Castration is an important part of beef production and animal welfare. Castration improves meat quality. It reduces fighting, which helps prevent animal injury. Additionally, steers are much easier to manage and are less destructive to facilities than bulls.
Castration of male calves that will not be used for breeding purposes should be done as early as possible. Stress and bleeding increase as calves get older and testicles increase in size. Calves should be castrated before they are 300 pounds or 3 months old. If desired, calves can be castrated within a day or two of birth. Delaying castration does not result in increased muscle expression or bone mass. Additionally, testicular testosterone production doesn’t start to increase until about 6 months old.
Steer calves are also more valuable than bull calves. For example, if steer calves weighing 500 pounds bring $5 to $8 per hundredweight (cwt) more than the same-quality bull calves, that is an extra $25 to $40 per head. Even if it cost $10 per head to pay someone to castrate, that would be a good investment. The discount for bull calves will vary depending on the size of the calf, the time of year and the marketing location. The discount for bulls generally increases as calves increase in weight. To capture the value of steer calves, it is important to market them in preconditioned calf sales, load lots or in sales with lots of other steers.
Common methods for castration include knife cutting, latex bands and latex tubing. The choice of method depends on personal preference, size of calf and marketing considerations. Some buyers prefer knife cutting over banding. The preference for knife cutting is because bands can be applied incorrectly, resulting in the removal of only one testicle. The other testicle remains in the body and is much harder to remove later. Unfortunately, this happens more than many realize. If bands are used, it is critical to make sure both testicles are below the band and will be removed.
Bands should be kept out of sunlight, and old bands should be replaced to decrease the chance of them breaking. The chance for tetanus increases with the use of bands, so tetanus vaccine should be considered, especially for older calves.
Currently, there are no drugs labeled for pain management after castration. However, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs like meloxicam can be used under the direction of a veterinarian.
