Gelded the Donkeys today

gsganzer · Sep 22, 2009

Well both of my mini-donkey jacks are now a little lighter on their hooves. The vet stopped by today and we castrated both of them. It only took about 20 minutes per donkey. I've worked with cattle and seen the way they're typically done, donkeys are very vascular in that area, so they're done a little differently then a cow or horse.

It was pretty interesting to watch, although I found I was crossing my legs a bunch

. (I'm doing it again as I type this

) First he'd give one a sedative that would make him relax and droop his head. Then he'd give them a second shot that would make them wobble, drop and pretty much go unconcious. We'd cover their eyes with a wet cloth and then tie one of the hind legs up to the fence (open the legs) so he could work.

Next he's cut the the scrotum open and then pull each testical free, stitch it off in two places and then cut each teste free. He loosely sewed (to permit drainage) the scrotum back up together and then gave them a couple of other shots (antibiotic, tetanus) and spayed some wound care over the area.

After about another ten minutes, they'd start to wake up and then get up and stagger around like drunken sailors for a while. Everything went real well and seemed like it was very low stress and little trauma for them.

Fortunately, it's raining this afternoon, so both of the donkeys decided to retire to the loafing shed for a much deserved nap. I'll check up on them every couple of hours to make sure they're doing well.

Scooby074 · Sep 22, 2009

Poor donkey... he must be going nuts

i think Mike Rowe Gelded a horse once.. As a guy, that one was a little hard to watch. didnt he geld some sheep with a pocket knife and his teeth

that one was pretty nasty too.

heehaw · Sep 22, 2009

how old are your ex-jacks? we got rid of our jack last year: we were having a rash of baby jacks born, an couldn't sell them: but still had the worry and sometimes hassle of having babies born. finally gave them away, but it wasn't always easy to find a taker.
heehaw

dmccarty · Sep 22, 2009

I remember the show were they did the castration with his teeth.

I think it was on No Reservations or Bizarre Foods where they were in South America, Argentina maybe, and they were castrating bulls. They kept the "oysters" in a bucket. The shows host and his guide were kinda hopping around with crossed legs watching the work being done.

Eventually they cut up the oysters and fried them on an old disc. They looked good once they were cooked.

The fresh, raw lamb blood with citrus juice was another matter.

Later,
Dan

jayste · Sep 22, 2009

gsganzer said:
Well both of my mini-donkey jacks are now a little lighter on their hooves. The vet stopped by today and we castrated both of them. It only took about 20 minutes per donkey. I've worked with cattle and seen the way they're typically done, donkeys are very vascular in that area, so they're done a little differently then a cow or horse.

It was pretty interesting to watch, although I found I was crossing my legs a bunch . (I'm doing it again as I type this) First he'd give one a sedative that would make him relax and droop his head. Then he'd give them a second shot that would make them wobble, drop and pretty much go unconcious. We'd cover their eyes with a wet cloth and then tie one of the hind legs up to the fence (open the legs) so he could work.

Next he's cut the the scrotum open and then pull each testical free, stitch it off in two places and then cut each teste free. He loosely sewed (to permit drainage) the scrotum back up together and then gave them a couple of other shots (antibiotic, tetanus) and spayed some wound care over the area.

After about another ten minutes, they'd start to wake up and then get up and stagger around like drunken sailors for a while. Everything went real well and seemed like it was very low stress and little trauma for them.

Fortunately, it's raining this afternoon, so both of the donkeys decided to retire to the loafing shed for a much deserved nap. I'll check up on them every couple of hours to make sure they're doing well.

Sounds pretty "dead nuts on" with what I've seen myself!

Sorry, couldn't resist!

