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Castrating

flyingS

Well-known member
I was wondering how many of you castrate when you tag and how do you do it. The company I work for is talking about castrating at birth. I have never banded calves but I have knife cut them. What seems to work the best for everyone.
 

Triangle Bar

Well-known member
Calves are ear tagged at birth, but I use the Callicrate bander at branding, which is usually the first part of June after my spring farm work is done. I calve in March & April so the calves are 2 to 3 months old and it works slick, never had a problem but it's always recommended to give a tetanus if you are banding.
 

cowhunter

Well-known member
We try not to gather more than every 4 months. We keep our bull's on the cows all year. Most cows calf in mid feb but some calf at other times. I personally, won't cut a calf under 175 lbs. We've never used the bands and never will. I think it puts more stress on them. We part all our calfs, then work the cows. Mostly wormin and tippin the horns so they can't hook each other or a horse or a person. I got a old power river that opens wide for horned cattle. And brand what we might have bought. Then work the calfs.my boy is 17 and was bred for this. I always work about 2 or 3 of his buddys. They leg them and we cut a 1/4 ways up the sack and pull them nuts out. They don't bleed as much that way. Brand, then turn out to there waitin mamas. We pull what needs sellin then haul them off a ways till there mamas dry up. Then bring them back to a pasture by the pens and ropers can come and look and buy or look and leave. I might have a deal goin to let a cuttin horse trainer, rent them till they sour. Not only will I make a little more on them but they'll be get use to eatin feed and be pen broke. Sometimes there perty wild and will ruin a horn. Then they won't sell to a roper.
 

Texan

Well-known member
We cut at branding, but my wife tries to catch up the late calves and do them at birth. Knife cut, a squirt of iodine and a squirt of fly spray. They never know what happened. Sometimes I hold one for her, but she usually doesn't have any trouble. But...if you wanna do it right, you gotta wear shorts and flip-flops. :???:
 

burnt

Well-known member
Well I'm just a smalltimer but I like the convenience of banding at birth. Minimal stress on the calf and it just takes a few seconds longer to make sure you have both in the band

No open wound for infection to creep into in our frequently muddy springtime calving.
 

Grassfarmer

Well-known member
We have always rung them at birth with the exception of the pure bull calves. I've done the occasional one of them at 6-8 weeks but mostly we do them with the calicrate bander after weaning or anytime they aren't shaping up for us. Nothing wrong with banding them at birth in my opinion - they barely feel it and it's real easy to get both as long as you pay attention.
 

Trinity man

Well-known member
Ours get knife cut, ear tag, and 8 and 5 way vaccine when we do our spring round up. The only ones that get dehorn is the replacement heifers we keep and they get done in the fall round up along with their calvehood vaccination and branding. Most of them are black so it not too many we have to dehorn. Oldtimers have always told me to cut the calves by the signs of the moon (blood is in the foot). It has always worked for me and have never had a problem. Some of these calves maybe pretty big (300-350 lbs). A calf table is always pretty handy to have.
 

movin' on

Well-known member
Grassfarmer said:
We have always rung them at birth with the exception of the pure bull calves. I've done the occasional one of them at 6-8 weeks but mostly we do them with the calicrate bander after weaning or anytime they aren't shaping up for us. Nothing wrong with banding them at birth in my opinion - they barely feel it and it's real easy to get both as long as you pay attention.


I agree wholeheartedly. Very, very little stress. Does a fantastic job and a couple of months down the road it is very obvious that they are steers.
 

Northern Rancher

Well-known member
Most order buyers prefer knife cut calves-for every guy who uses rings right there's one who doesn't. When I used to buy calves for people a guy had pushed the nuts up above the ring-what a mess. It cost him about $10,000 when all was said and done. They work well if used right-but just aren't all the time. Ourselves we've calcrated some older bulls but usually we knife cut and fry. I used to knife cut them at birth when we pen calved it worked well.
 

per

Well-known member
Done both the knife and rings. Now we ring them all at birth. I guarantee they were both on the right side of the ring or will buy them back including feed cost. Never had a taker. Haven't seen any discounts from buyers around here for ringed calves in the ring.
 

Northern Rancher

Well-known member
You usually don't find out about them till the processing crew has to start cutting out belly nuts. Trust me if they find a bunch from one outfit you won't get discounted you just won't get your calves bid on again by that feedlot.
 

per

Well-known member
Same outfit buys year after year and we talk in between and track progress. I would know as I have a relationship with those who buy my calves.
 

Grassfarmer

Well-known member
I was told that this area had a bad reputation for producing improperly rung steers 20 or 30 years ago - and it was done intentionally because it made the steers look more masculine and better muscled. I think the discounts nowadays for anything looking staggy have pretty much put paid to people doing it intentionally. It really is a very, very simple operation to put a ring on a calf correctly. We got lots of practice growing up though 900-1000 lambs a year with both nuts and tails to put rings on. :shock:
I haven't noticed anyone using the "burdizzo" method here - that offers way more chance of improper castration than rings. We had a neighbor pastured dairy steers next to us for years in Scotland and I'll guarantee at least half of them were still bulls every year having been done with the burdizzo. :mad: Eventually we just quit trying to run open cows on that side of the place before our bulls were out.
 

leanin' H

Well-known member
Mostly bands at birth around this country. A couple guys still knife cut and it works well for them. As long as ya take the time and effort to make sure both nuts are there when ya band, it goes pretty smooth.
 

burnt

Well-known member
I know that "slip-ups" can happen. I had a 750 wt. steer calf show up staggy looking before sale time last year so I kept him back and he ended up in our freezer.

That's the worst of it - I have no idea how it happened because I do them myself almost all the time. Maybe it was one of those mommas breathin' fire down my neck that had me hurrying a bit too much . . .
 

Justin

Well-known member
quite a few year ago i tryed banding at birth. work pretty well. it is about a 2 person job, thats the reason i quit.
 

gcreekrch

Well-known member
I have been banding at birth for 20 years now. If I can't count to two the calf is checked and most likely knife cut at branding. I set them on their butt on the footrest of the 4 wheeler to castrate and tag, a few cows have damaged old Red but only one came up on the bike with me. Interesting how most of these cows would iron a guy out if you got off the bike to process a calf but will stand there and watch or create a little fuss if I stay mounted.
 

WyomingRancher

Well-known member
I band at birth when I tag them, and the key is to be able to count to two :lol: . If I can't find both nuts, I mark the calf down, and try again at branding. Usually they drop by then and are knife cut. I think it's easiest to do it this way, and it eliminates another job at branding :wink: .

The same people have been buying these calves for years, and have never noted a problem.
 
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