Carol, Good advice on the elastic bands being replaced. They do dry out over time. As long as the testicles have descended into the scrotum you can go ahead and castrate. Usually happens at about 10 days of age. We band at about 30 days of age. I HIGHLY recommend you have another set of hands to help you, the elasticator has so much tension it's almost impossible to hold it in one hand and try to pull the scrotum down at the same time. Leave some space between the belly, too, otherwise you are left with a big wound.Just pull down on the scrotum, making sure both testicles are down too, and put the band as close to the testicles as possible. That way you have the space mentioned above between the band and the belly.He will jump around and act like he's in a lot of pain but that passes pretty quickly. You can also dip the band in iodine to prevent infection.
Dayna Denmark Half Ass Acres _______________________________________________ This message is from the Blackbelly mailing list Visit the list's homepage at %http://www.blackbellysheep.info
