CASTRATE - Callicrate Banders

“2,000 head
later, not one
problem!”
–George
Chambers,
GEORGIA
Calves stay
healthier
and perform
better!
- Dan Fields,
Kansas
“Best
investment
we’ve made in
a long time.”
– GARY ROBERTS,
VIRGINIA
Cattle
Goats
Sheep
•CASTRATE
•DE-HORN
•TREAT
PROLAPSES
CallicrateBanders.com
800-858-5974
“I can’t
believe how
easy it is, the
cattle don’t
seem to mind
at all.”
- Peggy Olson,
Oregon
For great results every time count on the Callicrate Bander® –
Get high performance with humane castration
T
he Callicrate Bander® has
earned a reputation as the
most humane and effective
bloodless castration method on the
market, recommended by veterinarians, animal handling specialists and
cattle producers.
“Banding is better than cutting
for the bigger animals,” says Temple
Grandin, a professor of animal
science at Colorado State University
and one of the nation’s leading experts on humane animal handling.
“England’s rule is that after four
months they require an anesthetic
(for surgical castration.)”
super-tight,” Grandin says.
Another benefit of using this
method, she says, is that the
animals won’t associate
any residual discomfort with the
squeeze chute or
the livestock handlers who apply
the band, which
means they are
more willing to return to the chute.
“That’s because
it doesn’t hurt at
all when it is first put on,” she says.
“Only one
out of about
30 animals
will show
any noticeable discomfort.”
Grandin
is considered
one of the
country’s
pre-eminent
humane
livestock
handling
experts. She
has designed
facilities in
Tom Hendrix, a rancher from Wray, Colo., says using the
the U. S.,
Callicrate Bander® reduces stress on the animals — and on
Canada,
the operator.
Europe,
Mexico,
The tightness of the band is
Australia, New Zealand, and other
essential to minimizing discomcountries. In North America, almost
fort and complications, which is
half of the cattle are handled in a cenwhy she endorses the Callicrate
ter track restrainer system that she
Bander®. The sophisticated winding
designed for meat processing plants.
mechanism insures proper tightness,
She has also developed an objective
and the rubber tubing of the bands
scoring system for assessing handling
is specially formulated to withstand
of cattle and pigs, and is the author
and maintain the high tension stress
of several popular books, including
needed to achieve perfect results.
most recently, Animals in Transla “You have to make sure you get
tion: Using the Mysteries of Autism
the band on really tight over the
to Decode Animal Behavior.
testicles, or they will swell. With the
She has also consulted on animal
Callicrate Bander®, you can get it on
handling methods with Callicrate
2 - The Callicrate Bander®
The Callicrate Bander® comes
packaged
in a handy
toolkit with
a cutter, five
ES-10 loops.
(Instructional
DVD available
on request.)
Cattle Co., of St. Francis, Kan., where
the Callicrate Bander® was invented
and is still manufactured today.
She reminds producers to keep
cattle under careful observation for
the first 24 hours after banding and
to make sure they each receive the required tetanus shots, as a precautionary measure, prior to the procedure.
Tom Hendrix has been using delayed castration on his ranch near
Wray, Colo., for roughly 15 years
and is very pleased with the results.
“With the last ones we did this
fall, it was amazing,” he says. “We
did a hundred of them in a couple to
maybe three hours. By the time we
were done, when I put out feed in the
bunks, every one of them was lined
up at the bunks. They get up right
away and go eat.”
That’s why he continues to use the
Callicrate Bander®.
“I do it this way because there’s
just less stress on them. And it’s easier on the operator, too,” he adds.
Using delayed castration also benefits him by increasing his marketing
flexibility. With the enhanced performance from bull calves left intact, he
doesn’t need to use growth implants,
which means his cattle qualify for
natural beef programs. “If I’m doing
delayed castration, I don’t need to use
hormones, and I definitely don’t want
to implant my heifers because I retain
the top end of them or sell them to
someone else as replacements. So I
just don’t have a need for the labor
and expense of implanting.”
Hendrix produces about 300
top-notch commercial Angus calves
annually with a reputation in the
marketplace for performance, quality
and consistency.
By delaying castration, purebred producers also gain increased
management flexibility, notes Ralph
Miller, a veterinarian from Glendive, Mont. Purebred operators have
the option of waiting to see how their
bull calves develop before deciding
whether to leave them intact for use
as bulls or sell them as feeder cattle.
