than bull calves unless the calves are implanted when castrated. If you wait to castrate until weaning time they will be set back a bit for a week or so also.
 
I used to buy a lot of cutter bulls. I figured a minimum of $7/cwt to cut them due to more meds and less gain.

I am surprised bulls are not discounted more in TN???
 
Im in Tn also i always band my calves i dont know which place you were looking at but it could be there was a real good set of bulls that brought good but had they been steers may have brought more. On the other side if you have to pay a vet you may be right.
 
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cowperson is right. Here in my area there is very little to no difference between bulls and steers. I have seen some 6 wt bulls sell higher than 6 wt steers at the Unionville sale. Same thing over in McMinnville. I have a few bull calves that I have not banded yet. I may just leave them intact if weaner bulls stay up like they have.
 
Somebody has to do it... It would be a lot easier to cut/band the calf when he is small then it would when he is a 6 wt... Just like getting your wisdom teeth cut out... It's a lot easier to recover when your young... It's hard on someone who's 30 or older.... So cut/band your calves when they are a week or two old....
 

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