Three ram lambs were bought by people who would like them to look beautiful in their fields. Today was the last day for them to be full boys. They will be much easier for the new owners to handle and keep if they loose their ability to create testosterone.
So out into the field to bring in all the ram lambs, finding the ones that the new owners have chosen.
It is a very hot day so we don’t want to stress the lambs out too much so try to do it as easily as possible in a shady part of the lane.
We soon catch the 3 lucky boys placing them into the trailer.
Once we double check their ear tag numbers against those that are on the sales docket the rest of the ram lambs are let back out into the field.
I bring the 3 boys up into a small shady paddock to await the vet.
They are released for a few hours before the vet comes to settle them into their temporary paddock.
Why you ask, do I call these 3 boys lucky to get castrated? Well the long and short of it is, those that are not sold for breeding are sold for eating. I only save the very best ram lambs for selling on to breeders. So these 3 boys were destined for the deep freezer, but are now going to have a wonderful long life grazing in green fields.
The vet has arrived so now it’s time to say good by to potential fatherhood.
To castrate lambs as late as this you need a tool called a Burdizzo Castration Forceps or what some people call the nut cracker. This tool is used for the emasculatome method which is the least painful and bloodless way to castrate ram lambs. This tool is used to crush and rupture the spermatic cords which must be done one side at a time. With this technique, the scrotal sac will remain on the animal but the testicles will atrophy with in it.
The first thing to do is to flip the lamb and hold him firmly in a relaxed position. The vet or assistant then pulls down the testicles finding the 2 spermatic cords under the skin.
Once found you separate them so you can do one at a time.
Place the clamp over the spermatic cord one-third of the way down the scrotum.
Always check the position of the spermatic cord before and after each clamping.
Clamp down and hold for 15 to 20 seconds.
Release the clamp, reposition it over the spermatic cord one-half inch lower and repeat the procedure, hold for another 15 to 20 seconds..
When you have crushed spermatic cord twice on the one side you then do the same again on the other side of the scrotum.
The pinching of the Burdizzo Castration Forceps does not draw any blood as you can see from the photos below.
This photograph I took a few minutes later and still no blood.
All 3 ram lambs get an injection of long acting antibiotic as well as some anti inflammatory pain killers. They will feel very sorry for themselves for about 24 hours but should be looking quite themselves by late tomorrow. There might be a bit of swelling in the area of castration but that is to be expected.
