Castration and Dehorning Flashcards
what are the 4 reasons we castrate food animals?
- eliminate breeding
- fat marbling increased
- taste (eliminate boar taint)
- decrease fighting
T/F: castrating is better in younger animals because it causes less stress, has decreased healing time, and restraint is easier
true
Size of the testes correlates with bleeding potential during castration. Are older or younger animals bleeding MORE?
younger
i.e a buckling bleeds more
When is the MOSt optimal time of year to castrate?
fall-winter, when flies are not as prominate
when should you castrate pigs?
at processing (2-5 days old)
if a goat is being kept as a pet, when should you castrate?
6 months to allow for testosterone to continue the development of the prepuce and sigmoid flexure.
If you castrate earlier, you increase the risk of urolithiasis and inability to extend prepuce
why is it difficult to locally anesthetize the scrotum?
- it is very difficult to get the internal pudendal nerve.
- the scrotum is thin, there is no SQ fat, so there is nothing to inject into
- it would require a ring block which is too painful and not worth it.
which species requires a LOWER dose of lidocaine for local anesthesia – cattle, pigs, or small ruminants?
small ruminants due to toxicity (tremors and seizures)
what are the 2 site options for local anesthesia for castration?
spermatic cord
intratesticular
When should you provide pain relief for castration (banamine or meloxicam)?
BEFORE the castration because it takes a few hours to take effect.
what are the restraint methods for castration?
- tail jack and squeeze with chute – calves
- hold against chest – lambs, kids, piglets
elastrator bands (which strangulate the spermatic cord and cause the scrotum and testes to fall off within 1-3 weeks) are used in calves less than ____ lbs.
150
what are 3 complications of elastrator bands?
- cannot count to 2 to ensure complete removal
- tetanus!
- band might not be strong enough and could result in granulation tissue formation (usually occurs if animal is TOO big)
what preventative measure can you take prior to castration to decrease risk of tetanus?
give tetanus antitoxoid (TAT) to lambs and kids if the mother did not receive the CD/T vaccine 3-4 weeks prior to parturition
The _______ is used in larger animals and requires you to go back and cut off the scrotum in 3-4 days after application. The risk of tetanus is still present.
callicrate bander
what tool is used to castrate food animals in a way that the scrotum is NOT cut, only the testicular circulation is disrupted and then the testes atrophy?
burdizzo clamp
you clamp each spermatic cord at different levels to ensure you disrupt collateral circulation. This causes a lot of swelling the day after.
what castration tool splits the scrotum longitudinally into 2 flaps of skin?
newberry knife
what is the bloody castration method used in SMALL RUMINANTS?
use a scalpel blade to remove the bottom half of the scrotum
grab with forces or clamps first (to avoid cutting your ahnds)
what does the henderson castration tool do?
clamp above the pampiniform plexus of the testicle and spins it at a high speed to break the spermatic cord while providing good hemostasis
what does the emasculator tool do?
crushes the spermatic cord for 30-60 seconds to cause hemostasis and then has a cutting edge to cut it off.
where should you apply fly spray post-castration?
on hocks and around scrotum
how can you tell if bleeding from castration is too much or normal?
a few drops = normal, probably from skin
if pouring blood – this is from spermatic vessels (resulting from you tearing the cord at the pampiniform plexus or yanking/not stretching); if this is occurring, apply pressure and lace a 4x4 gauze pack in there.
Castrating pigs looks a lot like castrating dogs. You push the testes up toward the prepuce and use a scalpel blade to cut over the testes. When you pull the testes out, you must pull STRAIGHT, not down. why do we avoid pulling down?
if you pull down, you can extend the inguinal ring and this would be bad.
T/F: if a pig is less than 120 lbs, restraint for castration entails holding them upside down or squeezing them between your legs. If above 120 lbs, then you use pentobarbital or TKX.
true
