Boar castration: methods, technique, preparation

2024 Author: Howard Calhoun | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:16

Probably, any person who has not even encountered pig breeding has heard of the castration of boars. This is an important procedure that allows you to comprehensively solve several problems at once. Therefore, it will be useful for everyone to know about it.

What is castration

Another name for castration is chilling. The purpose of the procedure is either the complete removal of the sex glands, or the suspension of their activity.

Today, there are several different ways to castrate boars: mechanical, chemical, hormonal and radioactive. However, the most widely used is mechanical. A little later we will talk about its main advantages that make it so popular.

Why is it held

In some cases, castration is performed for medical reasons. For example, if a hernia appears, the testicles become inflamed, or another pathology occurs. However, in most cases, the goals of castration are quite different. There are several.

The most important thing is getting quality meat. The thing isthe fact that the meat of a sexually mature wild boar that has not undergone castration has a persistent unpleasant odor. It does not disappear even after processing, making the meat almost inedible.

In addition, castration makes it possible to increase the rate of weight gain. The pig grows faster, builds up a thicker layer of tender fat, for which these animals are valued.

Aggressiveness is sharply reduced. This is especially important in cases where a large number of animals are kept in one room. Uncastrated boars often start fights, during which they can inflict serious wounds on weaker individuals that require additional care and treatment. Castrated behave much calmer, more good-natured, usually there are no problems with them.

Sexual arousal of mature piglets leads to the fact that every month, during estrus in pigs, wild boars are especially excited, very worried, lose their appetite, which leads to weight gain.

Finally, if piglets of both sexes are kept together, uncastrated boars, for some reason not suitable for reproduction, can inseminate breeding or commercial sows, which is unacceptable.

Regular castration can completely solve all these problems.

Optimal timing

According to pig breeders, it is best to castrate piglets that feed on milk. That is, the optimal age is 10-40 days. At this time, the risk of complications, as well as sudden blood loss, is much lower.

Feeding on mother's milk, they receive all the necessary antibodies that allowrather quickly heal wounds left after castration. Blood loss in small piglets is much less.

In addition, it is much easier to securely fix a one-month-old piglet for surgery than a one-year-old one.

However, in some cases it becomes necessary to castrate large boars. This is also possible - in fact, age no longer makes a big difference, because the procedure can be performed at any time. The main thing is that by the time of slaughter, hormones that worsen the taste of meat are completely removed. But be prepared for the fact that even after castration, an adult boar remains quite aggressive - it is not worth keeping it in the same pen with weaker individuals, as it will be dangerous for them.

Benefits of mechanical castration

The main advantage of mechanical castration is simplicity and low cost. Indeed, all that is needed to carry out the operation is a few rather primitive tools and an experienced veterinarian or farmer. The piglet does not need to be taken anywhere, which is especially important in cases where an adult boar needs to be castrated.

The whole procedure takes a few minutes from an experienced specialist. Thus, even working with several dozen piglets, he will be able to complete the task in a few hours. Of course, this is much more convenient and profitable than spending several working days on idling a small herd.

It is important that the intervention in the body is minimal. It definitely does not reduce the quality of meat, but the finished productguaranteed not to harm the consumer.

Pros and cons of chemical castration

Chemical castration of boars was popular for a while. It would seem that it is really convenient and simple. A veterinarian or even an owner with experience in injections will easily carry out the entire procedure. Moreover, it is suitable for both small piglets and adult boars, which are usually scary to approach. It is enough to put one injection and you can refuse painful, bloody mechanical castration. Why didn’t they switch to it completely, and now more and more farmers are abandoning the chemical method, returning to the old, proven by their grandfathers?

It's worth starting with the fact that, despite the assurances of veterinarians and manufacturers of the drug, not all people believe in its complete safety. Indeed, although laboratory tests have not revealed any side effects, no one can say if eating such meat will not have a negative impact on human he alth later.

Besides, mechanical castration is carried out only once. The chemical one must be repeated at least once a month to exclude the possibility of sex hormones entering the blood of the animal.

Finally, the cost of drugs is quite high. Each dose costs several hundred rubles. It would seem not too much. But after all, you will have to give an injection every month, and if the farm has at least a few dozen heads, then the amount is already very serious.

