Sheep castration: age and features, top 5 ways at home

When they reach puberty, rams start to smell bad. A fetid odor is required by these individuals to attract females. However, at the same time, it can negatively affect the quality characteristics of meat. It will acquire an unpleasant odor and become unsuitable for food. To get rid of this problem, it is important to castrate the ram in a timely manner, which consists in removing its genitals.

What is it for

There are several reasons for ram castration:

1. Tests should be removed for lambs that are not suitable for breeding.The operation allows you to prevent the birth of lambs from males that do not meet the breed characteristics, and to make adjustments to their behavior. After the procedure, the lambs become calmer, which helps to significantly reduce injuries.
2. Sheep mature much earlier than the body is ready to bear lambs. When females are kept together with males in the same room, there is a risk of non-viable cubs. This is fraught with significant losses. Castration can prevent these problems.
3. Often lambs are castrated to correct the taste of meat. After this procedure, it does not have a bad smell, contains more fat and less fiber.
4. Removal of the gonads has a positive effect on the quality and quantity of animal hair. When slaughtered, skinning such sheep is much easier.
5. In more rare cases, rams are castrated for medical reasons. This is required in case of detection of a number of diseases or damage to the genital organs.

Castration of animals on time helps eliminate many problems in keeping sheep and significantly increase the profitability of the farm.

At what age should I do

Puberty of animals occurs in six months. In some breeds, this happens even earlier. It is best to remove the testicles 3-4 weeks before the end of the formation of the genitourinary system. Castration of lambs is carried out not earlier than 3-4 months. If the intervention is performed earlier, there is a risk of significant metabolic disorders and developmental delays. If the operation was performed later, there is a chance that behavioral sexual reactions will persist for a certain time.

Adult rams that are not used for breeding should be castrated a few months before slaughter. During this period, the male is fed. Moreover, the specific flavor of the meat disappears.

To prevent complications, castration is best done in autumn or spring. During these periods, there is a low temperature, and there are no insects. This helps to avoid bleeding, inflammation and other problems.

Methods of castration

To remove the genitals, you can use different methods. At the same time, many farmers choose bloodless methods. They are considered simpler and provide faster recovery of animals.

No blood

Key types of bloodless castration include elastration, destruction of the parenchyma of the testis or spermatic cords.

Elastration

This is one of the easiest castration methods. During the manipulation, special rubber rings are applied to the neck of the scrotum and forceps are used. These actions can be performed by both an experienced farmer and a beginner. However, it is better to perform castration with an elastic band for up to 4 weeks. Then the testicles become very enlarged, and therefore it becomes problematic to use the ring.

Destruction of the spermatic cord

This is a more complex version of castration. It consists in the use of different forceps. The specific variety depends on the age category of the ram. On the first day after the operation, there is a risk of a slight swelling of the scrotum. At the same time, the general condition of the animal does not change.

Destruction of the testis parenchyma

This bloodless method takes into account the physiology of animal genitals. However, it is used quite rarely. It is necessary to castrate the animal in this way with the help of branch-shaped tongs. In appearance, they resemble a spoon.

In this case, the body of the testis is placed on one part of the device, and the second part is captured and destroyed by the parenchyma.

Bloody

The application of these methods requires more knowledge compared to the previous group. This is due to the need to disrupt the structure of the skin and the risk of infection.

Closed method

This method is suitable for castration of animals of any age category. However, most often used in 2-6 months. To do this, you need to take a scalpel, scissors, tincture of iodine. You will also need tongs and disinfectant powder.

To carry out the procedure, you should do the following:

1. Fix a sheep and inject 5-10 milliliters of novocaine at a concentration of 0.5% into each testis.
2. Remove hair from scrotum.
3. Treat the field with iodine solution.
4. Pull the skin of the scrotum down and the testis up.
5. Cut off the top of the scrotum. It is recommended to do this with sharp scissors.
6. Remove the skin to the inguinal rings. Then extract the testicles.
7. Squeeze the vessels and spermatic cord with forceps.
8. Cut off the testicles with a scalpel. It is recommended to do this 1 cm below the clamp area.
9. Place an antiseptic into the resulting wound.

Open method

To perform an open operation, transverse incisions are made at the bottom of the scrotum or when cutting off its bottom. To do this, it is recommended to do the following:

1. Inject anesthetic at several locations on the operation field.
2. Cut the skin. This is worth doing in several places. Get the testicles through the holes. Subsequently, they need to be tied with a ligature. You can also squeeze the spermatic cords with forceps.
3. Finish the wound with antiseptic powder. If it is large, gauze should be placed in the cavity, soaked with an antibiotic or Iodoform.

Features of castration of old individuals

Old animals need to be castrated to reduce their sex drive and eliminate the unpleasant smell of meat. Sexually mature males have an overdeveloped scrotum. This affects the conduct of castration.

To perform the procedure, do the following:

1. Remove the hair from the scrotum and give an injection of novocaine.
2. Fix the male by pulling the pelvic limb to the head.
3. Dissect the skin of the scrotum in a circular way. This should be done before the testicle shell.
4. Pull up the spermatic cord and secure with forceps.
5. Cut off the testicles. This is done with the scrotum and a fragment of the cord.
6. Fix the forceps for 2-3 minutes, then sprinkle the wound with an antiseptic.

Possible Complications

Most often, negative consequences occur after an open operation. At the same time, prolapse of the intestinal loop is observed in sheep. It is also possible prolapse of the spermatic cord. If such complications are eliminated in time, they will not affect the outcome of the operation.

Bleeding is more dangerous. In such a situation, the suture may need to be repeated. Late complications are the accumulation of clotted blood and infection in the body. If help is not provided to the animal in time, there is a risk of developing gangrene, sepsis and death of the pet. Castration of sheep can be carried out in various ways. For the procedure to be successful, it is important to choose the right method of surgical intervention and strictly adhere to all the rules and instructions.

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