MELTONSTILTON 452 Posted June 17, 2013 Report Share Posted June 17, 2013 When I see this sort of thing, it makes me think, an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, and an ear for an ear might be a good Punishment. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2343128/Cruel-yobs-cut-lambs-EARS-kindly-farmer-saves-pain-cotton-hat.html Quote Link to post Share on other sites
NewBasfordlad 3,599 Posted June 17, 2013 Report Share Posted June 17, 2013 Whilst I agree with you in principle I think ..........nuts and two house bricks may be a better option. Colin Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Beefsteak 305 Posted June 17, 2013 Report Share Posted June 17, 2013 Not condoning it in slightest, but it ain't as bad as the fate that it awaits is it ? And the farmers cut their tails off too !! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
darkazana 1,736 Posted June 17, 2013 Report Share Posted June 17, 2013 Not exactly. They are bound tightly and then fall off. And the reason is a hygiene one to stop them getting nasty infestations when they have woolly coats and the droppings get caught in the wool. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Ayupmeducks 1,730 Posted June 17, 2013 Report Share Posted June 17, 2013 Sheep are apt to get "daggy tails" then fly blown, if the tail isn't docked...ie blow flies lay live lavae in the crap that accumulates, and the poor sheep is literally eaten alive. Not sure how they dock the tails, but assume they use a rubber ring similar to what I used to castrate goat kids with. Cuts off circulation, and the affected appendage drops off in a few days... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Stan 386 Posted June 17, 2013 Report Share Posted June 17, 2013 Thought this may be of interest. Mulesing involves the removal of strips of wool-bearing skin from around the breech (buttocks) of a sheep to prevent flystrike (myiasis). It is a common practice in Australia as a way to reduce the incidence of flystrike, particularly on highly wrinkled Merino sheep. Mulesing is considered by some to be a skilled surgical task though it may be performed by unskilled persons. Mulesing is being phased out in New Zealand. The Australian Wool Innovation (AWI) has pledged to phase out mulesing by 2010,(but it still continues.) Quote Link to post Share on other sites
LizzieM 9,520 Posted June 17, 2013 Report Share Posted June 17, 2013 Dreadful what happened to that poor little lamb, there are some very evil people around. But on the point that Beefy made, we used to have a flock of sheep and when they were born we put an elastic band on their tails which made the tail drop off without causing pain to the animal, and itndidn't hurt them to put the band on either. As Darkazana says, this is for hygiene reasons as their bums can get pretty nasty when flies get to them! The little boys also had their 'goolies' sorted out in the same way. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Stan 386 Posted June 17, 2013 Report Share Posted June 17, 2013 Assume you mean the little boy sheep ,Lizzie M "The little boys also had their 'goolies' sorted out in the same way". Although the other barbaric thing that is used on litttle boys (of the human kind) also totally barbaric. Discuss (as the exam papers used to say! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Ayupmeducks 1,730 Posted June 17, 2013 Report Share Posted June 17, 2013 I used the correct rings for castrating male goat kids when I was breeding them..I still have the "pliers" for applying the rings, which takes practice as the little buggers can and do pull their family jewels up!!!! I don't know about sheep rams, never bred sheep, but goat's, one has to be careful as their urethra is close to the testes and it's very easy to trap it...I used to hang around a few minutes and check they urinated after fitting a ring.... They were uncomfortable for an hour or so, but soon prancing around head butting the other kids.. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Stan 386 Posted June 17, 2013 Report Share Posted June 17, 2013 I assume you are taking the p**s Ayup! "I used to hang around a few minutes and check they urinated after fitting a ring...." Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Ayupmeducks 1,730 Posted June 17, 2013 Report Share Posted June 17, 2013 Nope, deadly serious Stan, like everything with live animals, was always nervous the first time, assisting a doe in "kidding"....Usually in the early hours of the morning, giving a scoury kid, a course of antibiotic shots every few hours....I had one kid who when he saw the hypodermic started screaming...LOL It's only after I'd been a goat breeder that I appreciated what James Herriot went through........Probably why I never went into cattle breeding... I'll dig some photos out of myself and some of the goats I bred and cared for.. I had one doe, she gave birth to a buck kid, I assisted her delivery, God!!!! It was a big kid!!...There's no wonder she bellowed. Another was late going into labour, normally goats have between one and three kids, she had FIVE!! She actually hid two away behind some hay bales.. They do odd things. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
LizzieM 9,520 Posted June 17, 2013 Report Share Posted June 17, 2013 This thread is getting out of hand now! But I just want to mention something which I think is really gross. My husband worked on a farm when he was a boy (child labour but good for money for sweets) The farmer would cut the 'sac' off with a knife and then pull the testicles out with his teeth. It seems that was the way to do it in the olden days. And before you query this comment Stan, I'm talking about the boy lambs, not my husband!!! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
