How to Castrate a Hog

Castration is best done when the hog is small.

Hogs are castrated for a variety of reasons. Two of the primary reasons are to stop unwanted breeding and to improve the quality of the meat in animals raised for market. The process also improves the feed conversion rate, allowing a higher weight gain per pound of food consumed. Castrating hogs, especially when they are young, also helps to keep the males more docile and less likely to fight among themselves or pose a risk to the humans who come in contact with them.

Things You'll Need

• Iodine disinfectant
• Sterile scalpel or razor blade
• Disinfecting fly repellant

Instructions

1. Time the castration so that you are performing this process while the hog is still very young. The best time to do this is when the piglet is about one to two weeks old. If it is older, the process is identical, except that holding the animal will require two or three additional people. When done early, you can easily complete a hog castration with the help of a single assistant.

2. 

   Castrating a large hog can be extremely difficult.

   Remove the hog from its pen, unless it is alone. If it is still with its mother, it is a good idea to take it to where she cannot see it while you perform the procedure. Restrain it. If it is small your assistant can turn the piglet on its back, holding all four legs, with its testicles toward you. If it is larger, roll it on its back on the ground. Have one person hold the front legs above the hog's head, and another person hold its rear legs stretched straight out horizontally. You may need one person for each hind leg, depending on the size of the hog.

3. Clean the scrotum with disinfectant. Squeeze the scrotum so that the testicles are both pressed up against the bottom of it. Make a vertical cut in the sack over one testicle. Cut where the lowest part of the scrotum will be when the hog is standing, to promote drainage.

4. Squeeze the testicle in order to push it out through the cut. Grab it and pull it out completely. Cut the attached white cord. In a young pig, continue pulling on the testicle until the red cord (blood vessel) snaps. If the hog is older, cut this cord at an angle.

5. Repeat Steps 3 and 4 for the other testicle. Check to make sure you have removed all tissue from the scrotum and that bleeding is minimal. Disinfect the area again, and spray with a livestock fly repellant if necessary.

6. 

   If done right the procedure heals quickly and cleanly.

   Watch the hog for several days to make sure the scrotum heals properly. If signs of irritation or infection develop, contact a veterinarian for specific advice.

Tips & Warnings

• Use a very sharp blade for castrating the hog. Scalpel blades can be purchased at feed stores or online and work very well. You can also buy single-edged razor blades. Either way, replace them often--after every two or three hogs--for the best results.

• Hogs grow quite large and can be dangerous. If you need to castrate a large hog, ask your veterinarian for the best way to restrain it. If castrating piglets, it is the mother that can be dangerous, so move the procedure away from the pen. The scalpel or razor blade is quite sharp and can quickly cut you or the hog, especially if you are working on a kicking, squirming animal. Use caution.

References

• Texas A&M University
• Quiverfull Family
• Nature's Harmony Farm