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Disclaimer : I am not a vet. Although I may suggest medications, dosages, and treatments for animals, you should always have a vet, use a vet, and consult a vet.

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How To Make A Wether

MONDAY, JULY 4, 2011

Wether [weth-er] -noun  A castrated male goat or sheep.


   

Burdizzo- which crushes the spermatic cord and blood vessels which run to the testes.
   Surgical -- which is normally performed by a vet and they remove the testes.
   Banding --  Applying a band around the scrotum (with testes below band) and 30-60 days later they fall off and are gone.

   Banding is our preferred method.  It is simple, effective, and cheap.  This is really a fool proof way of wethering, as long as you have 2 (two, dos, deux, zwei, that's all I know) testes on the proper side of the band.  The only other concern is to be sure you don't get a teat with the band (yes boys have them too).  You simply put a band on the banding tool, make sure it is in the groove so it doesn't pop off prematurely, squeeze the banding tool, grab the testes (so they don't slip through), and release the band.  Done!
   * I will eventually post a video*

   The issues I have with the other two methods.

   Burdizzo - It is not 100% effective, often times it doesn't work.  That is not acceptable to me. 
   Surgical - This is cost prohibitive I am running a business here.  My goats need to turn a profit, so why would I pay a vet when I can do it myself for a fraction of the cost of a vet.  Really after you buy the banding tool, the bands cost like $.02 a piece. Also, there is a open wound inviting flies, and infection.

At what age?
  
   Standard breeds are often wethered at a much earlier age than miniature breeds.  This is mainly because that the miniatures have a better chance of having issues with UC.  For miniatures I recommend that you wait as long as you can, normally between 3-4 months of age you are good to go.  I have wethered miniatures before this age, however you have to be very careful with their feed intake if you do.  The earliest "accepted" age for wethering is 8 weeks.

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