Because the elastrator rings are designed and made for use on sheep, they are generally only able to be used on smaller calves. It is difficult to place the ring above the testicles of larger animals.
The Australian Code of Practice for the Welfare of Animals states that elastrator rings are only suitable for calves under two weeks of age. Burdizzo is the trade name for an Italian made bloodless castration pincers. The principal of operation is similar to that of the elastrator ring. If used correctly the blood vessels and spermatic cord are meant to be irreparably crushed, thus stopping blood supply preventing testicle growth and function.
Within six weeks atrophy of the testicles should be complete. This technique is successful when used by experienced operators. Due to risk of failure it is not recommended for use by inexperienced operators. There appears to be less pain and there is reduced risk of infection as the wound is not open. The Burdizzo has the advantage of elastrator rings in that it is non-invasive and causes no bleeding.
Unlike elastrator rings it can be used on older animals. However the Australian Code of Practice for the Welfare of Animals states that this method should only be used on calves under six months of age if done without anaesthetic.
This information is only intended as a brief overview of castration methods. FutureBeef Knowledge centre articles Castration Print. Local anesthetics cause numbness; general anesthetic cause unconsciousness. Anesthetics need to be injected 5 to 20 minutes or so before the operation, and can provide several hours of pain relief. Analgesics are longer-acting than anesthetics, and may provide some pain relief for up to a day after castration.
NSAIDs control swelling and pain for a variety of different conditions although one-time injection products do not last long enough to eliminate all of the symptoms associated with band castration. Studies with experimental in-feed products e. A number of pain control products have been approved for use in beef cattle and can be found in this table. According to surveys, producers are mitigating pain during castration. Feedback and questions on the content of this page are welcome. Please e-mail us.
Make informed decisions for your operation with information delivered right to your inbox. Get the latest tools, innovations and science-based information for the Canadian beef industry, including seasonal production considerations and economic analyses. All Rights Reserved Council Login. Food Safety E. Home » Research » Castration. Print Page. Timing Castrate calves at the youngest age practically possible, and prior to weaning.
Methods Common physical methods of castration include surgical removal of the testes, or stopping the bloodflow to the testes by applying an elastrator band or using a Burdizzo tool.
Surgical castration Surgical castration involves making an incision into the scrotum followed by the physical extraction of both testes. If this happens at banding, cut the band off and try again. Failing to fix these mistakes in the young calf means that the feedlot will need to conduct a very painful, invasive, costly, unpleasant surgery in an older animal. Figure 1. Elastrator tool and rubber rings used for baby calves Image courtesy of the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs Burdizzo A Burdizzo is a specially designed clamp that is used to physically crush the testicular cord through the scrotal skin.
Figure 2. Burdizzo clamp tool Image courtesy of the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs Reducing Risks Although castration is a common and effective production practice, complications may arise from the procedure, including infection, swelling, bleeding, discomfort, and pain.
Managing Pain Managing pain in cattle has become a public concern and a producer priority, particularly with the development and availability of pain medication such as non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs NSAIDs.
References Anderson, D. Vet Clin Food Anim; Vol Coetzee, J. Veterinary Anaesthesia and Analgesia; Vol Journal of Animal Science Vol Field, R. Journal of Animal Science Vol 32 5 , Several studies have examined the behavioral, physiological and neuroendocrine effects of dehorning and castration conducted separately [ 2 , 3 ].
However, research into the cumulative effect of these procedures conducted concurrently is currently deficient in the published literature.
The results of this survey describe current methods of castration and associated practices in the U. Our findings suggest that further research to compare the welfare implications of surgical and non-surgical castration methods and the optimal age of castration is needed. These results also indicate that routine analgesic drug administration at the time of castration is relatively uncommon in the U.
Furthermore, this survey identifies the need for more research into the welfare implications of concurrent dehorning and castration and the effect of other management practices performed at the time of castration. Survey questions designed to identify current castration methods and associated management practices employed in cattle production systems in the United States were developed.
The survey was composed of questions divided into 3 sections. Opportunities were also provided for respondents to provide additional feedback and to make general comments on the survey. A copy of the survey is available on request from the corresponding author. The first section of the survey collected demographic information including age, gender, years in practice, education, location of the practice by State , number of veterinarians in the practice, practice composition and species focus including estimates of average practice herd size.
