Best Age to Castrate a Male Camelid

[Marty McGee Bennett]

What is the best age to geld a male camelid?

I think waiting until a male is 18 months to 2 years old is the best however if the male is becoming aggressive or there are other pressing issues I think it can be done earlier. Early castration can mean that a male breaks down earlier because the lack of testosterone means that the long bones of the legs get longer than normal. It is a judgment call. This issue is of more concern for llamas than alpacas since llamas are often used for packing and longer legs make them more vulnerable to breaking down. I am sure if you search the internet you will find all kinds of opinions this is just mine.

[Don Hereford]

Just read the post on best age to casterate a male camelid which prompted a couple of questions. We have 2 alpaca males each a little over a year old, neither are probably stud quality... We are planning on purchasing a female at some point in the next year and another male. Question, would you recommend casturation of the 2 older males before we purchase a female? Does your opinion change if the female is bred?
Thanks,
Don H :)

[Marty McGee Bennett]

I think that the when and how soon issue of castrating alpacas is a balancing act between behavior, management and practicality. I would opt for castrating a male earlier if it meant that he didn't have to live alone for 6 months on the other hand I might wait in the case of a llama since they are more apt to break down when used as packers... not so much of an issue with alpacas. As to your specific question I think you might wait until 18 months if you have the room to let these two boys hang out... however if this means that your female will have to live alone then I would castrate them now so that she will have company when she comes to live with you. Check with your vet to see how long males can remain potent after castration I think it is a while... perhaps a month or so. If the female is bred you shouldn't allow these young males to harass her. They could cause her to abort if they take her down and insist on mating with her. Young males would not be very apt to do this but I would keep an eye on them when you first put them together. Hope that helps and doesn't muddy the water. Perhaps others in the guild will add their thoughts.

[kmdombeck]

I would like to add my thoughts to this topic. I believe one other consideration needs to be taken into account before deciding to castrate a male, the weather. For the animal's health in healing after the surgery the weather needs to be cold enough for the fly population to have died off. We castrate in late fall to early winter or early spring for this reason. We chose not to do this surgery once winter is really upon us. We look at the age (at least 1 1/2 yr.), size and behavior of the male then determain the best time of year for a healthy recovery from surgery. Our farm only has alpacas, I hope this is helpful.