[mariegold]

So this is the most stressful goat week ever!!! My new horrible discovery today- My castrated 2 week old billy was cowering in the shelter, blood all down his legs. Closer inspection (you may wish to stop reading now...) his outer 'ball bag' and castration ring had slipped down exposing his poor red fleshy testicles!!! Ok bad. Rang the vet, made to feel like a hysterical weirdo and told spay it and leave it. Rang again because it appears I am a hysterical weirdo, vet agrees to come out. We try to re-band his exposed bits, it gets worse, said bits are too narrow and now stretched through his kicking and my holding to be ringed so vet ties them off with string and gives antibiotic and pain killer. Vet thinks the hot weather has loosened the band.

Has anyone ever experienced this? Vet told me to keep it sprayed and ring if any further issues develop. What further issues? How could it get any more developed or issuey?

[Dogwalker]

Poor you and poor kid, sounds horrible, but it probably looks worse.
How's he behaving now.
Could another goat have horned him.
I had one last year with a big rip under his belly from a female kid at food time.  Soppy thing sat dosing leaning on me while the vet stitched him.

Did the vet give any antibiotic of pain relief?

I'd have thought flies might be a problem in this weather.  Do you have any crovect or clik you can use or a friendly sheep farmer who has some.

[Anke]

 

I have never heard of anything like that, although I have seen the skin being quite raw underneath once the dried up balls fall off (never on my lambs as I don't catch them very often once out, but on goat kids as I bottle feed and therefore handle them several times a day.)

Let's hope the wee man cheers up soon, and he gets enough milk in the meantime.

I would have actually thought that in this case putting him under and doing a quick surgical castration would have been kinder on him (and safer re healing in this hot weather.), but I am not a vet.

[ballingall]

Oh dear    Sounds horrible, poor him, and you! I have never heard of anything similar either. If he was a little breed, ie Pygmy, I'd say maybe he was banded a bit early, but I thought your goats were a dairy breed as I recall.


Hope he improves quickly.
Beth

[bloomer]

Just the thought of it makes my eyes water my legs cross and I'm wondering if there's an ice pack handy....


Poor wee goaty!

[mariegold]

Hi all,
I was really hoping (selfishly) that some one would say 'oh it happens all the time'.......
The poor little man is up and feeding well this morning but he isn't the crazy bouncy ball of energy he usually is.
I would have loved the vet to do a quick surgical manoeuvre but he wasn't keen, I may need to change vet as he also wasn't keen to come out in the first place and then wasn't keen on writing me a receipt for my medicine book. Weird.
They are dairy goats but maybe I should have waited another 24hrs to ring them.I just hope the tooth floss does the trick!
I am keeping them in today as they are such a close knit group that if I leave him in with mum the others wont go out. Thank the heavens it happens to be pouring with rain today 

[jinglejoys]

Ring em when they are ready not when some paper pusher in the ministry says   

[jaykay]

I happened to have my little fella at the vets, as he'd gone along with mama who needed some blood tests.

So I got the vets to do him. Quick painkilling jag, cut and pull each ball (like they do cats), spray the cut. Over and done in no seconds flat and far less stress for him, and for me, than either the bands or the burdizzo. I'll be getting them to do it again another time.

[Lesley Silvester]

I think I must remember this for next time one of mine has a boy.

[mojocafa]

I had 11 boys, all done as jay Kay described, over and done with no problems,