Jay

Redbug · Sep 22, 2009

Hey Jay...And I was going to say..."you guys are Nuts"...

gsganzer · Sep 22, 2009

heehaw said:
how old are your ex-jacks? we got rid of our jack last year: we were having a rash of baby jacks born, an couldn't sell them: but still had the worry and sometimes hassle of having babies born. finally gave them away, but it wasn't always easy to find a taker.
heehaw

Heehaw,
Our jacks were 11months and 12 months old. Everyone that has jacks told me to geld them as soon as possible, so they don't pick up jacka$$ traits and habits. I've been checking them periodically to see if they dropped enough and finally decided the time was right. Supposedly, they'll drop between 9- 12 months. The vet said the timing was perfect.

thatguy · Sep 22, 2009

thank you for NOT posting pictures.. LOL

brian

gsganzer · Sep 22, 2009

thatguy said:
thank you for NOT posting pictures.. LOL

brian

marimus · Sep 23, 2009

You guys are kinda squeemish aren't ya

Redbug · Sep 23, 2009

One question, (seriously for once), I have seen the thick rubber bands that are used on pigs that do the same thing but with less effort used. It constricts blood flow and the appendage dies off. How come you don't use something like that or just tie them off with surgical tubing or the like? It seems doing the surgery part would increase the odds of infection?

Tororider · Sep 24, 2009

When I was in college taking riding lessons for a gym credit I saw a horse castrated. Horse didn't seem to feel any pain at all. It seemed to me that they used something akin to a tree lopper to make the cut. I still remember the sound.

JESSE1 · Sep 24, 2009

I think the instrument they use is called an emasculator. As it makes the cut it crushes the blood vessels so there won't be as much bleeding. The wound has to drain to prevent swelling.

kthompson · Sep 24, 2009

Redbug said:
One question, (seriously for once), I have seen the thick rubber bands that are used on pigs that do the same thing but with less effort used. It constricts blood flow and the appendage dies off. How come you don't use something like that or just tie them off with surgical tubing or the like? It seems doing the surgery part would increase the odds of infection?

When did the bands for pigs come along? My Daddy raised pigs and when he died I was 16. Guess why we quit with pigs. Got the ones we had taken care of and sold off the small operation we had. When I found out about bands for cattle thought that seems OK, but never knew they were out there for pigs.

Not enough reason to go back to pigs. Just in case you ever are hired to solve the dessert problem, pigs can make mud holes anywhere.

Scooby074 · Sep 24, 2009

JESSE1 said:
emasculator

Indeed. No false advertising there.

J35 · Sep 24, 2009

kthompson said:
When did the bands for pigs come along? My Daddy raised pigs and when he died I was 16. Guess why we quit with pigs. Got the ones we had taken care of and sold off the small operation we had. When I found out about bands for cattle thought that seems OK, but never knew they were out there for pigs.

Not enough reason to go back to pigs. Just in case you ever are hired to solve the dessert problem, pigs can make mud holes anywhere.

Not sure how long the bands have been out or if they work for pigs, but we have been using them on lambs for around 12 -15 years not only for castration but also for docking tails, no blood ,no flies, minor discomfort for a couple minutes.

24 years ago my wife bottle raised a colt, when it was about 1 year old she had the vet out to geld it, she also had a young tom cat so when the vet was there I had him do the cat at the same time. The cat used up his nine lives last year but the Gelding is still going strong.

Have fun

jfox · Sep 30, 2009

It would be easier for the squemish guys if you just pretend it is someone who owes you serious money!!!!

Taylortractornut · Oct 1, 2009

I worked with an old man that didnt say much. We made good friends and I was running a dozer for him on his farm. His grandaughter was over there and her cocky boy friend was over there with her. While she was inside Mr. Billy was preparing to denert a wild horse. I could tell the boy was acting like he was better than the two of us and was cutting Mr. Billy off when he was giving the talk about how and what he expected the behavior of the boy to his grandaughter. The horse was i n a squeeze and had been banded a bit eariler. The date didnt ask what was going on about the time he told Mr. Billy what woud he do about it anyway about that time Mr. Billy reached in and took a swipe with his sharp knife and handed the boy the oyster sack. He was pale faced and every thing was yes sir no sir and I ll have her home around 8. Or we could just take You and Mrs. Billy out to dinner with us. I almost died when I saw that.