# One year old too old to castrate?



## CelesteG (Nov 7, 2014)

I have a 13 month old buckling that is confused. Let me say right off that eating him is absolutely out of the question, selling him is pretty close behind that.

We recently had one of our bucks get injured (broken horn) that forced us to separate the boys so no further damage could occur during healing. In my small yard I have a doe pen (2 does, 2 doelings) and a buck pen on the other end. They can see & hear each other but can't get really close....under normal circumstances.

During this separation, Bubba (broken horn) has had free run in the yard. He spends every waking minute blubbering and crying at the doe pen. Never quiet out there - ever. So we switched and put Bubba in the pen and Eli in the yard. 

This is when we discovered that Eli just really DOES NOT get it. 

This stupid goat has zero interest in my does - none, even though they're flagging at him!! He wants my husband....or me.....or my cocker spaniel.....or my lab. This is not going well.

Can I have him castrated at this age and will it fix his overwhelming urge to try and mate things non-goat? At a year old, is there any hope that he will eventually figure out WHAT he's supposed to do if we leave him intact?

If it matters, he is a Nigerian Dwarf.


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## SalteyLove (Jun 18, 2011)

Given the chance, I'm confident he would figure out how to breed does. But would that stop him from trying to breed other species? Not sure.

Was he bottle raised? Does he hump year round or just during fall rut?

As far as getting him wethered. It would likely reduce the behavior but may not eliminate it. You could have it done surgically by a vet or some folks still band at that age using a calf bander & some pain meds.


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## CelesteG (Nov 7, 2014)

He was definitely a bottle baby - got him at 1 day. Pretty sure that contributed to his ruination  

He didn't start the whole "let me love you" thing until Bubba did it. I've been told that he won't try to breed the does if Bubba is Alpha which could be part of it also. I've taken to carrying the water hose with me and when he starts his crap, I spray his face. Husband however has NOT learned that trick so he just tips him over...which works for about 10 seconds. We've put the dogs inside to eliminate further issue there. My lab chomped his ear pretty good the other night.

I have contacted our vet to see if they do the castration. That is the only way I would have this done - I'm not putting my goat through banding at this age and definitely not during these temperatures we have coming.

This is the first year I've had them old enough to be in rut. Do ND's have a seasonal rut. I just hope it ends


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## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

You can have him castrated. Not a problem. ND's are year round breeders.


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## Naunnie (Jul 4, 2014)

If you want the Does bred by Eli, I would put him in the pen with the does, but once he gets the idea he would breed the doelings too. ND bucks can breed at 7 weeks of age so I'm sure at a year old, he would figure it out. Especially if he was the only buck in with the girls. 

We got our 5 ND's the first of July. The Buck was not in rut at the time and he was in with the 2 adult does and 2 kids. I was really surprised the Does were not bred since they are seasonal breeders. However, the doeling came into heat (her first)a week later and he has been in rut ever since! They immediately got separated. The Does heat cycles got more noticeable in August. I too have to keep girls in one pen and boys in another. I wonder if he will go out of rut, come early spring naturally, if we leave him intact? 

We are still debating whether to let them breed. Bristol, our buck is a very sweet guy, but he has acted bucky with my Daughter and Grandkids. He is not as bad with me though. For me, a sharp "NO" works, but the kids all carry a water bottle. A sharp "No' and a squirt in the face makes him behave. The bottle is 1/2 ACV. 

We had the buckling weathered by our Vet in July. I asked him about Bristol because he is 1 1/2 years old. He said, castrating Bristol would be fine, just wanted to wait on cooler temps. He warned me that it would take at least 30 days for hormones to decrease. I should keep him away from does for a least a month.


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## CelesteG (Nov 7, 2014)

My train of thought with my herd is to continue breeding Bubba with Isabelle & Buttercup then breed Eli with their offspring - no confusion. My plan is flawed by my ability to segregate for more than a few hours at a time. The biggest problem at the moment is having to keep the bucks separated so that they don't play butthead games and break/re-break/damage Bubba's head permanently. It was this separation that caused us to know for sure that Eli is an idiot. Yard rotation is quite the sport - gotta hold one while letting another or others out then stuffing the one in a pen. Putting everyone back several hours after foraging is the same hairy situation. I will say that Eli has not made this hard since he follows ME, not the does. Poor Bubba has paced a trench in their pen since he has been back in confinement. It's pretty much a circle jerk right now. Next week's uber cold temps have me worried since neither buck has the other to snuggle with for warmth.


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## ThreeHavens (Oct 20, 2011)

Not too late to castrate at all. I would personally suggest the cutting method per vet for a older boy. People do it all the time.

As for him not figuring it out, sometimes it takes bucks awhile to get it, especially it seems if they see people as their species. I'd see if you can leave a girl with him for a month or two before you decide to castrate.


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## ladyharley (Sep 7, 2012)

you can do the Burdizo yourself. You might be able to band, sometimes the bands will fit over the sack with some manipulation.


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## CelesteG (Nov 7, 2014)

Update! We elected to have Eli wethered last month. He is a different goat and it's WONDERFUL <3 He's like another dog, with horns and a funny smell


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## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

Glad it went well.


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## sweetgoats (Oct 18, 2007)

Glad it went well. I know what you mean about some of those you just can't get rid of.


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## cgsgtrz (Sep 23, 2021)

CelesteG said:


> Update! We elected to have Eli wethered last month. He is a different goat and it's WONDERFUL <3 He's like another dog, with horns and a funny smell


Hello, i know this is a very old post but what method did you go with? we are in a similar situation as you were in. Our ND is 8 months. We think our doe is pregnant now. And we definitely are not going to eat him. Now I know it's not too late to castrate. I was definitely nervous about that but he is quite big. LOL. Thanks for help in case this is seen.


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## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

Have a vet do it.


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

A vet will have to do it.


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