We have five Suffolk lambs (two ewes) born about ten days ago. I would appreciate feedback on both my questions and assumptions below. I'm a novice.(posted 9008 days ago)We understand it is best to dock the tails and castrate the males as early as possible. One of our books, though, claimed we should give tetanus shots two weeks before docking or castrating. Any thoughts?
In administering the tetanus shots, are there any tips? We've usually had others do this for us, but want to become more self-sufficient. I've done it once before, but don't remember how I did it. What part of the body do I stick the needle into? How far? How much of the vaccine do I inject? When do I do it?
We plan to keep one of the two females for increasing our flock. The three males and one of the females will be slaughtered/butchered next winter/spring.
I have a tool for docking and castrating by banding (I'm not sure this is the right terminology). I also bought a different tool for simply cutting the tail off immediately. I'm rather squeamish about castrating with this, though. Are there any suggestions?