The Callicrate Bander® allows castration at older ages and heavier weights
without complications, discomfort or
loss of performance.
Chris McBurney, of New Castle,
Ky., recently became a sales representative for the Callicrate Bander®
and plans to introduce it into his
own 35-head cow-calf operation. He
sees enormous opportunity for the
Callicrate Bander® among cowherds
in Kentucky and surrounding states.
“The people I’ve talked to who use
this — and who have used it for quite
awhile — like it because the animals
are going right back to eating,” he
says. “No-Bull Enterprises has done
the research, and they have all the
information on how to use ligation
correctly. You’re seeing basically no
hemorrhaging and no swelling with
this method, because it is a pure
cut-off of circulation. It does exactly
what it says it’s going to do every
time.”
That level of know-how and
sophistication will bring additional
value to his customers, he says.
“Our typical customer is a cowcalf operation,” he says. “They are
looking at delayed castration as
being a benefit to their operations.
What it’s going to boil down to is
if we can educate people in using
delayed castration, they are going to
have some additional expense in the
beginning, but I think they are going
to see natural weight gains come
quicker, and they are going to have
less feed expense. That’s where I see
the future.”
McBurney plans to put that into
practice on his own farm.
“We will be using delayed castration,” he says. “I’ve always done
delayed castration, to about 550
pounds, but never took it to the 700-
For goats, banding is the ideal
castration method.
750 weight. I’m really excited to see
what’s going to happen to our critters
when we take them to 750 pounds,
especially in our region where we
have so much grass and tremendous
natural resources.”
The Callicrate Bander® offers
enormous versatility. In addition
to castration, it can be used for
dehorning large horned animals.
It is not limited to cattle, but is also
effective on several other species
of livestock, including sheep and
goats. Goats, in particular, benefit from the delayed castration
banding method because it allows
the urethra to develop and reduces
the incidence of kidney stones and
other urinary tract problems.
Callicrate
Bander® inventor Mike Callicrate, center,
and Chris McBurney, right, a
local cattleman
and sales representative, talk
with trade show
visitors while
attending the
North American International Livestock
Exposition in
Louisville, Ky.
The Callicrate Bander® is made in the USA of the highest quality, most durable materials and is sold
through an extensive network of local dealers with the finest reputations in the business. To find a
dealer in your area, or for more information about the Callicrate Bander®, call 1-800-858-5974 or
visit the company website on-line at www.CallicrateBanders.com. Rachel Dodd is general Manager.
3 - The Callicrate Bander®
Testimonials
“I bought one of your banders last year after hearing
glowing reports from a friend-of-a-friend. I’ve got to say
I was skeptical about late castration not interrupting rate
of gain on the calves. Since I weigh my animals every time
they go through the chute, I checked that out. I was amazed
at the lack of any discomfort shown at banding, and the
gains continued for those calves in the month following
banding right on track with what they were doing before.
You can’t do that with surgical castration, especially with
big calves. This year I have done the first group and am
seeing the same results again. Thanks for a great product.”
“The bands do a great job removing even big old three
inch diameter horns on 10 year old cows. It will take two
months, but there will be no hole in their sinus and other than the tender horns the last month, no discomfort or
pain for the cow. I’m real happy with the results.”
Tom Reese, California
On delayed castration: “You pick up the extra weight,
and you have a more muscular, slimmer calf that isn’t carrying a lot of extra flesh at weaning. When I background
them, they just keep growing. A bull calf will be in a body
condition that is more advantageous for weight gain than
a steer. In my program, I go to rye pasture with them, and
you can just about see them grow. I’ve had two or three
neighbors tell me they thought their calves stayed healthier and more athletic. They swear they don’t have fall
pneumonia in their bull calves like they used to, thanks to
delayed castration.”
Tom Hendrix, Colorado
through the chute. I don’t have to wrangle them at the stage
when they are hard to wrangle. I leave my own bull calves
intact to about 600 pounds, which means they stay healthier and perform better.”
Dan Fields, Kansas
“Placing a high-tension band on the scrotum appears to
generate a more localized immune response than surgical
castration. And, if done properly, (banding) doesn’t result
in any apparent depression of the animal’s appetite or rate
of gain. At weaning, banded calves are typically 20 lbs.
heavier than those that are surgically castrated. The surgically castrated calves will catch up, but they need more
days on feed to do it.”
