Elastration
{{Short description|Bloodless method of male castration and docking commonly used for livestock}}
Elastration (a portmanteau of "elastic" and "castration") is a bloodless method of male castration and docking commonly used for livestock. Elastration is simply banding the body part (scrotum or tail) until it drops off. This method is favored for its simplicity, low cost, and minimal training requirements.
Castration
Elastration is the most common method used to castrate sheep and goats,[https://web.archive.org/web/20010209142936/http://pipevet.com/articles/Baby_Lamb_Processing.htm Baby Lamb Processing] but is also common in cattle.{{Cite web |url=http://www.thecattlemanmagazine.com/issues/2003/1003/SoonerBetter.asp |title=Cattleman Article |access-date=2007-12-19 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061110095152/http://www.thecattlemanmagazine.com/issues/2003/1003/SoonerBetter.asp |archive-date=2006-11-10 |url-status=dead }}
=Procedure=
Elastration involves restraining the animal, without the need for anesthesia or sedation (unlike most other castration methods), in a position that provides access to the genitals. Special elastrator pliers are then used to place a tight latex (rubber) elastrator ring gently around the base of the scrotum.*{{cite book
| last = Cottle
| first = D.J.
| title = Australian Sheep and Wool Handbook
| publisher = Inkata Press
| year = 1991
| location = Melbourne, Australia
| pages = 20–23
| isbn = 978-0-909605-60-5 }}
This cuts the blood supply to the scrotum and testicles, which will totally decay and slough off within a few weeks.http://animals.pawnation.com/billy-goats-smell-bad-3344.html#Wethering {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141223103812/http://animals.pawnation.com/billy-goats-smell-bad-3344.html#Wethering |date=2014-12-23 }} Why Do Billy Goats Smell So Bad? Care must be taken during the procedure to ensure that both testicles are fully descended and properly located inside the scrotum, and that the animal's nipples are not included within the ring. Elastration is normally limited to castrations done during the first few weeks of life, and it cannot be used for species where the scrotum does not have a narrow base, such as pigs or horses. It is commonly recommended to not use this method on goats until they are 8 weeks or older. This is due to possible complications that could occur later in life like urinary calculi. Goats that are banded during the first month of age are most at risk.{{Cite web |url=http://www.ansc.purdue.edu/SP/MG/Documents/SLIDES/Urinary%20calculi.pdf |title=Archived copy |access-date=2017-01-18 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170712143428/http://www.ansc.purdue.edu/SP/MG/Documents/SLIDES/Urinary%20calculi.pdf |archive-date=2017-07-12 |url-status=dead }}
=Possible complications=
The country of Lithuania has banned the practice due to their belief that the procedure is inhumane.{{Cite web|url=https://www.wageningenUR.nl/en/livestockresearch|title=Initiatives to reduce mutilations in EU livestock production|last=Spoolder|first=Hans|date=March 2016|website=|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=}}{{Dead link|date=March 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} There is some evidence that elastration is more painful if carried out on older animals,[http://www.thebeefsite.com/articles/909/effects-of-age-and-method-of-castration-on-performance-and-stress-response-of-beef-cattle Hajiba Zaaboul, Effects of Age and Method of Castration on Performance and Stress Response of Beef Cattle, Ag-Info Centre, Alberta Agriculture and Food.] although much of the immediate pain of application can be prevented by injection of local anaesthesia into the scrotal neck and testicles.{{cite journal|last=Dinniss|first=AS|author2=Mellor, DJ |author3=Stafford, KJ |author4=Bruce, RA |author5= Ward, RN |title=Acute cortisol responses of lambs to castration using a rubber ring and/or a castration clamp with or without local anaesthetic.|journal=New Zealand Veterinary Journal|date=Jun 1997|volume=45|issue=3|pages=114–21|pmid=16031965|doi=10.1080/00480169.1997.36005}} Practitioners usually try to elastrate as soon as possible, once the testicles have descended, to reduce the amount of dead tissue, infection, and accompanying complications. However, with some animals such as goats, castrating too early increases the frequency of kidney stones and urinary problems due to reduced size of the urethra, so elastration may be postponed.Fiasco Farms. Goat Health & Husbandry. [http://fiascofarm.com/goats/buck-wether-info.htm#Banding Male Goat Information: Bucks & Wethers]. Retrieved 6 October 2008. If bull calves are castrated within the first one or two days the testes may sometimes be small and soft enough to be drawn up through the ring, and they continue to develop above the scrotum – surgical castration then becomes necessary.
Improper use of banding can result in death and charges of cruelty.Three from Wisconsin Dells charged in bungled kitten castration [https://lacrossetribune.com/news/state-and-regional/wi/three-from-wisconsin-dells-charged-in-bungled-kitten-castration/article_eeff845b-4fa9-5534-8fa9-20c93892f41f.html#1]
Docking
File:Two lambs rubber ring tail docking, cropped.jpg
Image:Elastration Lambs Tail.jpg
The same tool and rings are also used to dock the tails of many breeds of sheep, to prevent dung building up on the tails (which can lead to fly strike). This is usually done at the same time as castration of the ram lambs.
It is also called sheep marking in Australia and signaling in Argentina and Uruguay due to being done at the same time as the "signaling" or marking of the lambs' ears. La Señalada, Manejo, Secretariado Uruguayo de la Lana[https://www.sul.org.uy/descargas/des/10-Manejo.pdf]
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See also
{{Portal|Agriculture and agronomy}}