Why do bulls put a ring in their nose: why and how they pierce, types of piercing

Caring for a large herd of cattle is not easy. It is especially difficult to cope with bulls - aggressive and dangerous animals. Watching a picture of a grazing herd, sometimes the question arises - why do bulls insert a metal ring into their noses? This phenomenon is common, not everyone around knows its meaning. Although it is assumed that in this way livestock breeders try to mark their animals.

Why do bulls get nose rings

But the reason for a nose piercing is quite commonplace. Thanks to this accessory, livestock breeders subdue bulls, force them to obedience and perform the necessary actions.Wayward animals, especially not neutered ones, are often difficult to get into the stall or even just look around. To suppress the resistance of the bull, the breeder has to work on his pain points (eyes, ears, nose). It is easy to make an animal obey even with a slight impact on these organs.

The easiest way to subdue the bull and make it move in the right direction is to lightly pull on the ring fixed in the pierced nose. Scientifically, this accessory is called a septum (partition). The ring is passed through a puncture in the upper part of the septum between the nostrils. Usually the procedure is carried out for bulls that have not reached the age of one.

Types of nose piercings

When raising cattle, livestock breeders mainly do two types of piercing: adult bulls and calves. Standard piercing of the nasal septum is done to bulls at the age of 7.5-10 months. As an accessory, a stainless steel ring equipped with a special lock is used.

A different piercing is being selected for the calves. A kind of clip equipped with spikes is fixed in the nose of young animals.

The purpose of the procedure is to wean the calves from sucking the udder. On the outer side of the ring there are spikes that injure the cow's udder as soon as the calf tries to suck milk. Naturally, the cow drives away the calf.

How they do it

Puncture of the nasal septum is a minor operation, but it is recommended to entrust it to a veterinarian. Because the farmer, piercing the tissues on his own, can damage the nose of the bull. Mistakes or inaccurate actions lead to inflammatory processes, tissue decay. Piercing steps:

1. The animal is tied in a corral, while trying to securely fix the head.
2. The bull is given an intravenous injection of "Xelazine" (0.5 ml is a sufficient dose) to reduce the motor activity of the bull.
3. The mucus is removed from the sinuses with a cotton swab and an anesthetic is injected into the upper part of the nasal septum (2% novocaine solution can be used).
4. The septum is pierced with the disinfected tip of the ring, the ring is threaded through and snapped into place.
5. The piercing area is being disinfected.

To remove the pain effect after the end of the anesthesia, they make injections of "Meloxicam". After 10-13 hours, the anesthetic drug is administered again. As a rule, the animal is not disturbed for one and a half to two weeks after the operation. But you can not miss the inflammatory process.

Teach the bull to follow the ring gradually. To get the animal out of the pen, the ring is hooked with a special hook.

Puncture of the nasal septum of an animal should not be considered as an inhumane attitude, because without this accessory the bulls are almost impossible to control. After all, violence and screams will increase aggression and can lead to injuries to surrounding animals and people.

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