IMPORTANCE OF CASTRATION IN LIVESTOCK
What is Castration?
Castration is defined as the destruction or removal of the testes, epididymis, and a part of spermatic cord from a male animal e.g. ram, buck, bull. Male animals that are reserved for fattening and those that are not needed for breeding or mating should be castrated.
Most times, farmers don’t castrate male animals. They allow them to flock together with the females. The outcome of this decision will cause low-quality males to mate with females to produce a low quality or unproductive offspring.
Castration is most often performed on young male kids not needed for breeding and by meat producers who wish to “wether” the young males for market. Castration involves the cutting of the testicles and is best performed immediately after birth to lessen the pain and trauma involved. Castration presents a number of benefits including a decrease in many diseases and conditions, in particular, Urinary Calculi. Breeders producing for meat also know that castration eliminates the “buck odor” associated with an uncastrated male, and when left uncastrated but used for meat, the “buck odor” most often can be a problem in the overall taste of the meat. There are basically three methods of castration: 1) cutting with a knife, 2) use of a bloodless castrator (often called a Burdizzo), and 3) use of an elastrator (banding rings wrapped around the testacles). Method 2 is the most preferred method of castration while method 3 is the subject of controversy among breeders and animal rights activists. A castrated male is called a wether.Male hormone plays a vital role in this process.
Testosterone is an anabolic hormone which builds muscles in the body. It increases nitrogen retention and improves weight gain. In short, we can say testosterone helps in lean meat production with minimal fat content. It has been observed repeatedly at the farms that a non-castrated buck outweighs the castrated bucks by 15 to 25%.
Function of testosterone in male goats;————-
It produces thick hair coat with erect craig;
Testosterone increases 50% muscle mass as compare to female
Testosterone increases bone matrix and causes calcium retention
It increases rate of bone growth – height of the animal increases more than female of same age
It increases total basal metabolic rate by 15% – which means it helps in utilizing nutrients more efficiently than castrated goat of same age.
It increases total red blood cells in the blood which carries large amount of oxygen to the growing tissues.
It helps in retaining water in the body and contributes 10% more water in non castrated bucks than castrated.
However, basic reason behind castration was to check indiscriminate breeding in the flock and to keep animal calm if you have to keep them in a flock after puberty. But question is that why to keep animal after puberty if you don’t want to keep them for breeding. Farmers must know the fact that after puberty (6-8month of age) body weight gain and growth start decreasing and FCR (feed conversion ration decreases. In this condition you feed more and gain less.
So you should sold out your kids at early age of 6 to 8 month (before breeding stage) and keep yourself away from this brutal technique which is not so worthy as it seems.
Advantage of non castrated males————-
Higher weight gain than castrated male
More lean meat (less fatty which is desirable for market) than castrated
Zero chances of infection because you prevent castration injuries
Overall cost of production decreases
No need to take any training for castration
ALL ABOUT CASTRATION AND URINARY CALCULI—————
Male goat (buck) kids that are not being kept as future herd sires are usually castrated so that they will no longer be fertile. The exception to this is suckling kids that are slaughtered before they reach puberty (become sexually mature). Fertile male goats have a strong smell during the breeding season and do unpleasant things like urinate on their beards to impress females. In contrast, a castrated goat (a wether) will not gross out your friends or the general public when you take him to a show. He will also be unable to accidentally breed other goats you own.
It is less traumatic to castrate the kid when he is very young but this will make him more susceptible to urinary calculi because his urethra (the tube that carries his urine from his bladder to the opening in his penis) will not develop to its full size and is easier to clog up.
Urinary calculi is when the urethra gets blocked up with mineral deposits and urine can not pass through it. If the deposits or “stones” are not somehow passed or dissolved, the kid’s bladder will burst and he will die. Ideally, you should wait until your kid is 10 weeks old to castrate him but this is not always possible. Other preventions for urinary calculi that you should practice include:
1) feeding a ration with a 2:1 calcium to phosphorus ratio,
2) adding ammonium chloride to his feed at a rate of about 15 lbs. per ton of feed or else giving him about ½ ounce (about a tablespoon) to 1 ounce (2 tbsp.) per day depending on his size unless his feed already contains it,
3) making sure he gets plenty of exercise and drinks lots of water (keep his water in the shade if hot and unfrozen if cold, always have salt available to him), and
4) checking daily to make sure he is urinating easily without straining and has no blood in his urine.
