[twizzel]

We bought some store lambs a few weeks ago that should in theory be ready to kill at the end of October. 1 is a entire ram lamb, the rest are ewe lambs. They are over 3 months old now, can anyone tell me when the ram lamb would need to be gone by i.e. before he became sexually mature? We would have banded it as with all the others if it was with us from day1. Can the vet castrate him? The vet is coming out to the farm in a couple of weeks to look at a calf...
I could keep him with some castrated male lambs we have however they will be all gone to slaughter by September and he definitely won't be ready by then. He's not mounting the ewes at the moment. Help?!

[Backinwellies]

Quote:    Under the Veterinary Surgeons Act 1966, as amended, only a veterinary surgeon may castrate a lamb which has reached the age of three months.

[twizzel]

Yes I know that hence why I said they were over 3 months. I was wondering more if the vet would be able to clamp them or would have to sedate etc and cut. Think I'll pull him in when the vet is on the farm again in a couple of weeks and see what he thinks....

[Brucklay]

I had a ram lamb done at the vets last year - asked the rough cost before sale agreed told under £20 - actual bill over £40 - the vet can do it but I will ask for a more accurate costing next time - live and learn!!

[fiestyredhead331]

our vet did an open castration on an older lamb for us this year, he had been ringed but it hadn't worked. whole thing was very simple, vet gave him a mild sedative, small incision, testicles out and off followed by antibiotic and anti inflammatory, all while in the field. wasn't expensive and more reliable than using those scary looking clamp things.

[funkyfish]

I had to have one of mine done at the vets- he was only 3 weeks old, but same procedure- one bolly was out of the ring so local and incision and a couple of dissolvable stitches. I'm sure he may need a touch of sedative as holding a baby lamb is easier than a big lamb!

[Bramblecot]

We bought store lambs and were assured the rams had been castrated using the clamp thing (Burdizzo?).  I kept back 4 ewe lambs  and next Spring - yep, they all lambed .  So glad I did not send them on.  I would go with the vet especially as he/she  is coming to the farm anyway.

[cumbriandan]

our vet did an open castration on an older lamb for us this year, he had been ringed but it hadn't worked. whole thing was very simple, vet gave him a mild sedative, small incision, testicles out and off followed by antibiotic and anti inflammatory, all while in the field. wasn't expensive and more reliable than using those scary looking clamp things.

"Those scary looking clamp things" are very reliable when used correctly (just put a piece of string in a paper bag and see what happens), and are sold in most agricultural suppliers. A lot of farmers are moving away from ringing and towards late castration to reduce shepherding time at birth, and improve growth rates.
They are obviously not paying £40 per head to castrate hundreds of fat lambs that can be worth as little as £45 at the mart !!

[fiestyredhead331]

all things work when "used correctly" cumbriandan but unless the operator know what they're doing they could end up severing the urethra and killing the lamb. Very few people up here use them anymore, opting to ring as most are ringing the tails anyway so it really isn't adding any time on. each to their own, I personally wouldn't use a burdizzo but I can understand why those with larger numbers to do might.

[shygirl]

all things work when "used correctly" cumbriandan but unless the operator know what they're doing they could end up severing the urethra and killing the lamb. Very few people up here use them anymore, opting to ring as most are ringing the tails anyway so it really isn't adding any time on. each to their own, I personally wouldn't use a burdizzo but I can understand why those with larger numbers to do might.

you can also trap the urethra when using rings if you do it too tight..
its all down to training.
we ring but got our vet to show us exactly how.

[cumbriandan]

All I was trying to say "fiestyredhead" was that Burdizzo's do work when you know what you are doing! if you don't then don't use them !!

We use rings ourselves, and burdizzo anything that has been missed, (long before 3 months) as you will have had your lambs in several times before 12 weeks. We have never had a problem with burdizzos not working.

In the system I mentioned before you would not ring tails either, and do all of this together in one go (at one of the routine drenching/vaccination times) in the first 12 weeks, hence saving time at lambing. Obviously this is not appropriate to the OP.

[Marches Farmer]

We separate out ram lambs at 16 weeks and they go for slaughter at around 28-30 weeks - uncastrated and grass fed.

[shygirl]

at what age is it dangerous to castrate entire rams? iv heard they can die if castrated when they are older.

[twizzel]

Great thanks guys. Will go with general consensus and pull him in for the vet to see when s/he comes next week.
I can't separate him as all of our wethers will be gone by September and he's going to take a lot longer to finish (probably mid October to November), so castrating will put my mind at ease. He's not being trouble at the moment, but I don't want the ewe lambs that he came with in lamb as they are quite small.

[Alicenz]

Shygirl, i had two rams turn up on my property they came through the forest and were about eight months to a year old.  I had another two that had not been properly desexed with rubber rings.  I got them all castrated by the vet - took them to the clinic, but at that age was full anaesthetic, heavy painkillers and sad boys for a number of days.  It was like a dog being speyed - quit tough on them. But worth it they all got through fine.  They had all been getting pretty rough, i was a bit worried about them behind me, and that all stopped, and now they are the gentlest sheep ever.  Another was done at about four months, local anesthetic, antibiotics and painkillers much less traumatic at that age, but only can be done by a vet.