How to castrate piglets with your own hands: features of the procedure and care

When breeding greasy or meat breeds of pigs, you will definitely need to castrate animals at a young age. The procedure provides greater weight gain for the animals due to the rejection of energy-consuming sexual development.

Castration is usually carried out by veterinarians, however, surgical intervention can be carried out independently, without the involvement of outside help. There are several methods of closed and open sterilization, with and without surgery.

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 neutered.
Increase in the weight of pigs. Neutered animals become less active. They move a little, thanks to which they gain mass faster.
Improving endurance. After castration, the pigs become more resilient, they grow faster with less food.

Benefits of castration at an early age

Castration at an early age of a piglet has several advantages over surgery in adulthood:

Castrating a piglet at an early age is less emotional for him.
The operation at an early age prevents the increase in the number of pigs in the future.
Neutering a piglet will help increase the likelihood of getting less viral infections.
Neutering piglets can positively affect the use of anabolic steroids in adulthood of the animal.

It is impossible to castrate a piglet during its vaccination against viral infections! This can lead to blood poisoning and death of the piglet.

The optimal age is still considered to be a 6- or 7-day-old piglet, since during this period there is less blood loss, less pain for the animal and less operation costs.

Conditions for normal operation:

It is definitely recommended to be carried out in the morning, because during the day you can observe and analyze the well-being of the piglet and take measures.
Before the operation, carry out a careful selection of piglets, that is, pay attention to the skin surface (if there are any spots or scratches there, so you can infect the animal from another).
The penis of a pig or pig must not be damaged.

It happens that an adult animal is also castrated. At puberty, the boar is aggressive. Therefore, antidepressants need to be administered to calm the pig's nervous system.

As for the one conducting the operation:

Pay attention to the nails and wounds on the hands, remove everything that interferes (trim the nails, seal the wounds and hangnails).
Disinfect your hands, treat with an antiseptic and wear the necessary gloves.
Wear special clean clothes.

The place where the operation is performed must be:

Treated with local antiseptics (including the place of the animal).
Ventilate the room before the operation to remove unpleasant, unnecessary odors.

In the event of an incorrect operation and non-observance of all the rules and criteria, it is possible to infect both the piglets and oneself, and even lead to its death due to a large loss of blood.

When to conduct?

Many people who have not previously been involved in raising 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).

Closed castration of adult boars

The closed castration of boars is intended for adult pets and is carried out by a veterinarian. Preparation begins two weeks before the event: the pig does not change the diet, does not get vaccinated, and monitors the cleanliness of the room. It is recommended to castrate the boar at least two months before the slaughter of the animal in order to eliminate the unpleasant odor.

The scheme for the grooming of large boars:

Boars older than 8 months are tightly tied with ropes, while there should be adult men nearby who will hold the animal.
Lamentation is performed under general or local anesthesia.
The skin of the scrotum is cut.
The testes with the membrane are pulled through the incision, twisted and a ligature is applied.
The testes are cut off, the site is treated with an antiseptic. The incision is sutured.

After surgery, bleeding, swelling and prolapse of internal organs are possible. In this case, you need to contact your veterinarian.

Preparing for surgery

Before proceeding with the operation, it is necessary to carry out preparatory work. For the procedure to be painless for the piglet and without consequences, it is necessary to use a special machine. With its help, animals are fixed in one position so that they cannot move and interfere with castration.

Chemical castration

This is a relatively new method that was developed in Australia in 1998. Its essence lies in the fact that the animal is injected with special drugs for at least four weeks. The chemical suppresses testosterone production by the testes. The neuter boar has smaller testicles than normal pigs. Once the immune castration agent is finished, the boar is kept until slaughter for at least 5 weeks.

The chemical castration agent is called Improvac.

Operation technique

Before engaging in the do-it-yourself castration of pigs, 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 pig 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 bandaging 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.
The testis is carefully squeezed out through the incised holes 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 completely painless, since 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 by 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.

Known methods

Bloody ways

Castration is carried out in an open way, or closed. During the operation, the testes are removed completely.

The peculiarity of the body of pigs is that the testicles are inside the body, and in small pigs they cannot even be seen from the outside. In some boars, the testicles sometimes bulge outward, but this feature depends on the breed. In this case, the castration of an adult boar also occurs using the bloody method.

