DEHORNING CATTLE.—It is very often necessary to remove the horns of cattle in order to prevent their injuring or worrying certain individuals in the herd. This operation is of greatest economic importance in dairy and feeding cattle. When first practised, the dehorning of mature cattle was condemned by some persons who deemed it an inhuman and unnecessary operation. It is surely a humane act to remove the horns of cattle that are confined in small yards and pastures, and prevent them from painfully, or seriously, injuring one another.

In most localities there are men who are well equipped to dehorn cattle, and able to perform this operation for a very moderate fee. It is not advisable to attempt to dehorn a number of adult cattle if the operator is not well equipped for the work. Unless a well-constructed dehorning rack is available for confining the animals, there is danger of injuring them and it is very difficult to saw off the horn quickly and satisfactorily. This increases the pain that the animal suffers, and horn stubs soon develop.

Good equipment, such as a chute, saw or clippers, is necessary. A dehorning chute should be built of plank with a good frame well bolted together, with stanchion and nose block for confining the head. Most operators prefer a meat saw for cutting off the horns. It is preferable to dehorning shears, as there is danger of fracturing the frontal bone when removing the horns of mature cattle. The best form of dehorning shears have a wide V in the cutting edge.

The operation is very simple. The horn should be cut off at a point from one-quarter to one-half an inch below the hair line or skin. If this is not practised, an irregular horn growth or stub of horn develops. It is usually unnecessary to apply anything to the wound. If the animal does not strike or rub the part, the clot that forms closes the blood-vessels and the haemorrhage stops. In case of haemorrhage of a serious nature, a small piece of absorbent cotton may be spread over the surface of the wound, and pushed in to the opening in order to keep it in place. Pine tar may be smeared over this dressing. Some operators prefer cauterizing the wound with a red-hot iron for the purpose of preventing haemorrhage. During warm weather, the wound should be washed daily with a two per cent water solution of a coal tar disinfectant, until healing is well advanced. A very necessary after-treatment is the washing of the part after two or three days for the purpose of removing the dried blood.

The opening at the base of the horn communicates directly with the frontal sinus, a large cavity situated between the two plates of the frontal bone. Sometimes the bone is slivered, or the wound becomes infected and inflamed. This may be due to a dirty dehorning saw, or getting dirt into the wound. The inflammation may extend to the sinus and a heavy discharge from the cavity occur. This complication may be prevented by placing the saw or cutters in a disinfectant when not in use, and cleaning and disinfecting the wound very carefully for a few days after the operation.

The horn buttons of calves from a few days to one week of age can be destroyed, and the growth of the horn prevented by applying caustic soda or potash to them. The method of procedure is as follows: Clip away the hair from around the base of the horn tissue and apply a little vaseline to the skin near, but not close to, the base of the horn; moisten the horn button and rub it two or three times with the end of the stick of caustic; do not allow the calf to go out in the rain for a few days after applying the caustic. The horns of calves a few weeks of age may be removed with a sharp knife or calf dehorner.

CHOKING.—This is a common accident in cattle and horses. The object that causes the choke may be lodged in the pharynx or oesophagus. Certain individuals are more prone to choke while feeding than others. This is because of their habit of eating greedily, and swallowing hastily without properly mixing the bolus with the saliva. For this reason, choking occurs when the animal is eating dry feed. Cattle frequently become choked on pieces of such food as roots and apples that are too large to readily pass down the oesophagus. Sharp objects taken in with the food sometimes become lodged in the oesophagus or pharynx.

The symptoms differ in complete and partial choke. In the latter, the symptoms are not very characteristic. The animal may stop feeding, but shows very little evidence of suffering pain. It may be able to swallow a little water. On attempting to drink, a part of the water may be returned through the nose, the same as in complete choke. Ineffectual efforts to swallow, salivation, coughing, hurried respiration, and an anxious expression of the face occur in complete choke. Bloating may complicate this accident in ruminants. After partial choke has persisted for a day or two, the animal appears dejected or distressed. Pressure on the trachea by hard objects may cause difficult respiration.

Mechanical pneumonia sometimes occurs. This is due to the food and water that the animal may attempt to swallow, being returned to the pharynx and passed into the air passages and lungs.

The treatment is as follows: Animals that have choked should not be given access to feed of any kind. Any attempt to take food or drink water may result in pneumonia. It may be necessary to drench the animal with a very small quantity of water for the purpose of diagnosis. The most common form of choke in horses is that due to accumulation of dry food in the oesophagus. The administration of a drug that stimulates the secretion of saliva is a very successful method of relieving this form of choke. Pilocarpine is the drug commonly used. Cheap whips should not be introduced into the oesophagus for the purpose of dislodging the foreign body. There is always danger of the whip becoming broken off, and the broken part lodging in the oesophagus. Neither should such rigid objects as a broom or rake handle be introduced, because of the danger from serious injury to the walls of the pharynx and oesophagus. The flexible probang, which is usually made of spiral wire covered with leather, is a very useful instrument to relieve choke when in the hands of an experienced operator. If the object causing the choke is situated in the neck portion of the oesophagus, it may sometimes be moved forward, or toward the stomach by pressure with the fingers.

