Friday, March 29, 2024
Last week our lesson focused on dehorning, and today we'll follow up with another very common management practice in livestock....castration.
Castration disrupts the function of a male animal's testicles, usually by removal of the testes. It has been a routine management procedure for most bull calves since ancient times. Historically, bulls were castrated to prevent propagation of inferior genetics and to simplify management. Bulls are still castrated to prevent reproduction and to make them less agressive and easier to handle. Cattle are also castrated to improve the tenderness and fat distribution in the beef meat when they are butchered. In general, castration is best done at a young age.
Figure 1 Figure 2
Figure 3
Castration methods are generally divided into two categories: surgical or bloodless.
1.) Surgical castration involves removal of the testes by splitting or removing the lower third of the scrotum (the sac which holds the testes) and removing the testes by severing the spermatic cord in a way that minimizes bleeding, usually with an emasculator (Figure 1), Henderson castrating tool, or knife.
2.) Bloodless castration is generally accomplished by using an emasculatome (i.e., burdizzo; Figure 2) or elastic band (Figure 3). When using an emasculatome, the scrotum remains intact while the spermatic cord of each testicle (within the scrotum) is placed in the jaws of the tool and crushed. The resulting damage causes a loss of blood flow to the testes and eventual testicular atrophy within the scrotum.
Banding involves using an elastrator (Figure 3) to place a heavy elastic band around the neck of the scrotum with both testes inside. The band cuts off blood flow to the testes and scrotum, which atrophy over a short period of time and slough off.
Castration is used in all species of livestock. View this video showing the castration of a male goat.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CWcrFwnTp7U
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Lastly for today, review the rabbit breeds below. There is also now a quizlet flashcard set available at this link ( https://quizlet.com/580932415/rabbit-guinea-pig-breeds-flash-cards/ ) to practice the rabbits and guinea pigs.
