Presentation given at Future Harvest CASA Conference, January 18, 2019, in College Park, Maryland.

1. WETHER OR NOT
SUSAN SCHOENIAN
Sheep & Goat Specialist
University of Maryland Extension
sschoen@umd.edu – sheepandgoat.com

2. WHAT IS A WETHER?
A castrated male sheep or goat

3. WHAT IS CASTRATION?
Removal or destruction of the testicles of the male

4. WHY CASTRATE?
• Prevent indiscriminate breeding
• To eliminate undesirable behavior
and/or odor of intact male
• For ease of management
• For show
• Ease of shearing, crutching
• Better hygiene
• Improve meat quality
• Market preference
• Ease of processing
• Tradition

5. WHY NOT CASTRATE?
• Males grow faster and produce
heavier, leaner carcasses.
• Castration is a painful procedure that
has risks associated with it.
• Some producers want to see how
males grow out before making
selection decisions.
• Some markets prefer an intact male.

6. BEST MANAGEMENT
PRACTICES FOR
CASTRATION

7. TOOLS FOR CASTRATION
Elastrator
Ringer
Bander
Callicrate Bander™
Burdizzo (Baby)
Emasculatome
(clamp, crush)
Band, crush, or cut!
“SURGICAL”
Scalpel or knife
All-in-one tool
Emasculator

8. METHODS OF CASTRATION
ELASTRATOR
BANDER
• Bloodless method
• Band is placed above
both testicles, around
the spermatic cords.
• The tight band cuts
off blood supply to
the testicles, causing
them to atrophy and
fall off.
• Greatest tetanus risk
BURDIZZO (BABY)
EMASCULATOME
• Bloodless method
• A clamp is used to
crush both
spermatic cords;
one cord at a time.
• Testicles shrink and
disappear in a
couple of months.
• Requires most skill.
SURGICAL
(KNIFE, SCALPEL)
• Cut lower one-third of scrotum off,
remove testicles, and allow wound
to drain and heal naturally.
• Can use all-in-one tool to cut
scrotum and pull testicles out.
• Risk of bleeding, infection, and fly
strike.
Band, crush, or cut!
EMASCULATOR
• Use to cut and crush cords.

9. AGE TO CASTRATE
• Generally, as early as possible, but not
too early (< 24 hours) as to interfere with
colostrum intake and bonding.
• Ideally, 1-10 days of age, especially if
banding (with elastrator).
• Can do later if clamping (w/Burdizzo)
• Should perform all methods before 12
weeks of age.
• Callicrate Bander™ has been advocated
for delayed castration.

10. WILL EARLY CASTRATION PREDISPOSE
LAMBS/KIDS TO URINARY CALCULI?
• Urinary calculi, commonly called “water belly” (or
kidney stones) is a urinary tract blockage in
ruminants.
• Urinary calculi is almost always the result of
improper feeding, caused primarily by feeding too
much phosphorus (compared to calcium) in the diet
(ratio Ca:P should be >2.1).
• Urinary calculi is caused mostly by high grain-low
roughage diets.
• Inadequate water consumption is another causative
factor.
• Ammonium chloride can be added to the feed as a
preventative.

11. CASTRATING OLDER ANIMALS
• Early-castrated males are at greater risk for
urinary calculi because their urethras do not
develop as fully as intact males.
• It may be advisable to castrate later, if males will
be kept or sold as pets.
• The Burdizzo is preferred for older lambs/kids.
• The Callicrate Bander™ has been advocated for
delayed castration.
• It is best not to castrate mature males.

12. ANIMAL WELFARE CONSIDERATIONS
• Surgical castration is the most painful method of castration.
• Clamping is less painful than banding.
• Clamping + banding may be the most humane method of castration.
• High tension bands (using Callicrate Bander™) may be a more humane
method of banding, especially older lambs/kids.
• Banding larger scrotums may cause more inflammation.
• Local anesthetics (e.g. lidocaine) and NSAIDs can reduce pain (Rx).
• Animals older than 3 months of age should be castrated by a
veterinarian.
• Regardless of method, protection from tetanus is recommended.

13. AN ALTERNATIVE TO CASTRATION
SHORT-SCROTUM “CASTRATION”
• What is it?
Removal of scrotum with band ,while leaving both testicles
close to or in the inguinal canal (as in a cryptorchid).
• Why do it?
Removal of scrotum prevents thermoregulation of the
testicles less than body temperature, thus rendering the
process of spermatogenesis ineffective (i.e. sterility).
• Yet
Testosterone secretion from testicles allows superior
growth and carcass composition of male.
• And
Short-scrotum castration is a less painful procedure;
therefore improved animal welfare is improved.

