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Lamb castration methods
The impact of different methods of castrating lambs on welfare, productivity, profitability and the environment.
Use this information to evaluate your castration practices and consider where changes might be beneficial.
Why are lambs castrated?
Castration is a routine husbandry procedure performed on some male lambs.
It reduces the risk of unwanted pregnancies, meaning male and female lambs can be managed together. It can also reduce fighting between rams and ease management.
Castration reduces ‘ram taint’ – an unpleasant taste that can develop due to the presence of testosterone.
It is governed by several pieces of legislation, with slight differences between England, Scotland and Wales. The legislation covers the method permitted, the age limits for different methods, the requirement, or not, for anaesthesia and who is legally permitted to carry out the procedure.
To comply with farm assurance schemes, you need to consider whether castration is necessary and detail your chosen method(s) in your flock health plan. You may need to ask for permission from your assurance scheme annually and you may be required to use long-acting pain relief.
Leaving rams entire
You do not need to routinely castrate ram lambs and many are left entire.
We have outlined the advantages and disadvantages of leaving rams entire and what you need to consider if you choose this option.
Advantages and disadvantages of leaving rams entire
Castration methods for ram lambs
In England, you can legally castrate lambs using the following methods:
Evaluate your practices
Use this information to evaluate your on-farm practices and make decisions about the lamb castration techniques you use, taking into consideration welfare, productivity and profitability and environmental impacts.
Table 1. The impact of different castration methods versus leaving rams entire
| Impact compared with leaving rams entire | Rubber ring (elastration) | Clamp castration | Combined rubber ring and clamp castration |
Short scrotum castration | Surgical castration |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Welfare | Negative | Mixed* | Negative | Negative | Negative |
| Productivity | Negative | Negative | Negative | Positive# | Negative |
| Profitability (added value) | Mixed | Positive | Positive | Positive | Positive |
| Environmental sustainability: GHG, air and climate, biodiversity | Negative | Negative | Negative | Negative | Negative |
*Increased welfare compared with rubber ring castration (elastration)
#Productivity, e.g. growth rates superior to most other castration techniques
Table 2. The impact of different castration methods on productivity and production system
|
Measure | Rubber ring (elastration) | Clamp castration | Combined rubber ring and clamp castration | Short scrotum castration | Surgical castration |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cost of implementation | £ | £ | £ | £ | ££ |
| Speed of implementation | Fast | Fast | Fast | Fast | Fast |
| Production system | Lambs are handled ≤7 days of age | All systems | Lambs are handled ≤7 days of age | Lambs are handled ≤7 days of age | All systems |
£ No new equipment or time constraints over and above existing business-as-usual running costs
££ May need additional time for training or experiential learning to establish new practice, but once implemented this rapidly transitions into business-as-usual running costs
The three Rs
We have reviewed these methods in terms of how they can be reduced, refined or replaced (the three Rs) on farm and the impacts of doing so.
We have considered extensive systems selling predominantly store lambs, forage-based systems finishing the majority of lambs at grass and intensive systems that aim to sell finished lambs from creep-fed systems at a young age.
Table 3. Summary of the three Rs for each castration method
| Method | Reduce | Refine | Replace |
|---|---|---|---|
| Keeping rams entire | No scope for reduction |
Ensure the right management tools and infrastructure are in place when ram lambs reach sexual maturity |
Only where you are not able to separate entire rams and ewes |
| Rubber ring (elastration) |
Keep ram lambs entire. This should only be done where you have the necessary management procedures and infrastructure in place, with appropriate contingency plans. |
Use anaesthetics, pain relief and post-castration pain management. Ensure the operator is correctly trained and attends regular refresher training. Regularly inspect and maintain equipment. |
Keep ram lambs entire. This should only be done where you have the necessary management procedures and infrastructure in place. |
|
Clamp castration |
|||
| Combined rubber ring and clamp castration | |||
| Short scrotum castration | |||
| Surgical castration |
Good implementation of pre- and post-surgery pain management |
||
| Immunocastration |
Ensure the operator is correctly trained and attends regular refresher training. Regularly inspect and maintain equipment. |
||
| Chemical/hormonal castration | |||
| Castration with use of anaesthetic simultaneously | |||
| Other crush methods |
Non-approved castration methods
We have also reviewed the following methods, which are not currently approved for use in England:
- Immunocastration
- Chemical/hormonal castration
- Castration with use of anaesthetic simultaneously
- Other crush methods
Learn about these non-approved castration methods
The information on this page is taken from an AHDB-commissioned report.