# Failed Banding--Castration



## Shell2 (Apr 13, 2014)

I have just banded(for castration) my twin 14 day old bucks...however one had a strange reaction to the banding. He stopped eating and the area above the band was swollen and painful. The other boy doesn't seem to have any issue and the same area is soft and if I touch it he doesn't seem to care. We removed the band on the troublesome one after 24 hours. He is now back to eating and acting normal (1 hour after removal). I really don't want to re-band him. Could he be sterile after this attempt as the tubes may have been crushed or does he need to be castrated 'again'? I had an experienced goat person do the banding and he is the one that told me to remove the band... I had him sold as a wether...but now he's not.... Any help would be appreciated!!


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## ndwarf (Dec 23, 2013)

You may have banded too early.....


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## nancy d (Oct 5, 2007)

Give him a few days & re band.


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## Shell2 (Apr 13, 2014)

ndwarf said:


> You may have banded too early.....


My friend that did the banding thought that he was getting too old for it....He generally does in the day they are born if he knows he is not keeping the buck....Is it normally done at an older age?


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## Shell2 (Apr 13, 2014)

nancy d said:


> Give him a few days & re band.


Have you had this happen before? I feel so bad for him I am reluctant to re-band...:worried:


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## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

If they are terminal that is fine. But if they are going to be pet wethers, they shouldn't be banded till 8 to 12 weeks old. They need their urethral to grow and mature.

You will still need to castrate the one male.


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## Stacykins (Mar 27, 2012)

Wow, that is ridiculously early to band. Especially when they are only a day old? 

At fourteen days he is NOT too old to band. In fact, it is better to wait until the kid is older, unless they are to be sold right away. Then they can either be banded before going to the new home, or brought back to be banded at a better age. 

It is actually worse that the band was removed. Twenty four hours is enough time to for the tissue to begin to die. But by removing the band, his body is exposed to that dead tissue, which may turn gangrenous and spread. If the band stays on, that dead tissue is isolated from the rest of his body, it dries and falls off with no problems. 

There is a rather wide school of thought that it is better to wait until a buckling is at least eight to twelve weeks old before banding. It gives their body some time to mature. Especially important is that the urethra gets a chance to mature, which testosterone (from his nards) assists with. Along with proper diet, it helps prevent urinary blockages. And no, they are not too large to be banded.


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## nancy d (Oct 5, 2007)

I agree that's awfully young for banding.


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## Shell2 (Apr 13, 2014)

Stacykins said:


> Wow, that is ridiculously early to band. Especially when they are only a day old?
> 
> At fourteen days he is NOT too old to band. In fact, it is better to wait until the kid is older, unless they are to be sold right away. Then they can either be banded before going to the new home, or brought back to be banded at a better age.
> 
> ...


Oh no  THis makes me feel terrible.... THe guy I have helping me has been raising/breeding dairy goats for over 30 years. What could have caused his not eating and the soreness around the site? THe other boy seems just fine....


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## Stacykins (Mar 27, 2012)

Shell2 said:


> Oh no  THis makes me feel terrible.... THe guy I have helping me has been raising/breeding dairy goats for over 30 years. What could have caused his not eating and the soreness around the site? THe other boy seems just fine....


I would expect he didn't do as well as the other because of pain. Some goats don't handle pain as well as others. For example, come vaccination time, I have goats that will wail and fall to the ground after getting a subQ injection. Others hardly flinch!

When I castrate, ear tattoo, or disbud, I give my kids something for pain. I feel those are all very painful procedurs, and pain relief is necessary. Banamine is my drug of choice!

Your friend definitely has a lot of experience. But he is probably doing some things because he has always done them. Ways of doing things _change_, there are different schools of thought. For instance, some folks reuse needles and syringes for goat injections. I however, shudder at the mere thought. I work in the medical industry, and apply the same sterile technique with my goat injections that are done with human injections! I figure preventing a potential injection site infection is preferable to fighting an infection caused by a dirty needle.


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## MsScamp (Feb 1, 2010)

Shell2 said:


> My friend that did the banding thought that he was getting too old for it....He generally does in the day they are born if he knows he is not keeping the buck....Is it normally done at an older age?


I don't band my bucklings until 2 to 3 months of age. IMHO banding at 2 weeks is too early - especially if you're selling the wethers for pets - because it stops the development of the urethra thereby opening the door for more problems with Urinary Calculi.


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## Shell2 (Apr 13, 2014)

Stacykins said:


> I would expect he didn't do as well as the other because of pain. Some goats don't handle pain as well as others. For example, come vaccination time, I have goats that will wail and fall to the ground after getting a subQ injection. Others hardly flinch!
> 
> When I castrate, ear tattoo, or disbud, I give my kids something for pain. I feel those are all very painful procedurs, and pain relief is necessary. Banamine is my drug of choice!
> 
> Your friend definitely has a lot of experience. But he is probably doing some things because he has always done them. Ways of doing things _change_, there are different schools of thought. For instance, some folks reuse needles and syringes for goat injections. I however, shudder at the mere thought. I work in the medical industry, and apply the same sterile technique with my goat injections that are done with human injections! I figure preventing a potential injection site infection is preferable to fighting an infection caused by a dirty needle.


So would you recommend re-banding at a later date or....? Both these boys have been sold as wethers once they are weaned and I have explained the situation to the new owners who still want them....I told them I didn't think I was planning to reband him, but they could do what they like when they take possession.... What would you recommend?


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## villager (Sep 8, 2010)

Hello Shell2

When to band goat kids is controversial, so sending my 2 cents worth by PM.


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## Cowgirlup11 (Apr 22, 2014)

We band all our calves and kids the day they are born


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## Hodgson (Jan 7, 2014)

Around here they are castrated within a few days of being born as well. They are meat goats though so they likely won't be alive long enough to get urinary calculi. As long as they drink enough water, the stones will be flushed out before they accumulate into ones too large to pass. I put a bit of dried molasses in their salt, like probably one part molasses to 10 parts salt, and they can't get enough of it. They're always eating their salt and getting a long drink of fresh water afterwards. I also mix a handful of oats into the salt and they eat quite a bit that way. When I walk past their salt trough, I run my hand through it and they all come running, just in case I put something tasty in it. Goats do love their food!


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## Goats Rock (Jun 20, 2011)

It really doesn't matter if someone bands at day one, day 14 or 3 months old. Each has their own preference. The 
fact is, your little goat kid had a problem and you did what you were told to do. Watch and see how he does, if there was
any dead tissue that might cause an infection, he will run a fever. Then you could treat with antibiotics. 

I think that maybe he was too small for the band to cut off all the circulation, , so he never really went numb. That is possibly what caused the 
swelling and pain. When he gets a bit bigger in size and his scrotum gets larger, banding will probably work better. It is up to you whether
you want to try it again with him or let the new owners.


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## janeen128 (Dec 31, 2012)

I band between 6-8 weeks, never that young...


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