HARVARD UNIVERSITY. LIBRARY OF THE MUSEUM OF COMPARATIVE ZOOLOGY 50,40 GIFT OF Ta A iy) / 4 f HOohaw Danke. 50,740 DEHORNING AND CASTRA'TING CATTLE FRANK W. FARLEY Animal Husbandry Division FARMERS’ BULLETIN 949 UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE Contribution from the Bureau of Animal Industry JOHN R. MOHLER, Chief Washington, D.C. April, 1918 Show this bulletin to a neighbor. Additional copies may be obtained free from the Division of Publications, United States Department of Agriculture \IASHINGTON : GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE : I918 EHORNING cattle makes it easier to handle the animals and insures that each one will have a more equal chance at the feed trough when placed in the feed lot. It renders the animals harmless to attendants, and prevents them from goring one another in the feed lot or in transit to market. Goring in transit causes a greater shrinkage in weight, injures the skin for commercial purposes, and leaves the flesh in a bruised condition, which naturally detracts from its value. The removal of the horns makes for more uni- formity in the appearance of a bunch of cattle either in the feed lot or in the herd. ASTRATION of bull calves not intended for sires C is very important, because if they are allowed to run too long they become troublesome, begin to look “staggy,” and lose the refinement desired in feeder steers. The quality of flesh obtained from the carcass of the steer is superior to that which would have been obtained if the calf had been allowed to remain a bull. The operation removes inferior or scrub bulls from the herd and retains them for feeders. DEHORNING AND CASTRATING CATTLE. CONTENTS. Page Page Cope oMmpmlotinus se ctecec. toes eee ee 3) |»@astration| of cathletss-5+---+--2--\----<--<-== 9 WShOMMin en nese ee cae eee loacns tees e see 3 Time \toicastratere crs acess 2 dtoete ee permit the cattle to pass out Fi6. 6.—Another type of dehorning chute with sloping side. through the front. Figures 7 and 8 show the sides of the chute, which may be used for either type. The gate is convenient for letting the animal out of the chute and may also be used to advantage in vaccinating. It may be placed on whichever side is most convenient, except that it can not be placed on the sloping side of the type shown in figure 6. After the animal is in the chute and the head clamp is closed, a bull ring should be placed in its nose, or a loop placed around the _ neck and a noose slipped on its nose; the head is then pulled around and the end of the rope fastened to the pin shown on the side of the front post. This forces the animal’s head to one side, so that the outside horn will extend forward, which makes it convenient for sawing or clipping. After one horn is taken off the head can be forced to the other side by fastening the rope to the pin in the oppo- site post. 1) lei ji eed CASTRATION OF CATTLE. The primary reason for castrating bull calves and making steers of them is that the quality of the flesh of steers is superior to that of bulls, and bull calves that are allowed to run too long without being castrated lose the refinement desired in feeder steers. A very important result of castrating, aside from the increased value of the animal from a beef standpoint, is that it removes in- ferior or scrub bulls from the herd. TIME TO CASTRATE. It is very important that bull calves be castrated before they be- come troublesome and before they begin to look “staggy.” Calves 10 FARMERS’ BULLETIN 949. from a week to 6 or 8 months old may be safely castrated. If the calf is too young, however, the testicles are undeveloped and may be difficult to secure, while if more than 8 months old severe hem- orrhage may result which may terminate fatally. The usual time to castrate calves is when they are about 4 months old. A dry, cool day during a period when grass or forage is plentiful should be selected, if possible, but the operation should not be delayed too long be- cause of the lack of these conditions. The calf may be castrated in the dehorning chute at the same time he is being dehorned, or he may be thrown to the ground for the operation. Fie. 7.—Side of dehorning chute, showing gate. THROWING THE ANIMALS. On the range the common method of throwing an animal consists in casting a noose around the fore leg and tightening it quickly. This causes the animal to fall. Another method is to place a rope around the animal’s neck and another around its hind legs. Both ropes are then tightened and an assistant throws the animal by “tailing” it. The animal can be secured on the ground by tying the rope on its neck to a post at one end of the pen and the one on its hind legs to a post at the other end of the pen, or the fore and hind legs may be brought together as far as possible and tied securely. The latter method is known as “hog tying.” MATERIALS REQUIRED. The only implements nec- essary for castrating are a sharp knife and a pan con- taining a 3 per cent solution of a standard disinfectant. An ordi- nary pocketknife with a medium-sized blade will do. If the scrotum or bag is filthy it should be thoroughly washed with the disinfectant, otherwise this will not be necessary. The knife should be kept in the disinfectant at all times when not in use. a’ Fic. 8.