Preparation

To begin with, it is worth noting thatthat the interval between castration and any other intervention, such as vaccination, should be at least 2 weeks. Otherwise, drugs that are harmless individually can give a very unexpected and unpleasant effect.

Animals must be examined and checked. They must have a good appetite, be active, cheerful, mobile. Lethargic, loss of appetite, should be shown to a veterinarian to identify and eliminate a possible disease.

It is desirable to carry out the operation early in the morning. Then the owner will have a whole day at his disposal to observe the animals that have undergone castration - this is very important, as it sometimes allows you to identify deviations and take timely measures that save the piglet's life.

The surface on which the operation will be performed must be cleaned, disinfected and carefully examined. It should not have any neoplasms, oil seals, dirt.

The veterinarian himself also undergoes some training. He should always have clean, short-cut nails. Hands should be thoroughly washed with soap and then treated with special disinfectants. Only after that, just before the start of the operation, does he put on surgical gloves and get to work.

If you have to work with a large piglet, you have to use additional means for immobilization - this will protect both the animal and the people around. It is best to use a special machine. But these are not available in every household. Therefore, experienced farmers know how to tie a boar for castration. The hind legs are fixed with a strong and thick enough cord (thin can damage the skin). Then the cord is tied around the chest and passed through the mouth. With proper tying, the piglet is easy to fall on its side, it can hardly move its hind legs, which means that the operation will go without unnecessary complications. Of course, local anesthesia is used.

Less experienced veterinarians prefer to castrate boars under anesthesia. It is really much easier - the animal lies on a clean floor, the body is limp, does not move at all. But in this case, more expensive drugs are spent, and besides, there is always a risk of cardiac arrest in the animal, albeit a very small one.

Castration of piglets

There are quite a few ways to groom piglets - the optimal one is chosen by the veterinarian, depending on the circumstances, the age of the animal.

For example, if you have to work with small pigs at the age of 2-3 weeks, it is best to use a broken spermatic cord - the procedure is performed even without anesthesia. To do this, the operation area is cleaned of bristles, treated with a solution. The testis is grasped with the left hand, the skin of the scrotum is pulled back and two cuts are made - on the sides of the seam, about 1 centimeter. The testicle is exposed and twisted several times so that it is completely separated. The wound is then sutured and treated.

Working with an adult boar

Castration of an adult boar delivers a littlemore problems.

The boar is fixed in a comfortable position, the operation site is processed, local anesthesia is placed - most often with novocaine solution. The skin from the scrotum is folded and dissected. You have to be very careful not to damage vital areas.

The testicle is captured along with the vaginal membrane (yes, males have one), the skin is gently shifted upwards. Then the shell, together with the testis, is turned around its axis by 360 degrees, a ligature is applied. Here it is very important to observe the minimum distance to the inguinal ring. It remains only to tie the spermatic cord and cut it along with the intercepted sheath. The distance to the dressing should be about 1 centimeter.

The wound is sutured, treated.

As you can see, the procedure is not easy. But still, open castration of a boar is one of the most popular, safe and effective.

Care after surgery

For 4-5 days you need to pay maximum attention to the castrated animal. Keep an eye on whether there are any deviations in the behavior. If there is severe swelling, noticeable redness, you should contact your veterinarian as soon as possible so that he can take appropriate measures.

The area for freshly neutered animals should be as clean as possible. As bedding, it is advisable to use straw or hay, and not sawdust - small particles can get into the wound and cause infection. You don't need to make any changes to your diet. However, it is highly likely that in the first day or two the piglet's appetite will decrease.

Gap between castration and slaughter

Many farmers are seriously interested in the question: "How long after castration can a boar be slaughtered?". With small piglets, this issue does not arise. But adult boars should preferably be slaughtered no earlier than two months later. In some cases, when the animal is already quite old - 3-5 years old - you need to wait up to six months. During this time, hormones are completely removed from the body. The meat will become quite edible, although it will be inferior in taste to the meat of young animals.

Conclusion

Now you know more about castration of large boars, different methods, advantages and disadvantages. This means that you can easily, if you do not perform the operation yourself, then at least take care of the animal after an unpleasant procedure.