Veterinarians, castration, and tetanus

1112 Views 9 Replies 7 Participants Last post by toth boer goats, Jul 12, 2021

andunham

Discussion Starter · Jul 11, 2021

Hi, all! Hope everyone is well!

I’m just looking for some opinions/experiences. My kids had their first vet visit and the vet was nice and knowledgeable. The only thing is, she said she’d be back in 4 weeks for CD/T booster (which is good), but then basically told me she’s doing a surgical castration. I felt kind of intimidated by her - I mean, she’s the vet and I’m the first time goat owner who is still figuring everything out. BUT, I really don’t want a surgical castration. This sounds like I’m a horrible pet owner, but one, it’s crazy expensive, and two, I just don’t want that. I have a family member who owns and works on his farm who is willing to do banding at 12 weeks (after CDT booster), but - and this sounds so ridiculous - I’m nervous about saying “no” to the vet. Did any of you ever feel like this? How did you handle it?

Oh! One other thing - I keep reading about tetanus anti-toxin when banding, but then I’ll read about them just being vaccinated against tetanus, so I’m really confused as to whether or not the anti-toxin is needed. I read a lot but it’s just confusing, and I feel kind of dumb.

Thank you so much for all the help!

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happybleats

· #2 · Jul 11, 2021 (Edited)

First off..its your goat so you do what's best for your goat and you. Banding after 12 weeks is much better than wethering him too soon. (Plus banding is way cheaper) The longer you hold off the wider his uretha is..better for him if he ever gets stones.
Next..cd &t is a vaccine and he would need 2 shots to be fully protected. First shot should be at weening 2nd shot 21 days later....So the tetanus antitoxin, which offers about 10 days protection, is a better choice when banding or disbudding before 2 cd&t shots are done.

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Moers kiko boars

· #3 · Jul 11, 2021

Surgical castration really needs to be in a clean area. Not just out in a yard. Its a surgery., and all types of disease lives in the soil. A friend of mine just lost her buck to surgical castration by a Vet in Colorado. It was awful and traumatic for her. Please research this option before you make a choice. Thank you

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andunham

Discussion Starter · #4 · Jul 11, 2021

happybleats said:
First off..its your goat so you do what's best for your goat and you. Banding after 12 weeks is much better than wethering him too soon. (Plus banding is way cheaper) The longer you hold off the wider his uretha is..better for him if he ever gets stones.
Next..cd &t is a vaccine and he would need 2 shots to be fully protected. First shot should be at weening 2nd shot 21 days later....So the tetanus antitoxin, which offers about 10 days protection, is a better choice when banding or disbudding before 2 cd&t shots are done.

That makes me feel a lot better and makes me feel braver about standing up for what I want. The tetanus thing - I completely understand it now. They will get their second vaccine right after they turn 12 weeks (like 2 days later) and I plan to band them that same week. I really, REALLY appreciate the info. There is just so much out there and I don’t know what to trust, but I’ve already gotten such useful and accurate info from everyone here. I’m so grateful for your response!

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andunham

Discussion Starter · #5 · Jul 11, 2021

Moers kiko boars said:
Surgical castration really needs to be in a clean area. Not just out in a yard. Its a surgery., and all types of disease lives in the soil. A friend of mine just lost her buck to surgical castration by a Vet in Colorado. It was awful and traumatic for her. Please research this option before you make a choice. Thank you

That’s what I worry about. She wants to just put them up on the table on the deck and do it, BUT aside from that… it isn’t like I can just get rid of dirt in the yard, so I’m uncomfortable with the idea of any animal with an open wound outdoors. With banding, I feel like it will be much more feasible to keep away infection and keep up on fly control. I have no illusions that it’s still a wound that needs care, but it just isn’t the same as a vet cutting into them and then having that wound open, draining, etc.

Thank you for telling me this. My gut says to go with banding, and knowing that someone lost their buck to surgical castration solidifies my stance. I’ll be telling the vet that surgical castration will not happen with my boys.

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ksalvagno

· #6 · Jul 12, 2021

That is fine to go with banding. But surgical castration is fine too. So is the burdizzo.

I always had alpacas castrated by the vet on the farm. I'm not sure how other vets do it but the way my vet did it, you didn't need a perfectly sterile environment. My goat vet did it right in the back of my truck outside in the vet parking lot. Everything was clean and instruments came out of a sterile package.

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andunham

Discussion Starter · #7 · Jul 12, 2021

ksalvagno said:
That is fine to go with banding. But surgical castration is fine too. So is the burdizzo.

I always had alpacas castrated by the vet on the farm. I'm not sure how other vets do it but the way my vet did it, you didn't need a perfectly sterile environment. My goat vet did it right in the back of my truck outside in the vet parking lot. Everything was clean and instruments came out of a sterile package.

I’m glad it worked out well for you. I think I’m just too nervous about the infection aspect being higher, and I worry about the cost. I set aside money for my babies because I knew it wasn’t going to be cheap, but I’m an adjunct college professor and I get no pay when I don’t teach, so… yeah. No income all summer. In the last 2 weeks I’ve probably dropped a grand, which I’m fine with because it is totally worth it, but the surgical castration probably isn’t cheap.

I appreciate your input and telling me your experience! It will help when I weigh options in the future (when I get more babies in a couple of years).

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Goats Rock

· #8 · Jul 12, 2021

If you go the banding route, there are 2 ways. Band in the eve. so you won't hear them moan. (They will cry and moan while the blood supply is getting cut off and they are not numb, yet) or, band in the morning and make them walk around a lot. That way, they go numb faster. A shot of Banamine about 45 min. before the banding will help with pain.

Make sure the teats are not caught in the band and the skin isn't all wrinkled and make sure no hair is
tangled in the band. Last and most important, once the band is on, do NOT remove it. It would result in a serious blood infection.

Do what you are comfortable with. It's good to have a relationship with a vet, but in the end, it's your goat and your money!

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NigerianDwarfOwner707

· #9 · Jul 12, 2021

Hey there - now that you own goats, you need to become more comfortable with the fact that you may often be disagreeing with a vet. They are not the be-all-end-all for goats and a lot of experienced farmers and owners feel differently about many things.

All I can say is, I have seen so many surgical castrations go wrong - whether it's unplanned bleeding, infection, or most-commonly, never waking up from anesthesia (a lot of goats don't)... so I recommend only using anesthesia if it is life or death.

Banding at 12 weeks is great!

The CDT booster needs to be done 21-28 days after the first shot. You can do this yourself.

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toth boer goats

· #10 · Jul 12, 2021

Your goat, your final decision.

Not all vets are right.

I agree to wait a bit longer to band.
Also the vaccine has a chance to work and get into his system better.
Having the booster 21 to 28 days later, not a month later, will provide protection he will need.

Glad you asked advice here before doing anything, so we can help guide you in the right direction.

It is easy to cancel any goat appointments, if you do not to proceed that way or you can strictly tell the vet, you want him banded.
The bet is hired by you, so you are th boss if you feel the vet is not correct or pushing you in the wrong direction.

Even if you trust a vet, doesn’t mean they are in the right.

Do know, not all vets study up on goats or care to. Which is sad.
Some guess and assume they are like sheep etc.

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