—Side of dehorning chute without gate. DEHORNING AND CASTRATING CATTLE. J1 METHOD OF OPERATION. There are two ways of making the incision, depending upon whether or not it is desired to make a fancy feeder of the calf. The first method consists in grasping the scrotum with the left hand and cutting off the lower one-fourth or one-third. This should expose the ends of both testicles, but if one of them can not be seen it can usually be pushed out by pressing on the abdomen by the side of the serctum. The testicles may then be pulled out one at a time and removed. About 1 inch of the cord should be removed with the testicle to prevent the severed end from protruding from the incision. In young calves the cord may be cut off directly, but in older calves the cord should be stretched over the forefinger and scraped with the edge of the knife until it parts. This lacerates the ends of the cord and serves to reduce the hemor- rhage. A safer way of severing the cord is by the use of an emasculator, an in- strument shaped like a pair of pliers with a broad, corrugated Fic. 9.—View of chute with head clamp closed, showing side gate, crushing surface and a cutting edge (fig. 11). With this instrument the cord is cut and at the same time so lacerated as to cause a minimum of bleeding. The écraseur (fig. 12) is another instrument for severing the cord. With this the crushing is accomplished by a chain loop which is placed around the cord and slowly tightened until the cord is severed. The latter instrument gives the best results, but the emasculator permits of quicker work. The second method consists in slitting the scrotum parallel to the median line.which divides the two sides, instead of cutting off the end as in the first method. The cuts are made directly over the middle of each testicle. The testicles are then taken out through the sepa- rate cuts and removed as already described. In this operation care 1 FARMERS’ BULLETIN 949. should be taken to make the cuts clear to the end of the scrotum in order to insure perfect drainage from the wound. The first method is just as satisfactory as the second, except in the case of fancy feeders that are to be shown at fairs, when it is de- sirable to have a large cod or purse which will be filled with fat when the animal is in high condition. CASTRATION OF LARGE ANIMALS. If a large animal is to be castrated he may be restrained in the same manner as described for calves. Greater precautions, however, should be taken to prevent too much bleeding, as there is a considerable hem- orrhage from the cord in older ani- mals. For this rea- son it is advisable to use the emasculator or the écraseur for severing the cord. In the absence of these instruments the cord may be seared off with a red-hot iron, care being taken to pro- tect surrounding parts from the heat; or it may be scraped as described before. AFTER-TREATMENT. Ordinarily no after-treatment is necessary. The ani- Fic. 10.—View of chute with head clamp open, showing position of handle. mals should be turned into a pasture as soon as the operation is completed, as there is much less danger of infection of the wound in a pasture than around pens or barns. If the operation is performed during fly time, pine tar should be applied to the wound to keep off the flies. Unless the wound becomes infested with screw worms or maggots no trouble will ordinarily result. Should this occur a simple treatment consists in saturating DEHORNING AND CASTRATING CATTLE. ss a piece of absorbent cotton with chloroform and inserting it into the wound, or in filling a pint cup with gasoline and allowing the cod M | Me i MAINT IL Fic. 11—Emasculator. This instrument has a broad, corrugated, crushing surface and a cutting edge. It is applied to the cord, severing it with little loss of blood. . to dip into it. The chloroform or gasoline kills the worms, after which pine tar should be applied to prevent further infestation. Fig. 12.—Castrating écraseur. The chain loop of this instrument is passed around the cord attached to the testicle and gradually tightened by slowly turning the handle. The cord is thereby slowly crushed and severed, so that very little blood is lost. When a mature bull is to be castrated or a calf is ruptured a com- petent veterinarian should be called in, as the operation is too serious for the average stockman. 14 FARMERS BULLETIN 949. PUBLICATIONS OF THE UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE RELATING TO CATTLE. AVAILABLE FOR FREE DISTRIBUTION BY THE DEPARTMENT. Beef Production in the South. (Farmers’ Bulletin 580.) Kconomical Cattle Feeding in the Corn Belt. (Farmers’ Bulletin 588.) Breeds of Beef Cattle. (Iarmers’ Bulletin 612.) The Feeding of Dairy Cows. (Farmers’ Bulletin 7438.) Contagious Abortion of Cattle. (Farmers’ Bulletin 790.) Feeding and Management of Dairy Calves and Young Dairy Stock. (Farmers’ Bulletin 777.) Production of Baby Beef. (Farmers’ Bulletin 811.) Breeds of Dairy Cattle. (Farmers’ Bulletin 893.) PUBLICATIONS FOR SALE BY THE SUPERINTENDENT OF DOCUMENTS, GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE, WASHINGTON, D. C. Raising and Fattening Beef Calves in Alabama. (Department Bulletin, 73.) Price, 5 cents. The Economical Winter Feeding of Beef Cattle in the Corn Belt. (Department Bulletin 615.) Price, 5 cents. Teeding Beef Cattle in Alabama. (Bureau of Animal Industry Bulletin 159.) Price, 10 cents. O NEM 3 2044 107 3