The second section surveyed methods of castration used by veterinarians. A series of follow-up questions queried complications associated with castration and the relative importance of a list of animal and management related factors in the selection of castration method. This section was subdivided into three parts by a lead question to determine if respondents were involved in castrating a particular weight class of calf.
If respondents indicated that they were not involved in castrating one of these classes they were automatically directed to the next section of the survey. For each weight class, respondents were asked to provide an estimate of the number of calves castrated annually and the percentage of these castrated using either surgical or non-surgical methods.
Non-surgical castration options included the burdizzo clamp, elastrator rubber rings, latex banders eg. The survey did not specifically differentiate between banders equipped with a tension gauge Callicrate and Tri-band and those that are not California Bander.
In addition, respondents were asked how often almost always; frequently; about half the time; rarely; never they observed specified adverse events following either surgical or non-surgical castration methods. Specific adverse events surveyed included hemorrhage, swelling, wound infection, fly strike, fever, anorexia, weight loss, recumbency, stiffness, tetanus, eventration and death.
Finally, the relative importance critically important, very important, somewhat important, rarely important, never important of a list of animal, operator and management system considerations in the respondents decision regarding which castration method to use was surveyed.
Specific considerations that were listed included calf age, weight, scrotal circumference and operator experience level, risk of adverse events, perceived painfulness, handling facilities, cost, time and risk of injury to the operator.
The third section of the survey was designed to investigate ancillary management practices and husbandry procedures performed at the time of castration. These included questions about surgical practices, pain management and disease prevention. Questions about surgical practice included the use of surgical gloves, disinfection, tetanus vaccination and administration of antimicrobials. Pain management procedures included the use of local anesthetics and systemic analgesics.
Other routine husbandry procedures performed at the time of castration included vaccination, dehorning, weaning, tagging, hormone implanting and branding. The survey was conducted between 28 September and 14 November An email invitation to participate in the survey explained the purpose of the study, provided assurance of confidentiality and sought permission for the anonymous responses to be published.
The invitation also contained an embedded hyperlink to connect participants to the survey questions hosted on the Kansas State University server. Following initial circulation, reminders were posted to the lists on 20 October and 10 November The survey was closed to further participation 6 weeks after the initial offering. Data describing demographic information, castration method by weight class, adverse events and management practices performed at the time of castration were generated using means and frequency tables.
Data are presented as the number of participants in each response category and the percentage of the total number of survey participants Statistical significance was designated a priori as a p-value less than or equal to 0. Google Scholar. Tarrant PV: The occurrence, cause and economic consequences of dark cutting in beef- a survey of current information.
Current topics in Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science. Currah JM, Hendrick SH, Stookey JM: The behavioral assessment and alleviation of pain associated with castration in beef calves treated with flunixin meglumine and caudal lidocaine epidural anesthesia with epinephrine. Can Vet J. Stilwell G, Lima MS, Broom DM: Effects of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs on long-term pain in calves castrated by use of an external clamping technique following epidural anesthesia.
Am J Vet Res. Pang WY, Earley B, Sweeney T, Crowe MA: Effect of carprofen administration during banding or burdizzo castration of bulls on plasma cortisol, in vitro interferon-gamma production, acute-phase proteins, feed intake, and growth. J Anim Sci. Rollin BE: Annual meeting keynote address: Animal agriculture and emerging social ethics for animals. The well-being of farm animals: challenges and solutions. Chapter Google Scholar.
J Dairy Sci. Article Google Scholar. PubMed Article Google Scholar. Vet Rec. Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs: Code of recommendations for the welfare of livestock. Occupational Medicine. Res Vet Sci. Aust Vet J. Bovine Practitioner. J Vet Pharmacol Ther. Download references. The authors appreciate the assistance of Dr. Dan Thomson and Dr. Mike Apley in developing the survey questions.
You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar. Correspondence to Johann F Coetzee. JFC conceived of the study, participated in its design and coordination, performed the statistical analysis and drafted the manuscript.
ALN participated in the design of the study, and prepared the data for statistical analyses and helped draft the manuscript.
All authors read and approved the final manuscript. This article is published under license to BioMed Central Ltd. Reprints and Permissions. Coetzee, J. A survey of castration methods and associated livestock management practices performed by bovine veterinarians in the United States. BMC Vet Res 6, 12 Download citation. Received : 12 October Accepted : 03 March Published : 03 March Anyone you share the following link with will be able to read this content:.
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