WETHERING

To WETHER a goat is to castrate a male goat. The goat is then called a wether. Wethers are widely used for pets and pack animals and more recently are used in herds to clear unwanted weeds from river banks. I actually just sold a wether that has gone to a weed eating herd.

There is a variety of ways to wether a goat. The two most common ways are cutting and banding.

1. CUTTING is just as it implies. A cutting tool is used to open the goat's scrotum and cut out the testicles. Quick and easy but leaves the goat vunerable to infection.
2. BANDING is the use of an elastrator. A very tight, very small but thick rubber band is placed over the scrotum, above the testies. The scrotum and the testies subsequently necrous and fall off (...yes Alan, it is awful...).

Banding is the method I use to wether my goats. There are many articles for and against wethering goats. Of these, I have found an article which describes the process and the risks and benefits pretty simply, (sorry, no pics).