When to Castrate: ——–
The preferable age for castration is 2-21 days. To help reduce the stress placed on the animal, many producers prefer to castrate at 2-4 days. These animals will generally be playing and jumping the next day. Complications can arise when lambs/kids are allowed to get 4 to 6 weeks old before they are castrated or if they are castrated during the height of the fly season. Animals (particularly goats) several months old often require anesthesia to safely perform a castration. Some studies recommend waiting to castrate male goats that are going to be kept as pet wethers until after they reach puberty. This allows the diameter of the urethra to be as large as possible to help prevent urinary stones.
How to Castrate: ——
The time-honored method of castration in sheep where the testicles are removed by the teeth of the producer will probably never be replaced. In addition to this method, there are several instruments that are commonly used to remove the testicles. Many of these instruments and techniques are discussed in the following information.
Economic Importance of Castration—-
- Prevention of inbreeding
Inbreeding leads to poor growth rate, poor food conversion ratio, and some other genetic defects. - Prevention of unwanted pregnancies———–
Castration prevents unplanned pregnancies and also mating of young female animals before they attain good body weight, size and age for pregnancy and parturition (giving birth).
- Safety of employees, producers, and other animals.———–
Note that castrated animals are often less aggressive and they can be handled with ease.
- Reduced taint odour or goaty smell in the meat of male animals——–
For example, the meat from intact bucks (goat) always has strong ‘goaty’ smell while it is lesser in castrated bucks.
- Improved weight development and carcass quality——–
This point is one of the effects of castrating male animals. A castrated animal such as goats and sheep from research develops more fat tissue. If castration is done late maybe after the animal has attained sexual maturity, the growth of such an animal could be retarded and its lean meat quality will also decrease.
Why Castration Should be Done at an Early Age——-
Castration should be carried out at the youngest age because the stress of the operation will negatively affect growth in older animals. You can castrate kids, lambs, piglets, calves, etc. as soon as you observe and confirm descend of the testicles* into the scrotum, which could take between few days to three weeks of age. There is no need to administer pain reliever or sedation if castration is carried out at this age.
The operation becomes complex and more painful with older ages and the possibility of complication increases. In addition, castration is easier, and the wound heals quickly in younger animals. It is recommended that castration should be performed on animals at less than 3 weeks of age. Unfortunately, many farmers choose to castrate their male animals at an older age when the animal is matured. They give the reason that castration at an early age would lead to stunted growth, or it would affect good body conformation.
How to Castrate an Animal-——-
Animals such as pig, cattle, goat, sheep and dogs can be castrated. There are three methods of castration.
• Surgical removal
• Burdizzo
• Elastrator and rubber ring
How to carry out a surgical removal of the testes (castration)—–
This process is a surgical operation; hence, ensure that you know what you’re doing before you start the operation. If not, use the service of a veterinary surgeon. The steps involved in a surgical removal of the testes (castration) are as follow:
• Sterilize the surgical knife or blade and syringe
• Wash the hands thoroughly and with a disinfectant such as Dettol
• Wash the scrotum with warm water and Dettol
• Use the left hand to grasp the end of the scrotum and the right hand to gently force the testicles back
• Use the sterilized surgical blade or knife to open up one end of the scrotum. Then grip a testicle between the thumb and first finger. Gently twist anticlockwise and apply traction to remove the testis.
• Repeat the process with the second testis.
• Apply iodine or gental violet (GV) to the operated area
• Inject the animal with oxytetracycline solution using a sterile syringe.
• Give the animal multivitamins for 5 days
Burdizzo or bloodless castrator-———–
• Hold the burdizzo using the right hand and draw one testicle down with the left hand.
• Place the spermatic cord between the jaws of the burdizzo and apply pressure.
• Repeat the process with the second testicle.
Elastrator and rubber rings———-
The rings are placed under the scrotum and spermatic cord when the animal is about 1-week old or when both testicles have descended. Ensure that both testes are below the ring.
As the animal grows old, the ring will make the scrotum and testicles develop further due to the stoppage of blood supply to the area. After a while, the scrotum and testicles shrink and die naturally.
Reference-On request
