[rbarlo32]

ok one of the two rams that were castrated by the vet died last night no sign of blood loss. guessing it could have been stress. any ideas.

[robert waddell]

it is a sheep thing 

[Fleecewife]

Could blood loss have been internal?  I would get back on the phone to the vet for an explanation.  What age were the tups?

[Sylvia]

When I asked my vet. to castrate a four year old ram rather than have him destroyed he told me that death due to bleeding would be probable rather than possible. Gladly my ram was able to find a new home.

[kanisha]

Had a two and a half year old ram surgically castrated only a few weeks ago. he was up within hours and I kept him in for a couple of days surgical site was beautifully clean and tidy no swelling or bruising afterwards and this being the fourth adult I've had done this way I have to ask what technique was used?

[rbarlo32]

incision of the sack tying off and removal of testicals wound left open. no noticable blood loss from the wound as it was open i would have expected a lot if one of the blood vessels had ruptured. hes was 6-7 months old looked perfectly healthy before and as it was just a local was mobile afterwards. pity really he was a friendly little chap.

[kanisha]

I am sorry I wonder what the vet has to say. this method was the one I had done once and I swore never again. I found the ram found it very painful. the only complication I can think of is that he got an inguinal hernia as a result of straining

[doganjo]

or shock due to the pain. We were at a first aid course for dogs on Sunday and that was what the trainer insisted on - if an animal is in an accident of any sort ensure pain relief is immediate as it is crucial to survival as much as stopping any bloodflow.

[mmu]

I couldn't agree more!  I was quite shocked when after preforming a very difficult delivery resulting in the lamb having to be cut out and the ewe literally shaking, my vet was quite happy to just give her a shot of anti biotics.  When I asked about painkiller he looked quite surprised, but complied.  I did point out to him that if he was a woman he would know that ordinary childbirth is pretty painful, never mind what that poor ewe had been through.  She did recover, but I gave her several doses of metacam over the next few weeks.  Yes I know! but I don't like to see animals in pain.  I am so sorry you lost your tup, he sounded really cute.

[onnyview]

Is metacam lisenced for sheep? Not sure what painkillers are, but it may have been part of the reason why it was not readily given.

So sorry to hear about your ram, especially as he was so friendly.

Allison

[kanisha]

Not sure its licensed but have heard it used on several times and yes I too get a quizzical look from my vet following a difficult assisted lambing when I request a painkiller  but he's getting used to me now

[VSS]

ok one of the two rams that were castrated by the vet died last night no sign of blood loss. guessing it could have been stress. any ideas.

Could have been completely unrelated - without a post mortem you can only speculate unless there were specific symptoms.

[Hopewell]

Was the ram vaccinated? It is possible that a clostridial infection was the cause of death but as others have said we can only speculate.

[rbarlo32]

thanks folks pretty sure it was not any infection. I agree i would have wanted a whole heap of pain relief..  to late now for a pm.

[NormandyMary]

I know its not rams (and by the way, Im so sorry to hear of your sad loss), but when my baby billy goat Toby was castrated by the same method, he took ages and ages for him to come round from the knock out drops the vet gave him. I have to say though, that both the boys were given antibiotics AND painkillers at the same time so that they didnt have too much discomfort afterwards. Once round (after me crying my eyes out with relief!) both boys were absolutely fine, no bleeding at all. I never want to witness the proceedure again though, the noise alone made me feel quite sick. Im glad that my hubby kept his distance, he would have been in a terrible state!
I dont know much about sheep, but could he perhaps have had a weak heart or something like that? Once again, so sorry for your loss.
Mary.