Bander Makes Castration Easy

Bander Makes Castration Easy LIVESTOCK Beef Banding bulls bucks and rams is fast easy and safe with a California Bander according to Stephen Fairbanks who makes and sells the device He says it can be used on animals of any age and size “We recommend waiting until meat animals have had their full testosterone growth between 450 and 650 lbs with beef ” says Fairbanks “However we’ve used the bander on smaller animals and full-size bulls ” Fairbanks a medical equipment and electronics engineer designed the bander at the request of a friend and neighbor an animal nutritionist at the University of California Davis The nutritionist needed to process cattle for small feedlot research and was dissatisfied with available banders “He asked me to come up with a better solution ” recalls Fairbanks “I worked on it for a year and a half Then one night I woke up and knew what I needed to do ” His device is simple and inexpensive to manufacture It consists of a handgrip that holds a clip with a T-slot One end of a length of surgical tubing is inserted in the clip and the device is held against the animal This leaves the other hand free to grab the other end of the tubing and stretch it into place for the appropriate pressure on the animal’s scrotum A large bull may require two tubing lengths With the completed loop the free end of the tubing joins the other end on the clip “We recommend about 14 to 17 lbs of pull ” he says “It only takes about 10 sec to process an animal and from 18 to 37 days for castration to be complete ” He began doing test runs with the system and users liked its ease Word spread “Probably 80 percent of my business is word of mouth from other customers ” says Fairbanks “One guy will try it and then tell all his friends It has been used for dehorning and even prolapses One vet told me he had never done a prolapse so easily ” Fairbanks sells the bander tool and a pack of 25 bands for $55 Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Inosol LLC 1774 Citrus Lane El Centro Calif 92243 ph 760 337-9244; toll-free 800 847-2533; shf@inosol com; www inosol com

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