Castration of piglets: methods, equipment, useful tips

2024 Author: Howard Calhoun | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-01-07 20:55

Castration is a special operation in which the gonads are cut out of the boar. Most often, this procedure is performed by a veterinarian. Of course, like any other surgical intervention, castration must be carried out with strict adherence to certain technologies.

Why the glands are removed

Castration is carried out for small boars in the event that they are supposed to be grown for meat. Very often, for example, Vietnamese piglets are castrated in this way. Meat of pigs of this bacon breed differs in juiciness and a gentle consistence. But only under the condition of implementation of castration. The same applies to other meat breeds of pigs. Sometimes adult boars not used in breeding are also subjected to the procedure.

This easy-to-follow event has many benefits for farm owners:

• The meat of these piglets does not have an unpleasant odor.
• Castrated animals gain weight much faster. At the same time, the owners of the farm spend less feed.

• It is easier to keep such piglets in groups. Castrated boars do not experience sexual hunting, behave calmly and never fight. In addition, boars, deprived of valuablebreeding qualities, do not have the ability to accidentally cover females.

• It has been observed that castrated animals are much more resistant to various diseases.

There is another answer to the question of why to castrate piglets. Sometimes such an operation is simply a necessary measure. Sex glands can be removed, for example, in case of inflammation of the testicles, the appearance of an inguinal hernia, and also in some other cases.

When is the best time to have surgery

Vets advise castrating piglets as early as possible. Most often, this operation is performed on 10-45-day-old boars. The fact is that small piglets tolerate castration much easier than adult animals. In most cases, they are not even given anesthesia, and the operation itself is almost bloodless. In addition, a small piglet experiences much less stress than an adult boar. Especially if it has not yet been taken away from the pig. In addition, the substances contained in breast milk contribute to the rapid healing of the wound. There are usually no complications after surgery in small piglets.

Thus, it is better to castrate young animals. Although there are no strict restrictions in this regard.

How to castrate piglets: basic techniques

An operation to remove the gonads can be performed using several methods:

• open surgical;
• closed surgical.

Also canapply various kinds of bloodless methods - using chemicals or X-ray radiation. In the last two cases, of course, the animal suffers much less. But such methods are quite expensive financially. Therefore, in farms, castration of piglets is most often performed according to the first two methods, that is, through surgical intervention. Anesthesia, according to the rules for such events, is not required. However, many veterinarians still pre-inject the piglet. In this case, the animal, of course, does not experience pain, therefore, it breaks out less and quickly moves away from stress.

Surgical removal of the testicles can be performed on absolutely any pig. In this way, Vietnamese piglets, Siberian white, Estonian and any other bacon breeds are castrated.

Preparations

Before starting the castration of a piglet, the area of manipulation is carefully examined. The skin of the animal should not have any serious damage. Next, the fingers determine the absence or presence of pathologies in the internal organs - hernias, tumors, etc. The nails of the veterinarian performing the operation should be cut short. Be sure to remove all burrs as well. Of course, hands must be thoroughly washed. Performing an operation to remove the testicles in sterile gloves.

Equipment and tools

Actually castration of pigletscarried out using a conventional medical scalpel. Also used are special clamps designed to stop the blood. If an adult animal is supposed to be castrated, among other things, a needle should be prepared. It will be needed for sewing up incisions on the skin. Of course, you also need to prepare bandages, cotton wool and disinfectants first. To ligate the seminal ducts, you will need a special medical silk thread.

For castration of very active, restless piglets, in addition to standard tools, a special fixing machine is used. Very small animals are usually simply held by a veterinary assistant during surgery. All instruments used during the operation must be sterilized.

As already mentioned, an experienced veterinarian should remove the testicles of wild boars. But sometimes farmers or homeowners carry out such a procedure as castration of piglets with their own hands. To do this, of course, is allowed only with a certain experience or under the guidance of a specialist.

What you need to know

You can carry out the operation at any time of the day. However, in practice, pigs are usually castrated early in the morning. In this case, the veterinarian or farm workers have the opportunity to monitor the condition of the animal during the day. Feeding pigs prior to surgery is not recommended.

Castration of piglets should never be done at the same time as deworming or vaccination. It is necessary that from the moment of the last twoprocedures took at least two weeks. Do not castrate animals even if there is an outbreak of any infectious disease in the pigsty. Adult boars are operated on no later than two months before slaughter.

Technology Features

How is piglets castrated? The price for this procedure is low (usually no more than 500 rubles), since it is not particularly difficult. After all the preparatory measures are completed, the operation itself begins. The piglet is fixed in such a way that during the procedure it cannot dodge in any way. Next, the hair on the scrotum is cut off. After that, the manipulation area is treated with iodine or alcohol. Next, the operation itself is carried out according to the selected technology. As an anesthetic, a four percent "Azaperone" is usually used. For every 10 kg of the animal of this remedy, 1 ml is required. Actually, the injection itself is made in the upper part of the inner side of the thigh (into the muscle).

