This experiment evaluated intra-testicular injection of a sclerosing drug, lactic acid, for castration of bulls. Its use was compared in 58 Brahman cross calves (50 to 128kg) with the general practice of open surgical castration. Chemical castration appeared to be more painful than surgical castration, though post-operative swelling and pain appeared similar for both methods. Chemical castration took 3 times longer than surgical castration (58 sec v 20 sec; P less than 0.01). Scrotal necrosis occurred in 25% of chemically-castrated calves and appeared due to drug leakage from the testes under the high pressure of injection. Healing time for chemical castrates was approximately twice that for surgical castrates. Five chemically-castrated calves (18%) retained one testis. Though all 5 were rendered sterile, each maintained androgenesis. This led to secondary male behaviour which caused management problems. Castration method did not influence post-operative growth. It is concluded that lactic acid administration is not a suitable alternative to the open surgical technique for castration of Brahman cross calves.
Two experiments were conducted over a five-year period in north Queensland to examine : 1. the effects of supplements of molasses, phosphoric acid, superphosphate, mono-ammonium phosphate, urea or biuret on liveweight performance of yearling cattle during wet and dry seasons, and 2. the effects of different urea levels (28, 56 and 84 g) in the urea-molasses supplement on dry season performance. Responses to urea-molasses or biuret-molasses occurred in all years after May when faecal nitrogen level fell below 1.3%. In three of the four dry seasons studied, maximum response occurred with the lowest level of urea, 289, in the urea-molasses supplement. Responses occurred up to 849 urea in the remaining year. Compensatory growth during the following wet season reduced liveweight advantages in all years. A faecal nitrogen level of 1.3% should be a useful critical value for feeding urea-molasses supplements in the northern spear grass region.
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