Why do you need and when to do castration of piglets, do it yourself technique
People who are seriously involved in breeding gilts often face the need to castrate piglets. Many farmers seek help from specialists who help carry out this procedure. However, it is not necessary to use the services of professionals, since you can castrate animals yourself.
Why do you need to castrate piglets?
Castration of Vietnamese and ordinary piglets is called a surgical operation, during which the gonads of the animals are carefully cut out. Sometimes this procedure is not performed surgically. For example, some farmers prefer the chemical or radioactive method of castrating their raised pigs.
There are several main reasons for this procedure:
- Improving the palatability of pork. In some non-castrated animals, meat has a specific smell. This negatively affects the taste of the dishes that will be prepared from it. Therefore, people who have been raising piglets for many years strongly recommend that they be castrated.
- Increase in the weight of pigs. Neutered animals become less active. They move little, which makes them gain mass faster.
- Improving endurance. After castration, the pigs become more resilient, they grow faster with less food.
When to conduct?
Many people who have not previously raised pigs are interested in when it is best to castrate them and at what age the procedure is performed.
Experienced farmers recommend doing this when the piglets are young. Do not put it off until later, as in small animals, tissues are regenerated many times faster than in adults. You also need to castrate them early, as young pigs are better anesthetized. This facilitates the operation and excludes the occurrence of complications in the future. It is best to do the castration of dairy pigs. They drink fresh mother's milk, which helps in wound healing and supports their immunity.
Experts advise to carry out the procedure at this age:
- 5-7 days after birth;
- two and a half weeks (this age is optimal);
- 50-60 days (deadline).
Preparing for surgery
Before proceeding with the operation, it is necessary to carry out preparatory work. To make the procedure painless for the piglet and without consequences, it is necessary to use a special machine.With its help, the animals are fixed in one position so that they cannot move and interfere with castration.
You also need to prepare some strong ropes in advance. They are used to secure adult boars that may escape from the hands. In addition, it is necessary to prepare medicines that will provide general or local anesthesia.
For the procedure, you will need other tools:
- powder or antiseptic agents that will be used in the postoperative treatment of the wound;
- sharpened surgical scissors or forceps for clamping;
- threads;
- bandages and sterile cotton swabs;
- scalpel;
- a special tool with rubber rings, which will be needed for bloodless castration.
Operation technique
Before you do it yourself, you need to understand the basic techniques of the operation.
Closed method
Some farmers who need to castrate a piglet use a closed method. In this case, you will have to squeeze out the testis of the piglet yourself.
The step-by-step scheme of the procedure is as follows:
- Washing and disinfection of the animal's scrotum.
- Local anesthesia so that the piglet does not feel pain.
- Cutting the skin on the scrotum. It must be cut very carefully so as not to accidentally damage the vaginal membrane.
- Lead to the side of the testis. Then it is carefully twisted and tied with a thread at the base.
- Trimming the spermatic cord. It is cut off with scissors at a distance of one and a half centimeters from the binding site.
Open way
Experts advise using the open method when they castrate very small pigs. When using this technique, you will have to cut the ligaments, vaginal membranes and scrotum. The procedure is performed as follows:
- The surface of the scrotum is completely cleansed of hair and treated with an antiseptic.
- The testes are carefully stretched, after which two identical cuts are made on it.
- Through the incised holes, the testis is carefully squeezed out and tied with a thread.
- Part of the testis above the dressing site is cut off.
- The place of the incision is processed with powder.
Chemical method
Some farmers do not want to carry out operations at home and therefore prefer to use the chemical method of neutering piglets. This procedure is absolutely painless, as you don't have to cut anything. Experienced farmers advise owners of large farms to use the chemical method. If there are not too many piglets, it is simply inappropriate to use this technique.
During castration of gilts, a special injection is made using a chemical method. After the procedure, it is necessary to monitor the health of the animals for two weeks in order to prevent complications.
Elastication
People who wish to castrate small gilts with a bloodless method can perform elastration. To perform the procedure, special rubberized rings are used, which are strongly compressed during use. This device is gently pulled over the animal's scrotum and compressed tightly. As a result of this compression, blood flow to the testes is stopped. The procedure must be carried out very carefully.
Care must be taken to ensure that the testes descend into the scrotum during compression. After three and a half weeks, the scrotum will atrophy and the rubber rings can be removed.
Features of carrying out with an inguinal hernia
Sometimes the castration of pigs has to be done for medical reasons. Experts advise doing this if the piglet has neoplasms. The procedure is also performed if he suffers from inflammation of the testicles or an inguinal hernia.
If the mumps has been diagnosed with an inguinal hernia, castration should be done as soon as possible. The operation must be entrusted to an experienced veterinarian. At the same time, it is necessary to castrate piglets that have such a pathology only by a closed method. All other methods of castration are not suitable.
Post-operative care
Animals that have been castrated by the open method require postoperative care. The operated pig should be moved to another stall with other neutered males. Animals must be kept clean. A thick layer of straw is recommended on the ground. Sawdust should not be used, as they can penetrate into wounds, which will lead to the development of inflammation. It is necessary to observe the operated pigs within a week. If swelling or inflammation develops at the incision site during this time, you will have to seek help from a professional veterinarian.
How to castrate a large boar
If you need to deal with the castration of a huge boar, for this it is better to contact a veterinarian. It is not easy to do this on your own, as adult piglets can be aggressive. For the castration of adult animals, special sedatives are used. It is very important to choose the right dosage for such drugs, since sometimes a large amount of drugs leads to the appearance of aggression.
Conclusion
Every piglet farmer is faced with the need for castration. Before doing this, you need to familiarize yourself with the features of this procedure.
