When to geld?

[camels]

What's the best age for gelding a bull?

I've heard that you should wait awhile to allow for proper development (hormones, growth). I've also heard that gelding before the age of two years can lead to some problems later on in life. Mostly that they get stones in the urine that can get plugged up in the uterus/urethra.

My camel is almost 12 months now, I was thinking of having him gelded this coming spring. But I'm considering waiting longer.

Any thoughts?

[Kameldame]

Urinary calculi can block the urethra of an animal (female or male).The likelyhood that a male develops a blockage is higher then in a female due to specific anatomy structures. If we castrate very young males, the testosterone production will stop. Testosterone has a positive effect on the growth of the animal as well as the growth of the size of the urethra (the diameter will be larger compared to an animal which has been castrated early in its life). In general e.g pet goats, it is recommended to wait with the castration until you can't cope with the smell anymore.:)
The development of urinary calculi has a lot to do with the nutrition of the animals and therefore a good nutrition is important to avoid this disease (not too much grain, some oxalate containing plants, etc...).
Anyway to come back to your question when is the right age for the castration. I is good to wait until they are at least over a year old. This gives some time for the development of the animal and the testes are big enough to perform nicely a castration. Compared to their body size, camels hav fairly small testicles and it can be quite challenging to get them out, when the animal is very young. Furthermore, some of the testicles like to retain a little bit longer, and that gives as well some time for the testicles to descend.
If the animal does not show any unwanted behaviour you could wait a little bit longer and castrate him with 1.5 to 2 years, but if he shows the slightes changes of his attitude I would cut him!
Hope that helped. Best wishes

[Kameldame]

Urinary calculi can block the urethra of an animal (female or male).The likelyhood that a male develops a blockage is higher then in a female due to specific anatomy structures. If we castrate very young males, the testosterone production will stop. Testosterone has a positive effect on the growth of the animal as well as the growth of the size of the urethra (the diameter will be larger compared to an animal which has been castrated early in its life). In general e.g pet goats, it is recommended to wait with the castration until you can't cope with the smell anymore.:)
The development of urinary calculi has a lot to do with the nutrition of the animals and therefore a good nutrition is important to avoid this disease (not too much grain, some oxalate containing plants, etc...).
Anyway to come back to your question when is the right age for the castration. I is good to wait until they are at least over a year old. This gives some time for the development of the animal and the testes are big enough to perform nicely a castration. Compared to their body size, camels hav fairly small testicles and it can be quite challenging to get them out, when the animal is very young. Furthermore, some of the testicles like to retain a little bit longer, and that gives as well some time for the testicles to descend.
If the animal does not show any unwanted behaviour you could wait a little bit longer and castrate him with 1.5 to 2 years, but if he shows the slightes changes of his attitude I would cut him!
Hope that helped. Best wishes

[bacdromgrl]

I'd geld him as soon as possible ! you do not want him to have any bull signs because he'll just keep getting worse and worse, much like a stallion,.

I would have cut him at about six or five months.

[camels]

He's a year old now and not gelded. The bites at me sometimes, but that's it so far.

[Gamal]

There's a camel dairy in San Diego county that says if you have any questions about gelding camels you can contact them --- they or their vet will answer questions.

If a stallion is handled correctly, they are not difficult to handle or ride - even breeding stallions. My last horse was a Thoroughbred stallion I raised from a baby. (He broke his leg turned out two days after our last show three years ago at age 18. We took him to the vet school and tried to save him but he had to be euthanized two weeks later) He was very well mannered to the day he died.

Contact the camel dairy - they seem willing to give good advise from experience

[camels]

I'm sorry about your loss.

Maybe I will call the camel dairy, but I do fully intend to geld my camel at some point. I just want to wait as long as reasonably possible due to health concerns.

I have heard of many intact male horses making great mounts and never needing gelding, but camels are a lot different and go into a rut. I think it would be pretty irresponsible to keep one around like that unless he was well contained and being used for breeding.