How and when to castrate a goat
Kidney castration is a common procedure on farms. Herders claim that after removing the testes, artiodactyls become less aggressive and gain weight faster. There are much fewer breeding inseminators on any farm than regular goats. To avoid low-quality mating, culled cloven-hoofed animals are castrated. Older animals can also be operated on before slaughter: this improves the taste of the meat. There are several methods of performing such an operation: bloodless, bloody, or using rings. When to castrate goats, an experienced breeder usually decides for himself, however, beginners should be aware of some of the specifics of this business.
How to castrate a goat
Purpose of castration and preparation of the animal for the procedure
Castration of an animal is a special procedure for surgical intervention in the reproductive system, as a result of which males cannot fertilize females.
Most of the kids go through a castration operation in the first month of life. Pastoralists claim that a castrated goat is less aggressive towards humans and their relatives. Such males do not fight for leadership in the herd, which excludes many unpleasant injuries in artiodactyls. In addition, castration of goats has a positive effect on weight. The absence of seed canals makes the hormonal system of cattle work differently, so the meat of castrated goats does not give off a garlic smell and has a high taste.
In addition to changes in hormonal levels, castrated animals move less. Reduced activity also allows for better fattening of the animal before slaughter. Thanks to the accumulated fat, castrated meat is much more tender.
The castration of kids that have not passed breeding selection is carried out at the age of up to 2 months. In the first month after the procedure, the kid may lag behind in growth and weight gain, however, by 3-4 months, the animal overtakes its full-fledged counterparts in growth, therefore, such kids should be slaughtered no earlier than seven months. If cloven-hoofed animals are allowed to be slaughtered after summer fattening, it is better not to subject them to surgery and simply separate them from the main herd.
With rare frequency, the procedure for castration is carried out in old males.
The operations are performed on animals that are no longer able to cover females with high quality. Usually, at the age of 5-7 years, breeding males are sent for fattening, after having previously carried out the procedure for removing the testes. This allows the animal to quickly gain the desired weight and cleanse the meat from unpleasant tastes and odors. When to castrate goats, each breeder decides for himself, but most do not recommend removing the testes at the age of 2-3 years. The operation can be stressful for young males.
Sometimes a castration procedure can be prescribed by doctors in case of injury or swelling. There is also limited castration for making probe goats. Such cattle are used to determine the degree of mating readiness in a goat.For this, the member of the animal is taken to the side and the spermatic cord is excised, keeping the vascular cone. After such a procedure, goats are able to hunt, but cannot fertilize the female.
In order for the castration operation to be successful, the correct preparation of the animal itself should be carried out:
- separation from the general herd;
- a hungry diet for half a day;
- careful examination of males for various diseases;
- examination of the operated area for abnormalities or injuries.
In addition, the site must be prepared for the future operation. You need to use a wide area with good light. The room must be kept clean to reduce the risk of infection. In advance, you should select instruments for castration and also thoroughly disinfect them.
There are several methods for neutering goats:
- Bloodless castration of young kids, which includes the use of rubber rings and clamping of the spermatic cord.
- Bloody method of castration: removal of the testicles of an animal.
Depending on the method, the instruments and the place of the operation are selected. All methods of castration of farm goats have both their own characteristics and their disadvantages.
Bloodless way of castration
Using this technology, the operation takes place without damage to blood vessels and open wounds. A number of these methods make it easy to castrate an animal without special skills.
Bloodless castration can be done by yourself at home. Most often, rubber rings are used for the operation - this is the simplest and least traumatic method for animals. However, there are other methods of bloodless castration.
Clamping the cord with forceps
For this method, special forceps are used for the castration of young kids, which come in different designs and are named, depending on the inventor. There are tongs of Golensky, Khanin, Telyatnikov and others. The forceps surgery increases the animal's weight by 10-15% over time.
The castration procedure begins as follows: the goat is firmly fixed by one person, putting the male with his back on his knees and holding the hind limbs, after which access to the desired area is opened. If the castration of a farm goat occurs with the help of Golensky forceps, then the sequence of actions should be as follows:
- They feel the testes and find the desired cord.
- They are taken to the side and pressed against the outside of the skin.
- The cord is clamped between the fingers and the abdomen with forceps.
- Hold it for half a minute.
- Re-clamp with forceps 1 cm below the first clamp.
If you use Telyatnikov's forceps, then the cord is clamped once, closer to the testicles. The spermatic cord is pushed to the edge and clamped.
Very often, a characteristic crunch is heard next, which means crushing of tissues. The tool is held in this position for 5 seconds, after which it is removed. If no crunch was heard, then the procedure is repeated, pinching the cord 1-2 cm higher.
Using rubber rings to castrate young stock
This method is considered the easiest among pastoralists and is used most often. The cervix of a young goat is pulled over with special elastic bands, after which the blood supply to the genitals is disrupted, the scrotum dies off and, as a rule, falls off. Due to the use of rubber rings, this method of castration is called elastration.
The rubber product is stretched using special forceps (elostrator), and then put on the testes. Before this, you should feel the scrotum of the animal, otherwise only one testicle may be transmitted. The kid only feels pain for the first half hour, after which the nerve vessels die and the genitals no longer function. The entire surgical site should be smeared with iodine before castration. If the process went right, then after half an hour the scrotum will become cold due to the lack of blood circulation.
The period of dying off of the testicles lasts about 3 weeks.All this time, the goats should be regularly examined and their scrotum should be treated with iodine. During this period, you can begin to feed the animal with concentrates: due to a malfunction of the hormonal system, the male quickly gains weight.
This technology is good because even an inexperienced breeder can complete the entire procedure. It is important to do this before the pet is one month old, otherwise the pet may experience severe stress.
Bloody ways of castration
The bloody method of castration involves surgical intervention in the animal's reproductive system.
This technology is much more complex than bloodless methods and is carried out by experienced professionals. Most often it is used for old animals that are no longer able to cover goats. Before slaughter, such males are castrated so that they gain weight faster.
An adult goat is held upside down, fixing by the hind limbs. Such castration is carried out only under local anesthesia, otherwise the animal may have a painful shock. Before the operation, hair is shaved off the scrotum, this place is treated with iodine, after which a solution of novocaine is injected into the textiles.
There are several ways to cut the scrotum:
- excision of tissues parallel to the seam in the middle, such an incision is made twice - for each testicle;
- incision of tissues on one testicle, after which the septum is dissected and the second is pulled out;
- cutting off the lower part of the scrotum and cutting through the suture;
- cutting off the lower part of the scrotum, but without incision of the common vaginal membrane.
Any of the methods of bloody castration requires certain treatment after. After the operation, the wound of an adult goat must be treated. For this, iodine, peroxide or dry streptocide are used. The male should be monitored constantly.
The most dangerous in this method is considered possible bleeding, which can be both open and internal. It is important to check the operated area for inflammation or induration. The animal's diet after surgery should contain antibacterial herbs: chamomile, calendula, St. John's wort. It is extremely important to comply with the sanitary standards for keeping cattle, otherwise there is a risk of bringing the infection along with the dirt.