During the operation using the closed method, the testicle is removed along with the common membrane. To remove the gonads in adults, this method is most often used. This is due to some features of the anatomical structure of the animal - they often have dilated inguinal canals. Also, when using the open method, entrails can fall out through the wounds after castration, infections are brought in.

Open castration involves removing the testicle through an incision in the vaginal membrane. The membrane itself remains in the scrotum after surgery.

The method of castration is determined by the veterinarian, taking into account the opinion of the owner of the pig.

Bloodless ways

For castration, you can use a chemical method or clamp the blood flow into the scrotum.

For the second method, or elastation, a ligature was previously used. It was placed on the scrotum between the abdomen and the testes with a special castration knot. Today, four-pointed forceps and special rings are used.

Also, radiation is sometimes used for castration.

Features of carrying out with an inguinal hernia

Sometimes the castration of gilts has to be done for medical reasons. Experts advise doing this if the piglet has neoplasms. Also, the procedure is performed if he suffers from inflammation of the testicles or inguinal hernia.

At what age are pigs castrated?

Most owners of farms claim that it is necessary to castrate eggs in a piglet only at an early age, until puberty occurs.

However, a number of studies say differently what time a piglet should be neutered:

Neutering is necessary during puberty of the pig, that is, an uncastrated boar is operated on for the various purposes described above.
Boars are castrated due to their large numbers before slaughter.
Castrate adult boars for less expense, but more emotionally for the pig.

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 castrated males. Animals must be kept clean. It is recommended to lay a thick layer of straw 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.

Piglet care after surgery

After being castrated, complications can occur:

Bleeding.
Loss of oil seals.
Bowel prolapse.
Prolapse of the vaginal membrane.
Swelling on the surfaces of the reproductive system.

All these consequences are associated with improper operation or unstable pig immunity. In any case, you need to fight these consequences.

An experienced veterinarian will conduct a complete analysis of the animal and determine the methods of treatment:

In case of bleeding, it is necessary to use hydrogen peroxide or drugs that improve blood clotting.
When the omentum falls out, they are inserted back into the abdominal cavity and treated with antibiotics to prevent infection.
When one cavity of the intestine falls out, they try to protect it from the penetration of dirt and disinfect it. The animal needs peace of mind with such an injury, good nutrition, and antibiotic prophylaxis.
When the shell falls out, it is excised. Then they are enveloped in a solution of novocaine and cut off. Almost throughout the entire process, they are treated with hydrogen peroxide. Then antibiotics are used.
With edema, also the use of antibiotics.

In connection with these complications, the next operation should be carried out no later than a week or two, the sooner the treatment, the sooner problems can be avoided.

After carrying out any operations, the pig needs rest and good nutrition, this is necessary so that the immune system itself fights against mechanical damage inside the body and helps the animal to recover faster.

How is the operation performed

How to castrate piglets, every breeder should know. This procedure is simple and does not require complex skills. Open surgery is the most common. The animal is fixed in a supine position on its back using a machine or in any other way, after which the area of operation is treated with an antiseptic.

Castration of a piglet laid in a pen

The testes are taken in the hand and squeezed so that the skin is well stretched. After that, 2 cuts are quickly made on both sides. It is important not to damage the inner shell. Next, the testis is gently pulled out and a silk thread is tied on its cord to prevent bleeding. The testis is then cut off below the tied site. The stump is treated with iodine, and the wound is sprinkled with an antibiotic powder (you can use a streptocide from a pharmacy).

Holes after surgery must be treated with an antiseptic

When piglets are castrated, the cord is not always cut off. Sometimes it is torn off after applying a clamp. This procedure is more complicated and requires considerable experience, which is why it is rarely practiced.

Break of the spermatic cord

In this way, only the smallest piglets up to 2 weeks of age are castrated. The principle of the method is to pull the spermatic cord twisted along the axis from the abdominal wall after the transitional ligament is cut and the tissues are displaced towards the inguinal ring.

Castration is carried out for piglets of meat and greasy breeds, as well as:

Pale pink huge landrace.
Large, semi-wild barbecue -
Red-brown Duroc boars.

This is done with the right hand, and at this time, the spermatic cord is grasped through the skin of the scrotum with the left hand and fixed with Kocher tweezers. After that, it is twisted on the index finger of the right hand and pulled with force until it breaks. Some operators use a jerk to break the gap. The wound is then treated with an antiseptic or antibiotic.