Cheri McDonald Posted March 10, 2005 Report Share Posted March 10, 2005 Next week I am going to help our trainer with castrating the ram lambs...lamb rams...the male lambs. Bare with me gang I am learning. Please give me a heads up on what I can expect to be doing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kajarrel Posted March 10, 2005 Report Share Posted March 10, 2005 To be quite honest I don't castrate my male lambs because they grow faster when not castrated (and I don't do anything uncomfortable to them unless absolutely necessary). But here's a description of some of the "popular" methods from a reputable source (Pipestone): http://www.pipevet.com/articles/Baby_Lamb_Processing.htm Kim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jennifer Glen Posted March 10, 2005 Report Share Posted March 10, 2005 Well, it depends. Does your trainer use bands or do they cut? It's not a big deal. I actually come from Brea,(I probably know your trainer)which is about 10 min from you and my first exposure to castrating lambs was in college. I wasn't too shocked. If they band, you will probably just hold the lamb for them while they place (with an elastrator- an instrament to hold the band open) a very tiny rubberband around the testicles. That's it. It falls off later. If he cuts, he'll use a sharp knife or blade and slice the sack open, pull out the testicle and cut it off (or pinch it of with an instrument called an emasculator). Large animal medicine is fairly barbaric and doesn't use pain meds, but actually the animals struggle more because you are holding them than because you are cutting them. You'll do fine. Jenny Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tassie Posted March 11, 2005 Report Share Posted March 11, 2005 Hey, Cheri - it's great that you're helping with chores. Beware .. it's totally addictive! I helped my trainer and her stockman mark lambs this past year - I did the catching, lifting and holding on the lamb cradle, and vaccinating (sub-Q) while they did the ear-marking and banding with the elastrator - tails for everyone, and balls for the boys that were going to be wethers. The ear-marking is a bit bloody (as is putting in the plastic ear tags which we do at weaning) and some of the lambs get a little discouraged, and complain for a few minutes after, and do a bit of twitching of the tail - but after about 20 minutes, they're fine. (And a few weeks later, there are lovely dog snacks - lamby tails.) The lambs are sooo cute when they're little. Enjoy. (Oh and just like cats and puppies and babies for that matter, they do best if you catch and hold them firmly, not tentatively.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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