Castration

Castration in males consists of the removal of the testes or the inhibition of testicular
function. Although the prevalence of castration in pigs varies from country to country, it is
generally a routine practice that is performed surgically without anaesthesia in the first week of a
piglet’s life. The main purpose of castration in pigs is to prevent boar taint, which is present in
the meat of some entire males once they reach puberty. Other benefits of castration include:
preventing unwanted reproduction in extensive systems, reducing aggressive and mounting
behaviour with their resulting injuries, and the possibility of producing a higher-quality end-
product.
Boar taint is a defect affecting certain sensory properties of meat (odour and taste). It can
be discerned when the meat is cooked or eaten and is considered unpleasant by many consumers.
The main compounds responsible for boar taint are androstenone (a steroid pheromone
synthesised in the testes) and skatole (a metabolite of the amino acid tryptophan). Lower
amounts are found in females and castrated males than in entire males. While skatole can be
partially controlled by diet, androstenone inhibition is only achieved by castration or inhibiting
the luteinising hormone (LH) function.
Type of Castration
The "open" technique incises open the scrotum and, having removed the testicles, the
wound is left open for postoperative drainage. The “closed” technique involves suturing the
various layers, once the testicles are removed, to prevent herniation of intestines through the
castration site.
Advantages of Castration
It prevents undesirable male aggressive and sexual behavior during the fattening period,
so that barrows are quieter and easier to manage than entire males. Meat and fat quality are also
better in castrates than in entire males.
Castration causes sterilization (preventing the castrated animal from reproducing); it also
greatly reduces the production of certain hormones, such as testosterone.
Castrated male grow faster , there FCR is more.
Disadvantages of Castration
The disadvantages of castration are labor cost to perform castration, reduced welfare
related to pain during castration, the higher feeding cost and impact on the environment, and the
reduced value of the carcass because of the elevated fat content.
Uncastrated male pigs, called boars, are known for aggression. Boars will bite, shove and
jump on other pigs. Boars can also be hard for workers to handle, and boar aggression can be a
risk to worker safety.
Iron requirements
Piglets are born with low iron reserves of around 50mg. This disadvantage is coupled
with the fact that sows’ milk is low in iron. Depending on rate of gain, piglets need at least 7 to
16 mg of iron a day – but suckling only provides them with 1 mg per day. In the wild pigs would
acquire a small amount of iron from the soil during rooting behaviour, however, modern piglets
have very fast growth rates – in the first 60 days of life they increase their body weight 10-fold.
This means that high levels of supplementary iron are required.
Iron is essential for optimal health and growth of pigs. Adequate levels of iron are needed
to produce haemoglobin and myoglobin - proteins that enable red blood cells to carry oxygen
around the body. Adequate levels of iron are also required to produce essential proteins and
enzymes. Over their lifetime, much of a pig's iron requirements will be met by its diet of both
from raw materials and feed additives, however, in the first weeks of a piglet’s life, when feed
intake is very low, they need a supplemental supply of iron.
Worldwide piglets are commonly injected with a 200 milligram dose of iron shortly after
birth. This amount is sufficient to support four kilograms of weight gain. Due to ever increasing
growth rates, a young piglet’s iron stores are quickly depleted. Therefore, a second dose is often
needed 7 to 14 days later, before the pig is weaned. Trials have shown this strategy to improve
piglet weight gain by 17-20 grams per day, during the first three weeks post-weaning.