On elastrator rings put on at birth: “I think it affects the
animal’s growth. Testosterone is a muscle builder, so when
you take that away, it could limit performance.”
“The bottom line is that high-tension banding is faster, easier and less traumatic for the animal than surgical castration. Even if it didn’t return an extra 10-20 lbs at
weaning, it would still be a great benefit to animal managers.”
Matt Sween, University of California-Davis Animal
Science Department
“If you’ve got animals with good carcass traits, leave
them intact as long as possible to take advantage of performance.”
Dale ZoBell, Utah State Extension Beef Specialist
“We like it a lot because it has a low complication rate,
and that’s a real plus. We can teach people to use it very
effectively and feel comfortable about it. It’s a great tool.
It’s just a little easier and quicker to use than any other
banding tools on the market, which is important, especially
when you are doing a large number of animals. It works
on any size of animal and anybody can use it. That’s the
bottom line. The company also has a very good service
program. If there’s something wrong, you can send it back,
and they will fix it up for you.”
“Compared to surgical castration, I feel more comfortable teaching a good crew how to band.”
Lynn Locatelli, DVM, Nebraska
“We usually try to get the calves started on feed and then
I band them and it doesn’t slow them up a bit. I band
some pretty big bulls, too, and they never miss a feeding.
I do everything myself, and it’s nice to be able to run them
On utilizing banding for castrating older bulls: “Banding has proven to be an outstanding alternative in that situation to knife castration. With surgical castration we had
a rate of 8-9 percent complications with 1-2 percent of those
being severe. With banding, we have few problems.”
Dee Griffin, DVM, University of Nebraska Great
Plains Veterinary Educational Center
“For purebred producers, leaving bulls intact to heavier
weights creates an opportunity to select bulls that may make
good commercial cleanup bulls.”
“Anyone we have ever started banding their calves has
liked it.”
Ralph Miller, DVM, Montana
4 - The Callicrate Bander®
“ ……………obtained a great deal of positive feedback
from the many happy users who dropped in for a chat at the
ProBeef booth.”
John Griffin, Australia
I have had a Callicrate Bander® for about four years. It has
never failed me, and never failed to do its job on all size cattle I have used it on. It has been the best piece of equipment
on my farm. I have yet to even change a pull string.
Kenneth, Collins MO
We started using the bander
in September of 2004, and I was a
little leary. Well, 2,000 head later, NOT ONE PROBLEM!
My 82 yr old dad told me to
switch from “sharp pocket knife
and count to two”. I was skeptical – had used rubber rings and
had a train wreck. The Callicrate
Bander® was phenomenal. 102
– 112 heat index and no problem. We use it on our cattle and
on customer cattle. You can castrate from 200-1200 lbs., but we
normally castrate at 575-675 lbs.
A good option if raising ‘natural’
beef. Five or six of our customers have started using it. Thanks,
Cheers!
Testimonials
I love your banding system; there is no stress and they
(cattle) don’t go off feed. At least, that has been how it has
been when they are calves on the cows. This is my first experience banding older ones.
I was one of the first ones in this area to use the Callicrate
Bander® and even introduced my vet to it. We used it for prolapses way before the big bands came out. Worked like a charm
and my vet bought one of her own after borrowing mine. We
have also used it to dehorn older cattle. The horn usually falls
off in about 3 weeks; bloodless!!
Robyn, Great Falls MT
We have the Callicrate Bander® and love using it on our
cattle. I can’t believe how easy it
is and the cattle don’t even seem
to mind it at all. I am a firm believer. I’m still singing praises regarding the Callicrate Bander®.
Peggy, Grants Pass OR
PUT MONEY
IN YOUR
POCKET...
The Callicrate Banding system
is a great asset to our operation!
The Callicrate cutter is great for
removing old ear tags, in addition
to cutting the loops.
Saturday, Dad and I were looking at our cattle and he said,
DELAY CASTRATION
with the
“buying that bander was the
best investment we’ve made in
CALLICRATE BANDER,
the only high-tension
a long time.” Keep in mind Dad
bander on the market,
is 78 and the idea of being able
and maximize your
to castrate large animals with
profits with the
• CASTRATE
George, Carrollton GA
that much ease is hard for him
natural growth
• DE-HORN
promotant
to comprehend. My brother and I
• TREAT
work full time jobs and come back
- testosterone.
