How to Castrate Bulls and Bull Calves
Choose the best castrating method to use., Decide when to castrate your animals., What age is best to castrate?
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Choose the best castrating method to use.
The most important thing before you start castrating your cattle is to find out and think about what method you should use and/or are most comfortable with, according to what their stomach can handle and how sensitive they are to the animal's well being.
With these in mind, run through the pros and cons of each practice.
Here's a list to consider.
Advantages to banding:
Bloodless (no blood is lost when banding or crushing the cords through the scrotal wall) Less chance of infection occurring because no open wounds are created More painless than cutting because the area quickly numbs after the band is put on: there is a little discomfort, but it goes away after a while.
Quick and easy to do if done properly No risk of maggot infestation if done during the fly season Cutting off blood supply enables the testes and scrotum to gangrene and fall off on their own Disadvantages to banding:
Mistakes can happen: put the rubber ring around the teste instead of the cord, one testicle is only banded because the other hasn't descended yet, ring is too brittle and comes off sooner than the scrotum starts to atrophy, etc.
A little painful during the application, but the area goes numb very quickly soon after.
Tetanus shot may be required as there is risk of infection as the scrotum atrophies and sloughs off.
Advantages to cutting:
Easy to see that two testes are present Quick and a highly common practice used among ranchers Great way to collect enough calf testes to make some Rocky Mountain or Prairie Oysters! Disadvantages to cutting:
Risk of blood loss, infection and maggot infestation Cannot be performed during fly season Knife may not be sterilized, inducing infection Cutting the cord may not be done properly increasing the chance of blood loss for the animal More painful for the animal than banding, depending on the method of cutting used.
Can cut oneself whilst castrating the animal: knives are sharp and must be handled properly and safely! Advantages of using the Burdizzo pinchers:
Desirable for show steers because of the large and well-shaped cod that is formed in well-finished steers.
Similar advantages as described above with banding.
No tetanus shot required because there is no scrotal atrophy occurring Disadvantages of using the Burdizzo pinchers:
Best done by an experienced operator or veterinarian One cord can only be cut at a time, and cannot slip from the clamps of the Burdizzo Mistakes are likely to occur if not done properly: the cord may be incompletely crushed and the animal may develop stagginess later. -
Step 2: Decide when to castrate your animals.
Depending on where you live, most castrating should be done during early spring or late fall.
It can also be done in the wintertime, as the cold will constrict the blood vessels making it less likely for an animal to bleed out sooner. , One thing you should remember is that the younger the animal is done, the better.
Bulls should be castrated no older than 8 months of age.
Bulls can be castrated at any time, but you must remember that if you castrate a bull that is at least 12 months of age, you will notice a loss in productivity:
The older the animal is at castration, the greater the stress, risk of bleeding, and the slower the growth rate for that animal.
On average, calves are castrated around 8 weeks of age or sooner.
Some producers, depending on how busy they are and their willingness to go out to the pasture to find calves to tag and castrate, will steer a bull calf when it is a day to two days old.
Other producers would rather run the calves through a chute when they're around two and a half months old when they can castrate, tag and vaccinate them all in one go. -
Step 3: What age is best to castrate?
Detailed Guide
The most important thing before you start castrating your cattle is to find out and think about what method you should use and/or are most comfortable with, according to what their stomach can handle and how sensitive they are to the animal's well being.
With these in mind, run through the pros and cons of each practice.
Here's a list to consider.
Advantages to banding:
Bloodless (no blood is lost when banding or crushing the cords through the scrotal wall) Less chance of infection occurring because no open wounds are created More painless than cutting because the area quickly numbs after the band is put on: there is a little discomfort, but it goes away after a while.
Quick and easy to do if done properly No risk of maggot infestation if done during the fly season Cutting off blood supply enables the testes and scrotum to gangrene and fall off on their own Disadvantages to banding:
Mistakes can happen: put the rubber ring around the teste instead of the cord, one testicle is only banded because the other hasn't descended yet, ring is too brittle and comes off sooner than the scrotum starts to atrophy, etc.
A little painful during the application, but the area goes numb very quickly soon after.
Tetanus shot may be required as there is risk of infection as the scrotum atrophies and sloughs off.
Advantages to cutting:
Easy to see that two testes are present Quick and a highly common practice used among ranchers Great way to collect enough calf testes to make some Rocky Mountain or Prairie Oysters! Disadvantages to cutting:
Risk of blood loss, infection and maggot infestation Cannot be performed during fly season Knife may not be sterilized, inducing infection Cutting the cord may not be done properly increasing the chance of blood loss for the animal More painful for the animal than banding, depending on the method of cutting used.
Can cut oneself whilst castrating the animal: knives are sharp and must be handled properly and safely! Advantages of using the Burdizzo pinchers:
Desirable for show steers because of the large and well-shaped cod that is formed in well-finished steers.
Similar advantages as described above with banding.
No tetanus shot required because there is no scrotal atrophy occurring Disadvantages of using the Burdizzo pinchers:
Best done by an experienced operator or veterinarian One cord can only be cut at a time, and cannot slip from the clamps of the Burdizzo Mistakes are likely to occur if not done properly: the cord may be incompletely crushed and the animal may develop stagginess later.
Depending on where you live, most castrating should be done during early spring or late fall.
It can also be done in the wintertime, as the cold will constrict the blood vessels making it less likely for an animal to bleed out sooner. , One thing you should remember is that the younger the animal is done, the better.
Bulls should be castrated no older than 8 months of age.
Bulls can be castrated at any time, but you must remember that if you castrate a bull that is at least 12 months of age, you will notice a loss in productivity:
The older the animal is at castration, the greater the stress, risk of bleeding, and the slower the growth rate for that animal.
On average, calves are castrated around 8 weeks of age or sooner.
Some producers, depending on how busy they are and their willingness to go out to the pasture to find calves to tag and castrate, will steer a bull calf when it is a day to two days old.
Other producers would rather run the calves through a chute when they're around two and a half months old when they can castrate, tag and vaccinate them all in one go.
About the Author
Melissa Ortiz
Enthusiastic about teaching cooking techniques through clear, step-by-step guides.
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