So the Burdizzo arrived in the mail...

[mydog8it]

...and man, this thing is scary looking. It's been sitting on our kitchen table for a week, and my husband and I just keep walking by, staring at it and shivering. We still haven't worked up the nerve to schedule a day to do it. I really hope it's easier on the little guy than banding, because it sure is going to be harder on us.

Can anyone who's used one of these things offer any advice/tips? Do we actually clamp it down until it clicks and leave it there for 20 seconds as the directions say to do?

Also, I tried finding some banamine and the vet doesn't carry it in stock - they said it would be at least 3 weeks to special order it, and the feed store doesn't have any either. Do you guys think aspirin or tylenol will be adequate, (or is there something better OTC?) and does anyone know the correct dose for goats? The little boy is a nigerian dwarf & he's three months - I don't mind waiting for the drugs to come in, but I'm not sure if wethering via burdizzo needs to be done by a certain age?

Thanks in advance for the help!

 

[kstaven]

Close it VERY quickly or you run the real risk of not crushing the cord. Personally, I have had far better results and less problems from banding.

 

[elevan]

I've never used it...just not want I've deemed good for my herd. And there's no way on this planet the I'd be able to get DH to assist with that - I have a hard enough time getting his assistance with banding and anything else he's squeamish about

 

[mydog8it]

So, do you guys think it's just more difficult to do, or harder on them? I only ordered it because it seemed like the recovery would be easier on the little boys. It took almost 6 weeks for the banding to work on the older boys, and then they were left with an open wound when their dangles finally fell off...it was all around unpleasant.

 

[elevan]

My opinion is that banding is easier on them and me AND more accurate with less problems than other methods.

One of the hardest things you'll find about raising goats is that their are so many opinions that differ. The best you can do is to do your homework and decide which direction is best for your herd.

I've seen a few people post on here about their experiences with the burdizzo. Hopefully they'll give you some insight into why they use it over other methods.

 

[mydog8it]

Another day passed...still staring at this thing. Couldn't work up the nerve to do it. :/

 

[elevan]

Another reason I didn't even consider it...just the pictures of them looked scary to me.

 

[RareBreedFancier]

I don't blame you, I looked at the pics of them on the net and decided nope, not an option for me.

 

[mydog8it]

Well, we did it. I have to say, we were making much bigger a deal of it than it was. In the end, I think it was much easier on the little guy than banding, but much harder on us. It was absolutely much easier on him than disbudding. Here's how it went:

1. Poured the baby a heavy dose of pain killers.
2. Poured my husband a shot of vodka.
3. Poured myself a shot of vodka.
4. Snuggled the baby for 20 minutes while the drugs & alcohol kicked in.
5. Poured my husband another shot of vodka.
6. Held the baby really tight, whispering apologies in his little ear while my husband applied the burdizzo.
7. Nearly passed out when the little guy screamed. It's a good thing I was already on the floor. I hate this stuff.
8. Gave the baby a bottle for comfort and had another shot.

He was walking funny for a couple of hours but recovered really quickly. By the next day he was acting as if nothing happened but I gave him pain meds for a few days anyways. Assuming it worked correctly and he's officially wethered, I will be doing this rather than banding in the future.

Mostly just glad to have it over and done with!

 

[SheepGirl]

Make sure you actually clamped the cords completely. We tried this method with a ram lamb born in 2009 and we put him in with his mother, his twin sister, his maternal sister, a couple paternal sisters, and an urelated ewe, thinking he was a wether. He wasn't! We had lambs born in March 2010. Funny thing was, he never showed any interest in the ewes, and he was the only male in there so we can guarantee those were his lambs.

Because of that, we are sticking to castrating with the elastrator. Just something to think about with your goats.