piggy and babs 544 Posted June 17, 2013 Report Share Posted June 17, 2013 yes what happened to the poor little lamb is terable but it will more than likely now lead a closited life as a pet rather than in the fields and end up as meat on our plates. as for the castration and tail docking methods if you think about it very simmilar to how new born babies loose their umbilical codsand get the belly button a clip placed on it befor its cut it dies as no longer any circulation getting through then it drops of in just a few days very realy getting infection in nor do babies appear to be in pain. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Trevor S 2,003 Posted June 17, 2013 Report Share Posted June 17, 2013 The name was Elastrator.....used for both docking and castrating. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Gibbo 04 188 Posted June 17, 2013 Report Share Posted June 17, 2013 My eyes are watering..............................!! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Stan 386 Posted June 17, 2013 Report Share Posted June 17, 2013 So long as Ayup`s goats are after the procedure ! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Ayupmeducks 1,730 Posted June 17, 2013 Report Share Posted June 17, 2013 That's a better set than mine Trev, mine only has three prongs, that four prong one would certainly be a better tool. The rubber rings come in several sizes, depending on what needs docking on what type of animal.....LOL Yeah Gibbo, I felt sorry for them...... Goat bucks with their family jewels do tend to get a tad on the smelly side when the does come into season, and the smell is hard to get out of your clothes. They literally pee on themselves and rub it into their fur... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Compo 10,328 Posted June 17, 2013 Report Share Posted June 17, 2013 The docking and ball rings are still used. When I worked in teh Veterinqary PM room we used to see all sorts of really nasty infections due to incrroexct application of rings. I wonder if teh term "Cuttiing" meaning castrating animals comes from teh farmers cutting teh scrotum and pulling out the testes? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Ayupmeducks 1,730 Posted June 17, 2013 Report Share Posted June 17, 2013 I haven't had goats in over 13 years now Stan, I keep chooks, have a couple of dogs and a cat and one Guinea Fowl, who adopted us a few years back...No idea where he came from. Anything bigger is just too much trouble now at my age. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
LizzieM 9,520 Posted June 17, 2013 Report Share Posted June 17, 2013 Yes that's the thing Trevor. We had one very special ewe who broke her leg when she was going scatty in the field and ran into a harrow which we shouldn't have left there, on hindsight. She broke her leg and we loaded her into the backseat of the car and drove her to the vets, much to the amazement of the staff and other patients in the waiting room! The vet plastered her leg and she went on to have 2 lambs that year and the same for a few years after. They were enjoyable times although as Ayupmeducks mentioned, it was usually in the middle of the night when we had to do the maternity chores, and when that was February and snowy it was tough. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Compo 10,328 Posted June 17, 2013 Report Share Posted June 17, 2013 It's very difficult to get a convivtion froo animall cruelty. We once had a hind in teh PM room. Young lads were seen to sdet dogs onto itand they tore it to bits. Th ePM report confirmed death by dogs and as far as I know they only got a small fine and suspended sentence. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Stan 386 Posted June 17, 2013 Report Share Posted June 17, 2013 Well you have had your knowledge expanded (or curtailed) by todays discussion. Hope you don`t think it is a load of b ******s ! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Ayupmeducks 1,730 Posted June 17, 2013 Report Share Posted June 17, 2013 I must have been lucky Compo, or pretty careful, not one of the bucks I "rubber ringed" suffered any infections or harm... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Ayupmeducks 1,730 Posted June 17, 2013 Report Share Posted June 17, 2013 Where I lived in California, as you were entering Eldorado County, was a huge sign warning dog owners that dogs worrying farm animals were subject to being shot on sight. Around here even the owner of a dog worrying livestock is liable to get shot if he's accompanying the dog.....LOL Last bit is in jest, but a dog worrying livestock does die from lead poisoning!!!!! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Trevor S 2,003 Posted June 17, 2013 Report Share Posted June 17, 2013 Just a note on early castration methods or gelding. As a youngster, remember watching the piglets castrated. Was a two man job whereby the labourer held the piglet up in the air by the hind legs, my father, armed with a large clasp knife that he frequently sharpened on a whetstone, would grasp the sac between his fingers, slice the sac and in one motion lift the testicles and cut the attachments. He would then swab the open wound with a tincture of antiseptic or similar and the piglet would be put back in the pen and the next one taken out. My father had that knife he used for castrating for a number of years after he got out of pigs and I can still see it, black handled and the blade worn concave in shape due to all the sharpening. That was the normal practice back then and was not deemed cruel and whilst the piglets screamed like hell, they were screaming from the moment they were picked up until the moment they were released again. After release, back to normal. What was cruel was my father having to put down his entire pig herd, boars, sows and litters and burning the wooden pig arks because of an outbreak of foot and mouth disease. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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