Castration
What advantages are there if I castrate my
llama?
For the llama, there are a number of advantages:
- reduced overall tension
- greater social opportunities
- lack of sexual frustration
- markedly fewer injuries when kept with other
llamas
For you, the human, there are even more advantages:
- much fewer injuries to llamas and, of course,
less associated expenses
- delayed canine eruption and reduced canine
growth, requiring only a single cutting in early adulthood; also
reduces risk of canine root infection to virtually none
- ease of handling and training
- increased safety for humans
- ability to keep the gelding with a wider
variety of llamas
- uneventful or much less eventful introductions
into any new herd
Are there any disadvantages to castrating
my llama?
Obviously you will no longer be able to use
that llama for breeding. If you aren't sure whether a particular
llama is breeding quality or at what time you can determine this,
you can be sure of one thing -- you don't have the necessary
knowledge to breed him responsibly at this point in time. If
you are seriously considering breeding llamas later, pay to have
several knowledgable breeders (who breed llamas for the use you
are interested in) evaluate the llama and/or pay for a videotape
evaluation. (Be cautious of breeders who sell you a young
male and retain breeding rights -- this is a common ploy to drive
the price up. If the youngster were in fact that good, they would
be keeping him.)
If a llama is very young, castration may put
him at risk for subsequent abnormal skeletal development. This
risk has passed by 12 months.
If a particular llama is currently in ill
health, castration is not advised until the llama has recovered.
If a particular llama has a physical defect
that makes sedation risky, you and your veterinarian will have
to weigh the benefits of castration (and positive birth control)
against the risks to that individual llama. The answers will
be different from animal to animal.
All sedation carries some risk. If your veterinarian
is knowledgable, and especially if you have an accurate current
weight for the llama, the risks are very small.
What age is best for castration?
After
initial epiphyseal changes have occured at around 12 months and
before puberty -- at 16-20 months. We currently
recommend 15 months unless:
- the particular llama is starting to act like
a stud or a hormone-crazed teenager in general (in which case
we recommend castrating immediately)
- the particular llama has undergone a period
of malnutrition or illness (in which case we recommend delaying
castration for as long as the period of compromise lasted, or
until the llama shows initial signs of hitting puberty).
Two studies addressing castration age have
been undertaken. One (our own) is still ongoing, the other was
an outgrowth of a basic nutritional trial. The nutrition trial
involved intact males and llamas castrated before 8 months. Misinterpretation
of that trial has led to adament reactions against any castration
prior to two, three or even four years, claiming that castration
prior to those times causes certain conformational and soundness
flaws ("post legs" and "dropped pasterns")
and subsequent breakdown. Our own ongoing study has instead shown
that castration prior to two years is highly desirable for management
reasons (later castration results in a llama who must be managed
much as if he were still intact), and that castration after
initial epiphyseal changes does not cause the named flaws
nor early unsoundness.
What if my llama is too young to castrate,
but is starting to act up?
The first order of business is to define "acting
up." This includes:
- increased interest in smelling females or
other llamas over or through the fence (this does NOT include
sniffing llamas where an udder might be found -- that's insecurity!)
- challenging, charging, or bumping older males
and geldings
- increased fighting (often with increased
screaming)
- attempting to mount or breed gelded and intact
pasturemates
- shortened attention span during human-llama
interactions
- challenging human requests or challenging
human "rights" to gates, dung piles, and food
These changes can be difficult to identify
-- they may creep up on you without you being aware. However,
if you perceive a marked increase in some or all of these behaviors
prior to 18 months, you can be certain that you have an early
maturer on your hands. Hypersexual male crias frequently fall
into this category.
There are some less-common behaviors to look
for as well:
- masturbating, usually on the ground
- snorting at humans, particularly from high
ground, a shelter, or upon approach
- spitting at humans (both to gain something
obvious or a sudden, unexplained onset)
- bumping or charging humans
- attempting to block human movement by standing
in the way
These behaviors not only indicate that castration
without delay is necessary if you hope to recover the llama's
former good temperament, but they also indicate that the llama
is mentally and/or physically abnormal and not suitable for breeding,
no matter how fine the animal may otherwise appear. These undesirable
(and in some cases, dangerous) traits are definitely inherited,
even though unknowledgeable handling does make them worse than
they otherwise might be.
All normal young male crias go through a period
in which they attempt to breed cooperative female pasturemates.
(Although this is referred to as "play breeding" by
many pollyanna owners, the young males are in fact dead serious,
and pregnancy can result in some unusual circumstances with crias
as young as 6 months of age later proven to be the "mystery
father.") Normal male crias may attempt to breed females
several times a day for a month or so with interest gradually
declining rather than increasing.
Abnormal (hypersexual) male crias may begin
serious breeding attempts as young as one to four weeks of age
and soon consider this their only worthwhile activity whenever
their stomaches are full. Hypersexual male crias should be separated
from open females, including crias, as early as is practical
and certainly by the age of five months. However, these crias
are not ready to castrate despite their abnormally
precocious and persistant sexual behavior.
What if my llama is past puberty -- will
castration still help him?
You bet it will. It will just take longer
for the changes to take place, and some of his habits will be
permanently ingrained (such as the desire to breed females, immature
llamas, and other smaller, vulnerable species). However, we have
yet to see any llama who did not improve substantially after
castration -- including males as old as 17 years who had previously
been used extensively for breeding.
Sexually mature llamas may show positive changes
as early as two weeks after castration, but most show a gradual
decline in stud behaviors around four to six months after the
procedure. After two years, any behavioral changes resulting
from castration are complete in all llamas.
What happens if I wait longer -- until after
puberty -- to castrate?
Unlike horses, all llamas castrated after
puberty retain some sexual interest and behavior -- enough to
make management and handling difficult, interactions notably
less enjoyable, and to cause frustration for the llama at times.
Llamas castrated after 18 months (referred
to as "late geldings") will attempt to breed females
-- even if they themselves were never allowed to breed -- and,
often, late geldings will also attempt to breed (and can seriously
injure or actually kill) immature males. Late geldings can almost
never be trusted serve as livestock guardians because most will
attempt to breed (and in the process, injure) their charges.
Sheep are reported to be particularly vulnerable. Late geldings
fight more seriously and more often. This means that they must
be housed and handled similarly to studs.
Llamas castrated after puberty retain some
problematic stud behaviors in their interactions with humans.
These behaviors and attitudes are most noticably during training,
but also spill over into routine handling and pasture interactions.
Llamas castrated after puberty will erupt
fighting teeth (canines) around 28 months. These teeth must be
first blunted and later cut at least twice if the llama is to
be safely handled or housed with other llamas. Older llamas who
fighting teeth were allowed to grow quite large prior to cutting
are believed to have an increased risk of subsequent canine root
infection.
Most importantly, llamas who have had the
opportunity to develop and practice any abnormal, difficult or
problem behavior(s) due to delayed castration will retain those
behaviors and thus require rehabilitation. This situation is
not at all desirable -- whether you intend to keep the llama
in question or to sell him.
An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of
cure.
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