Reproductive surgery in farm animals Flashcards
castration - advantages
Prevents indiscriminate mating
Reduces aggression - easier management of animals, safety of staff & general public
Reduces taint - boar, bull
Improves carcass quality? - more fat
castration - disadvantages
Reduced growth rate and FCE
Pain / growth check after castration
Consumers don’t like fat (lean carcase)
Loss of potential breeding animals
present castration situation
Calves - Usually castrated except for “bull beef” enterprises, better if young, but done up to 18 months old
Lambs - usually castrated, old lambs suffer severe set back
Pigs - usually left uncastrated
elastrator/rubber ring
Lambs and calves
Causes necrosis of scrotum and testis
Within 1 week of birth by law (hill flocks?)
MUST ensure both testis are within the scrotum and distal to the ring - otherwise will create inguinal cryptorchid
Mind the penis (sigmoid flexure)
elastrator/rubber ring - advantages
simplicity
low failure rate
elastrator/rubber ring - disadvantages
Only within 1 week of age
Pain
necrosis of tissues
Burdizzo or bloodless castrator
Calves and lambs Advantage - no wound Disadvantages - pain, high failure rate, scrotal ischaemia, crushing sigmoid flexure restraint safety of operator
burdizzo - technique
Draw right testis into bottom of scrotal sac
Hold spermatic cord firmly against lateral edge of neck of scrotum
Clamp cord about 4 cm above testis
Second clamp about 1 cm distal to first
Repeat for left testis, but leaving a gap between left and right crush marks
burdizzo - complications
Failure to crush cord adequately
scrotal necrosis
accidental clamping of sigmoid flexure of penis
must check scrotum contains 2 hard nuts 8 weeks later
open castration
must have clean calf, environment and surgeon
incision must involve bottom of scrotum
only touch tissue that will be removed
scalpel + pair of forceps in disinfectant
catch and restrain the calf
Infiltrate local anaesthetic
Swab the scrotum with disinfectant
Tense the testis into the bottom of the scrotum
J shaped incision
open castration - anaesthesia
3-5 ml”s Procaine each side (calf) Infiltrate around cord Infiltrate under skin Intra testicular NSAID’s post op
open castration - complications
Haemorrhage
Post-operative - oedema, Infection (Clostridial bugs)
“gut tie”
Inguinal Herniation
caesarean section
Routine obstetric procedure in cattle practice
A prompt decision to perform a caesarean operation is important for optimum success.
Less exhausting, speedier and safer than foetotomy.
caesarean section - decisions leading to
Dam - Heifer or cow, More than five days beyond expected calving date, Long period of unproductive straining
Calf - Presence of a valuable calf
caesarean section - indications
Foeto-maternal disproportion. Incomplete dilatation of the cervix. Irreducible uterine torsion. Foetal deformity. Faulty foetal disposition (presentation, posture and position).
