Which method should I use to wether?

I have 3 boys I will need to wether. They are 6 and 5 weeks now. I don't plan to have it done until at least 8 weeks. I am trying to decide which method I should go with. Would like to know your experiences with the diff methods. My local vet said the method he uses is to remove the testicles.

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  • Thanks I really appreciate the info. That was very interesting, to hear about her and I am glad she is doing so well , may help prevent me from being to worried if I see any like behavior. Hopefully one day I will have an idea why some of the girls have beards and/or why some heavier than others. I really don't mind beards on them. Some of mine have them and some don't. I do think it is weird that I have some not very old (maybe 8months) developing beards and one that appears to be a few years that only started growing a beard after she was bred. She is a few weeks from kidding and I can't wait now to see if her beard grows more, stops, falls out or what.

  • I had never thought of it until you mentioned it just now, Margaret. I honestly can't even remember how much of a beard most of my does have except one -- the only goat that pops out in my head is a two year old that I have. I was wondering if she was a hermadphrodite when she was one day old because she was making bucky sounds and mounting her siblings and stomping just like a buck! She looked normal though, and I kept her. She has the longest beard of any of my does, but she is definitely a doe. She's kidded last September, and is still milking extremely well. In fact, she is on track for getting her 305-day milk star as a first freshener. Her ME (projected production estimate) is more than 700 pounds, which will certainly win her a place in my heart as that will be the best producing FF on my farm ever. She doesn't act bucky at all now though. In fact, it was only that one day, which really scared me!

  • Once again here as a few other times recently I have noticed mention of beards as related to masculinity. Can anyone give me any insight about this connection in relation to the does? I have seen does with beards off and on my whole life and never thought anything of it til now. But since I have seen this mentioned lately in this particular context I now wonder, should they be a masculine thing. Are does with beards producing excessive male hormones or having a shortage of female hormones or something? Are they any more at risk of being or producing hermaphrodites? Or anything else?

  • I used the same Burdizzo for the adult la mancha as I've used for the ND kids, and it worked fine first time. And he was a big boy, probably in the 125-150 pound range.

  • I know this is Nigerian forum, but I am not seeing this topic addressed elsewhere on the net, so here's my question. I want to castrate a 21 month old Nubian. I've decided on Burdizzo method, and planned to buy one on E-bay. I read on the internet to use 9" Burdizzo for goats, but they always refer to kids/bucklings. This article is the first time I've been able to find someone stating that they have, in fact, used Burdizzo on adult bucks. My question is: Is 9" Burdizzo the right size for adult Nubian goat also? He is not very big, he was 75 pounds a few months ago, so maybe 85-90 now.   Please tell me your experienced opinion, because I do not have much experience.

    Thank you Deborah Niemann-Boehle & Shannon Strangeland for your stories about adult castration!

  • It crushes the blood vessels that go to the testicles, so they die and shrivel up. Testosterone is no longer produced, so they are just as castrated and sterile as a buck whose testicles were cut off. Depending upon how old they are when you castrate, the testicles may take a couple months or longer to shrivel up. They don't act any more bucky than one that was castrated in another way, which can vary from wether to wether. They don't know that they're not real bucks, so they will mount does in heat, but they don't do nasty buck things like pee on their faces, and they don't usually grow much of a beard if any.

    Hannah Person said:

    Since it doesn't actually remove the testicles, how much do they still act like bucks?

  • Since it doesn't actually remove the testicles, how much do they still act like bucks?

    Deborah Niemann-Boehle said:

    Actually the Burdizzo does NOT remove the testicles, which is why it can be annoying with buyers. The testicles shrink up over a few months, but the wether will have his scrotum forever. You may not see blood with banding, but a goat can wind up with tetanus because the skin is broken. There usually is a little bleeding when the testicles finally fall off, but most people don't notice when that actually happens. And if you've ever met someone that had an animal with tetanus, it does not sound pretty. I don't think I know anyone who continued banding after that happened once.

    Sheila Kirkholm said:

    That sounds kind of funny, no matter what method you use, you have to remove the testicles or they won't be a wether. Anyway, I always banded mine, mainly because I could do it myself and there is no blood involved.

  • My apologies, I hadn't read all the other posts, or I would have learned something new and not sounded so uninformed.  Learn something every day, which is always good, thanks!

  • Actually the Burdizzo does NOT remove the testicles, which is why it can be annoying with buyers. The testicles shrink up over a few months, but the wether will have his scrotum forever. You may not see blood with banding, but a goat can wind up with tetanus because the skin is broken. There usually is a little bleeding when the testicles finally fall off, but most people don't notice when that actually happens. And if you've ever met someone that had an animal with tetanus, it does not sound pretty. I don't think I know anyone who continued banding after that happened once.

    Sheila Kirkholm said:

    That sounds kind of funny, no matter what method you use, you have to remove the testicles or they won't be a wether. Anyway, I always banded mine, mainly because I could do it myself and there is no blood involved.

  • That sounds kind of funny, no matter what method you use, you have to remove the testicles or they won't be a wether. Anyway, I always banded mine, mainly because I could do it myself and there is no blood involved.

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