14. INTACT MALE
NO CASTRATION
WETHER
CASTRATION
SHORT SCROTUM
CASTRATION
Elastrator band

15. COMPARISON
INTACT MALE
• Superior growth
• Heavier carcass
• Leaner carcass
• Breeding risk
• Undesirable
behavior/odor
• Processing issues
WETHER
• No (low) breeding risk
• Ease of management
• Meat quality (?)
• Slower growth
• Lighter carcass
• Fatter carcass
• Painful procedure
(welfare)
SHORT
SCROTUM

16. 2018 COMPARISON STUDY OF INTACT,
WETHER, AND SHORT-SCROTUM RAMS
• University of Maryland’sWestern
Maryland Research & Education
Center (WMREC) in Keedysville.
• 60 lambs from a Maryland farm
Averaged 57 lbs. and 81 days of age
19 intact, 25 wether, 17 short-scrotum
• 110 days: April 26-August 13
• Pastured-raised
Cool and warm season grasses
Annual and perennial grasses
Supplemental feeding (2x day) East Freisian x Lacaune (dairy)
Schoenian, S., Semler, J., Gordon, D., Bennett, M., Wildeus, S., O’Brien, D.,Travis, A., and C. Anderson

17. RESEARCH PROTOCOL
• Lambs were weighed bi-weekly to
determine body weights and
deworming need.
• Towards end of project, lambs were
scanned to determine ultrasound rib
eye measurements.
• Towards end of project, lambs were
evaluated to determine reproductive
characteristics.
• All lambs were slaughtered to collect
carcass data and specimens
(testicles).
No lambs required deworming in 2018.

18. SHORT-SCROTUM RAMS GREW
FASTER THAN WETHER LAMBS
Almost 14% increase in ADG compared to wethers

19. SHORT-SCROTUM RAMS WERE THE
HEAVIEST AT THE END OF THE STUDY
An increase in value of $16.06 per lamb
(7.3 lbs. x $2.20/lb.)

20. SHORT SCROTUM LAMBS
PRODUCED LEANER CARCASSES

21. EVALUATING REPRODUCTIVE TRAITS
• A blood sample was collected from
each lamb (to look at testosterone
levels [results pending]).
• At slaughter, testicle pairs were
collected from five intact ram lambs
and five short-scrotum lambs.
• Towards end of study, each lamb was
put in a pen with two ewes (in
estrus/heat) to evaluate libido
(reproductive behavior).
• Semen was collected from five ram
lambs and five short-scrotum lambs.

22. SHORT-
SCROTUM
RAMS HAD
SIGNIFICANTLY
SMALLER
TESTICLES

23. SHORT-
SCROTUM
RAMS HAD
SIMILAR
SEXUAL
BEHAVIOR
(LIBIDO) AS
RAM LAMBS

24. SHORT-SCROTUM RAMS WERE STERILE.
INTACT RAM LAMBS SHORT-SCROTUM RAMS

25. CONCLUSIONS
• Results were similar to other studies in
which short-scrotum lambs grew faster
than wether lambs and produced leaner
carcasses.
• Results were similar to other studies in
which short-scrotum lambs had smaller
testicles, but displayed similar sexual
behavior as ram lambs.
• While some studies have found low
fertility in short-scrotum lambs, our
study determined the short-scrotum
rams to be infertile.

26. DISCUSSION
• Short-scrotum castration may be a viable alternative
for some sheep (and goat) producers.
• It is a means of preserving the superior growth and
carcass composition of the intact male, while
minimizing many of the negative aspects of males.
• Performing the short-scrotum castration procedure at
an early age may increase the probability of sterility
(short scrotum rams would make suitable “teasers”)
• Male behavior, characteristic to even short-scrotum
males, may be minimized in a free range environment.
• The study will be repeated in 2019 to see if the results
are repeatable.

27. WETHER OR NOT
RAM
• Early-born
• Winter-born
• Early weaned
• Creep fed
• Pen-raised
• Marketed at young age
• Market preference
• Can separate on farm
WETHER
• Late-born
• Spring-born
• Pasture-raised
• Late weaned
• Marketed at older age
• Market preference
• Can’t separate on farm
(or don’t want to)
SHORT-SCROTUM
• Gain benefits of
ram lambs, without
some of the
management
hassles.

28. SMALL RUMINANTS
@ WMREC
• Lambs from the research project were sold to University of
Maryland Dining Services in 2018.The meat was served to
students and faculty in the dining halls and featured at the
university’s fall Harvest Festival, which highlighted local,
sustainable food.The university has committed to buying
the 2019 lambs.
• The project includes two youth programs: 4-H Small
Ruminant ResearchAcademy and 4-H Entrepreneurship
Program (pelt project; first year).
• The research program will be featured at theTwilightTour &
Tasting to be heldWednesday, June 19, 2019, at the
WashingtonCounty Agricultural Education Center.
• To learn more, visit the blog @
https://wmrecrearch.blogspot.com

29. Thank you for
your attention.
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