PROLAPSES
I bought a small group of five
to the farm on weekends or days
Jersey steers about six weeks ago. Every loop is
off and the Callicrate Bander® is
Three of them were banded with ‘custom fit’.
a tool that allows us to manage
www.nobull.net rachel@nobull.net
the normal green bands. I just
our farm more efficiently. Now,
lost one of the steers to an infecwe can allow our bull calves the opportunity to grow larger and
tion caused by the band. The green bands are all the same
then castrate them, thus increasing our bottom line. Thanks for
tightness and obviously the band was not tight enough and
your speedy delivery of the items that I requested. I have used
I lost a $500 steer. This has never happened to me with the
the Callicrate Bander® and it does what your video and adverCallicrate Bander® because the tightness is always perfect.
tisements claim.
The risk of infection with the Callicrate Bander® is negligible
because blood supply is completely cut off.
Gary, Marion VA
The Callicrate Bander® is the cat’s meow when it comes to
fixing prolapses on sheep. My vet used your elasticator yesterday to fix an anal prolapse on a lamb. It worked great!!!!
Talked to you a while back about your bander being used on
Fixing a prolapse now becomes about the 65th thing your
yearling ram lambs. You told me it would work and boy did it.
invention can do. I saved two lambs this year because of the
Twenty eight days and they fell off.
bander. Thanks for making such a quality product.
Patrick, Lake Elsinore CA
Jeffrey, Boscobel WI
800-858-5974
5 - The Callicrate Bander®
• Safe. Operator and animal benefit from
a bloodless procedure and uninterrupted
performance.
• Quick, easy and effective. The tension
indicator on The Callicrate Bander® assures
proper tension.
Suggested retail price - $246.00 (Instructional DVD available on request.)
• Consistent results. Unlike ordinary
tubing, the specially formulated rubber
withstands and maintains the high tension
needed for success. The patented metal clip
Locks the loop into place preventing slippage.
• Reliable and durable. The Callicrate
Bander® is guaranteed to be free of defects for
five years. If it needs repair, we’ll fix it.
• Available. See your animal health supplier or
feed dealer and request The Callicrate Bander®
and loops, or call us at 800-858-5974 for a distributor near you.
• A tool for producing the finest
quality beef.
One of the best examples is our own line of
“Callicrate Beef ” marketed by Ranch Foods
Direct and raised under a protocol that utilizes
The Callicrate Bander®. Delayed castration is
a wonderful way to take advantage of nature’s
own naturally-occuring growth promotants
while avoiding the use of artificial hormones,
which have been shown to make meat tougher
and reduce flavor. The price premiums available for cattle that qualify for natural branded
beef programs are worth considering. For more
information on what is considered by many to
be the “Best Beef Anywhere,” visit www.ranchfoodsdirect.com.
• American-made in the heart
of U.S. cattle country.
6 - The Callicrate Bander®
The Callicrate Bander® and Callicrate Loops® are the subject of one or more of the following patents: U.S. Patent Nos. 5,403,325, 5,681,329, and
5,997,553, and patents applications pending. By purchasing this product, you are granted a non-exclusive, non-transferable license to practice these
patents. The license granted hereby does not include the right to use any unauthorized product in conjunction with the Callicrate Bander®. Should you
have any questions concerning whether you are licensed to utilize any particular product in connection with your Callicrate Bander®, please contact
No-Bull Enterprises at 1-800-858-5974.
7 - The Callicrate Bander®
“Great job of
removing horns.”
- Tom Reese,
California
“You told me it
would work (yearling ram
lambs) and boy did it. 
Twenty eight days
and they fell off.”
- Patrick, Lake Elsinore, CA
“Best investment
we’ve made in a
long time.”
- GARY ROBERTS,
VIRGINIA
“Goats benefit from delayed castration.
No-Bull Enterprises
It allow the urethra to develop
PO Box 748  • St Francis KS 67756
and reduces the incidence of kidney
800-858-5974
www.CallicrateBanders.com
• rachel@nobull.net
stones and urinary tract problems.”
8 - The Callicrate Bander®