What are the precautions for castrating piglets? Pig farmers need to master them

Castrating piglets is done to promote their growth and improve the quality of the pork. If a piglet is not kept as a breeding pig and is raised without castration, it will not only grow slowly, but the pork will also have a gamy odor. Therefore, castration surgery is performed on piglets during raising. However, during the surgery, piglets may become infected with diseases or die for certain reasons, so there are many precautions to take during castration. Let's take a look together with Qinnongwang.

1. Choosing the time for castration

The best time for castration is at 7-10 days of age. At this time, the piglets themselves already have a certain level of resistance, can resist the invasion of some pathogens, and some of their body organs have also grown and developed fully. If castration is performed during this period, the piglets' testicles are small and easily crushed, making the operation difficult. If castration is performed later, the piglets are extremely sensitive to pain, and not only is there more bleeding, but the wound after castration is also slow to heal. Castration during this period allows antibodies to be obtained through breast milk, making infection less likely, while later castration comes with decreased antibodies in the breast milk, making the wound prone to infection.

2. Castration is not suitable during periods of high disease incidence or on rainy days

Castration of piglets is itself a strong stress response. After castration, the body's resistance weakens, and the wound after castration must be given time to heal. If this coincides with a period of high disease incidence, pathogens can very easily invade through the wound, causing the piglets to become infected with diseases. In addition, rainy days are a peak period for bacterial reproduction. Performing castration at this time can also easily lead to pathogen invasion, thereby causing infection.

3. Vaccination and castration cannot be carried out at the same time

As mentioned earlier, castration of piglets is a strong stress response, and after vaccination, this stress response in piglets is often strengthened, leading to weakened immunization effects and even immunization failure.

4. Postpone castration for sick and weak piglets

For a period after castration, the resistance and immunity of piglets decline, and sick and weak piglets are already weaker in constitution and have low resistance. If they are castrated together with healthy and robust piglets, it may lead to their death. Therefore, postponing castration for sick and weak piglets is not only beneficial for quickly restoring their physical strength, but can also avoid the phenomenon of disease infection or death.

5. Pay attention to hygiene and disinfection work

Before castration, the pig house should be cleaned and disinfected. This can reduce the number of pathogenic microorganisms and, to a certain extent, kill or inhibit bacterial reproduction, reducing the chance of infection. During castration, the skin at the incision site should first be disinfected to reduce bacterial invasion. Surgical disinfection is also essential. After the surgery, an antibacterial and anti-inflammatory agent should be applied to prevent the wound from worsening.

6. Postoperative observation

After the surgery, observe carefully to see whether the castrated piglets have any adverse reactions. Pay special attention to whether the wound is bleeding. If there is heavy bleeding, stop the bleeding in time, and in severe cases, suture the wound. In addition, also pay attention to whether excretion is normal and whether the intestines have been affected.

The above are the precautions for castrating piglets brought to you by Qinnongwang. We hope they can help you. To learn more about pig farming knowledge, please stay tuned to Qinnongwang.