Banding meat goats

How did you spend your Sunday morning? I got up at 6 a.m. before the heat set in and sorted my purebreds from my little bucks that were destined for the meat market. Those poor market goats had to endure  the application of a thick rubber band around their testicles. They whined, rolled around some, but by the end of the day they were back to normal.


They will be put back in the big pasture with the does to graze the rest of the summer. Come December and January, these little guys will make the ultimate sacrifice to ensure the winter feed bill is paid in a timely manner.


I like to wait until the bucks are at least 3 months old before castrating. This year, I ran a little behind and most of the little fellows are 4 months old or more. Their testicles were bigger than I liked for applying the rubber bands. The whole time I was putting on the bands, I kept thinking "What a waste!" I could have made several meals off those oysters if I had cut them instead of banding them. But I was working by myself -- and it's no easy task to cut a billy while you are trying to hold on to him too.


Not many folks know it, but if you flip a goat over and sit it on its butt, it paralyzes him -- just like a sheep when it is being sheared. You can apply castrator band, trim hoofs or any other unpleasant task. I don't trim hooves like this anymore. I can't bend down that far for too long. Be careful, though. I've had a goat bite me on the back of the leg a couple times.

With the little buck sitting paralyzed on its butt and its head between my legs, I can take my time ap

plying the castrator band.

These guys were a little old for this method, so I had to push the testicles through one at a time. Here goes the first one.

Got the second one through.

All done!