Open method

According to this technique, castration of piglets under the age of 15 days is usually performed. It consists of the following:

• The animal's testis is grasped through the skin with the thumb and forefinger of the left hand.
• The scrotal tissue is incised using a scalpel. At the same time, the common vaginal membrane is also captured. The incision should be made in one sharp, precise movement. It should pass parallel to the seam of the scrotum at a distance of about 1 cm from it.
• The exposed testis is pulled out.
• The transition link is cut off.
• The fabrics are carefully pushed back to the arable ring.
• With the right hand, the testis is twisted along the long axis and pulled away from the abdominal cavity. At the same time, the spermatic cord is fixed through the skin of the neck of the scrotum.
• The cord turns around the index finger and is pulled out until it breaks completely.

Thus castration of piglets 10-15 days of age. For animals from 15 days old, the technology of the operation should be slightly different. In this case, after transection of the transitional ligament, the tissue is pushed back to the abdominal wall, and the cord is passed between the index and middle fingers. Further, a silk thread is superimposed on the latter (with a medical knot). The cord is cut at a distance of about 1 cm from the ligation towards the testis. In both cases, at the final stage, the wound is treated with a disinfectant.

Closed way

This technique is usually used for castration of adult animals. In this case, the skin over the testis is dissected without capturing the vaginal membrane. The latter is simply separated from the surrounding tissues with a cotton swab. The thread is superimposed simultaneously on it and on the cord, near the inguinal ring. Next, the testis is cut off.

Caring for animals after surgery

Methods of castration of piglets can be used in different ways. But in any case, after the operation for the animalneed to be properly looked after. It is necessary to observe the piglet for at least five days. Of course, the animal must be kept in an absolutely clean pen. It is recommended to use hay as bedding. Do not lay sawdust on the floor. Their small particles can get into the wound and cause inflammation. After the operation, the animal should be fed with high-quality grain and root crops in sufficient quantities. The first time the trough in the pen is filled with food a few hours after the operation. It is also impossible to water the animal immediately after the procedure.

Complication after castration most often manifests itself in the form of redness and swelling of the affected area. If such a problem occurs, you should immediately seek advice from a veterinarian. Sometimes animals have an early complication. In this case, the intestines or bladder may fall out. In this case, of course, you should also call the veterinarian.

Piglets can walk on the street after castration only if the wound is completely healed. The incisions are usually tightened for 6-7 days.

Ethics

In principle, castration is not too painful, and pigs usually endure it quite easily. However, the piglet, of course, experiences painful sensations during its implementation. Therefore, among farmers, the question is raised, among other things, about the ethics of such a procedure. Especially widely this problem is discussed in Europe.

German, French, Danish and Dutch farmers, in cooperation with representatives of the European Animal Welfare Group, even developed a set of rules for caring forpiglets using a special technology that prevents the appearance of an unpleasant odor in the meat, like a boar without castration. The methodology includes special ways of feeding, minimizing animal aggression during sexual hunting, etc. The regulation on the introduction of new technologies will come into force as early as 2018. Of course, simultaneously with their use, the quality of the meat coming to the shelves will be controlled. It is supposed to check it for the absence of smell using a special device - an electronic “nose”.

Alternative chemical castration

Whether the technology developed by European animal lovers to grow without removing the testes will be effective or not, is still unknown. Meanwhile, the answer to the question of how to castrate piglets painlessly exists already today.

This is the so-called bloodless technology, which involves the use of special hormonal agents. Under the influence of the latter, the gonads of piglets simply lose their activity. Technologically, this method, of course, can be considered much simpler than the operation. However, hormonal drugs are quite expensive. In addition, when using them, the quality of pig meat deteriorates. That is why chemical castration has not received much distribution on farms. However, there is a possibility that soon new, more advanced hormonal drugs will appear, and all these problems will finally be successfully solved.

Usefultip

Uncastrated animals are kept on farms quite often. Therefore, some pig breeders are probably interested in the question of how to calm the boars during sexual hunting. In this case, experienced farmers simply give the pigs an injection of a one percent aqueous solution of platiphyllin. After injection with this drug, the animals completely calm down. Such injections are made at the base of the ear three times, with an interval of a day. As in the case of surgical castration, feed the animal only a few hours after the injection.

Of course, a farmer who wants to see his business profitable should know not only how to raise pigs, but also how to castrate. After all, be that as it may, but at the moment, when breeding piglets for meat, this procedure is necessary. If it is not carried out, the cost of feed and maintenance of animals will be much higher, and it will become much more difficult to sell the meat itself.