Do-it-yourself castration of piglets at home: technique and scheme

People who are serious about raising pigs are often faced with 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 should piglets be castrated?

Castration of Vietnamese and ordinary piglets is a surgical operation during which the animals' gonads are carefully cut out. Sometimes this procedure is performed non-surgically. For example, some farmers prefer the chemical or radioactive method of castrating farmed pigs.

There are several main reasons for this procedure:

• Improve the taste of pork. In some non-castrated animals, the 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 castrating them.
• The increase in the mass of pigs. Neutered animals become less active. They don't move much, which helps them gain mass faster.
• Improved stamina. After castration, pigs become more enduring, they grow faster with less food.

When to hold?

Many people who have never raised pigs before are wondering when is the best time to castrate them and at what age the procedure is done.

Experienced farmers recommend doing this when piglets are young. You should not put it off until later, as in small animals, tissues regenerate many times faster than in adults. It is also necessary to castrate them early, as young pigs are better anesthetized. This facilitates the operation and eliminates the occurrence of complications in the future. It is best to castrate dairy pigs. They drink fresh mother's milk, which helps to heal wounds and support 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).

Preparation for surgery

Before proceeding with the operation, it is necessary to carry out preparatory work. In order 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 the castration.

You also need to prepare some strong ropes in advance. They are used to hold adult boars that can escape from the hands. In addition, it is necessary to prepare medicines that will provide general or local anesthesia.

To carry out the procedure, you will need other tools:

• powder or antiseptic to be used in postoperative wound care;
• sharpened surgical scissors or forceps for clamping;
• threads;
• bandages and sterile cotton swabs;
• scalpel;
• a special tool with rubber rings that will be needed for bloodless castration.

Surgery technique

Before you do the castration of pigs with your own hands, you need to understand the basic techniques of the operation.

Private method

Some farmers who need to castrate a piglet use the 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.
• Administration of 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.
• Retraction towards the testis. Then it is gently turned and tied with a thread at the base.
• Cutting the spermatic cord. It is cut off with scissors at a distance of one and a half centimeters from the place of dressing.

Open method

Experts advise using the open method when castrating very small piglets. When using this technique, you will have to cut the ligaments, vaginal membranes and scrotum. The procedure is as follows:

• The surface of the scrotum is completely cleaned of hair and treated with an antiseptic.
• The testis is gently 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 ligation site is cut off.
• The incision site is treated with powder.

Chemical method

Some farmers do not want to do the operation at home and therefore prefer to use the chemical method of castration of piglets.This procedure is absolutely painless, since you do not 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 not practical to use this technique.

During the chemical castration of pigs, a special injection is made. After the procedure, it is necessary to monitor the he alth of the animals for two weeks in order to prevent the occurrence of complications.

Elastration

People who want to castrate small pigs in a bloodless way can elastrate. To perform the procedure, special rubberized rings are used, which are strongly compressed during use. This device is gently pulled over the scrotum of animals and compressed tightly. As a result of this compression, the flow of blood to the testes stops. The procedure must be carried out very carefully.

You need to make sure that during compression, the testes descend into the scrotum. After three and a half weeks, the scrotum will atrophy and the rubber rings can be removed.

Features of inguinal hernia

Sometimes pigs have to be castrated for medical reasons. Experts advise doing this if the piglet has neoplasms. Also, the procedure is carried out if he suffers from inflammation of the testicles or inguinal hernia.

If a pig has been diagnosed with an inguinal hernia, it should be castrated 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-op care

Animals that have been neutered openly 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 during this time swelling or inflammation develops at the incision site, you will need to seek help from a professional veterinarian.

How to castrate a large boar

If you need to castrate 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 castration of adult animals, special sedatives are used. It is very important to choose the right dosage of such drugs, as sometimes a large number of drugs leads to aggression.

Conclusion

Every farmer who breeds piglets is faced with the need for castration. Before doing this, you need to familiarize yourself with the features of this procedure.

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