CASTRATION.—The castration of the male is a common operation in domestic animals. The purpose of the operation is to render the animal more useful for work or meat production.

The age at which the operation is performed varies in the different species. The colt is usually castrated when he is one year old, and the calf, pig and lamb when a few weeks or a few months of age. It is not advisable to castrate the young at weaning time. The operation and the weaning together may temporarily check the growth of the animal. Colts that are undeveloped and in poor flesh, or affected with colt distemper, should be allowed to recover before they are operated on. In all animals, it is advisable to wait until after they have recovered from disease and become thrifty and strong.

The spring, early summer and fall are the most suitable seasons for castrating the young. It may be practised during the hot or cold months of the year with little danger from wound infection or other complications, providing the necessary after-attention can be given.

The preparation of the animal for the operation by withholding all feed for about twelve hours is very advisable. If this is practised, the stomach and intestines are not distended with feed, and the young are cleaner, easier to handle and suffer less from castration. Clean quarters and surroundings are very necessary to the success of the operation.

The instruments required are sharp knives, preferably a heavy scalpel and a probe-pointed bistoury, an emasculator for large and mature animals, and surgeon's needles and suture material. Ropes and casting harness are frequently used for confining and casting the large and mature animals. Two clean pans or pails filled with a two per cent water solution of liquor cresolis compositus, or an equally reliable disinfectant, should be provided for cleaning the scrotum and neighboring parts and the instruments. Pieces of absorbent cotton or oakum may be used in washing and cleaning the scrotum. The instruments should be sterilized in boiling water before using.

If a number of pigs or lambs are to be castrated, it is best to confine them in a small, clean, well-bedded pen. This enables the attendant to catch them quickly and without unnecessary excitement or exercise. They should be taken to an adjoining pen to be castrated. The scrotum should be washed with the disinfectant, and the testicles pressed tightly against the scrotal wall. An incision parallel with the middle line or raphe and a little to one side is made through the skin and the coverings of the testicle, and the testicle pressed out through the incision. The testicle and cords are then pulled well out and the cord broken off with a quick jerk and twist, or scraped off with a knife. The latter method is to be preferred in large lambs if the operator does not have an emasculator. The incision in the scrotum should be extended from its base to the lowest part, in order to secure perfect drainage.

Young calves may be castrated in the standing position or when cast and held on the side. The method of operating is the same as recommended for pigs and lambs.

The castration of the colt may be performed in either the standing position or when cast. The method of operating is the same as practised in the smaller animals with the exception of cutting off the cord. The emasculator is used here. This instrument crushes the stump of the cord and prevents haemorrhage from the cut ends of the blood-vessels. Careful aseptic precautions must be observed in operating on colts, as they are very susceptible to wound infection and peritonitis.

The blood-vessels of the testicular cord are larger in the adult animals, and the danger from haemorrhage is greater than in the young. For this reason, it is advisable to use an emasculator in castrating all mature animals.

Complications Following Castration.—The haemorrhage from the wound and stump of cord is usually unimportant in the young animals. Serious haemorrhage from the vessels of the cord sometimes occur in the adult, and a persistent haemorrhage results when a subcutaneous vein is cut in making the incision in the scrotum. This complication is not usually serious, and can be prevented and controlled by observing proper precautions in cutting off the cord, or by picking up the cut ends of the vessel and ligating it. Packing the scrotal sack with sterile gauze or absorbent cotton, and closing the incision with sutures may be practised for the purpose of stopping this form of haemorrhage. The packing should be removed in about twelve hours.

The infection of the wound always follows castration. If the incision is small and the operation is followed by swelling of the neighboring tissues, the clotted blood, wound secretions and pus become penned up in the scrotal sack. Local blood poisoning or peritonitis follows. This is not an uncommon complication. It can be prevented by aseptic precautions in operating, and insuring good drainage by extending the incision to the lowest part of the scrotal sac. The scrotal sac always contracts down and becomes more or less swollen within a day or two following castration. We must keep this in mind when enlarging the opening, and be sure and make it plenty large to permit the escape of the infectious matter. In castrating sheep, all wool in the region of the scrotal sac should be clipped off, as this interferes with drainage from the wound.

Exercise following castration is almost as essential as clean quarters. Lack of exercise leads to oedematous swelling in the region of the scrotum, and the lips of the incision may become adhered if the animal is at rest. Colts and all mature animals that are confined in close quarters should be examined within forty-eight hours following the operation, and the condition of the wound noted. If closed, the hands should be cleaned and disinfected, and the adhesion broken down with the fingers. It is best to exercise horses daily.

It is unsafe to expose castrated animals to cold, damp, chilly weather. The shock and soreness resulting from the operation render the animal highly susceptible to pleurisy and pneumonia. This is especially true of young colts.

Inguinal hernia or "rupture" may complicate the operation. This form of hernia is quite frequently met with in pigs, and only occasionally in the other animals. This complication is usually overcome by practising what is commonly termed the covered operation. The pig is usually held or hung up by the hind legs. A larger animal is placed on its back. The hernia is reduced by manipulating the mass of intestines with the fingers, so that they drop back into the abdominal cavity. The part is carefully cleaned and disinfected and an incision made through the scrotal wall, and the thin covering or serous sac in which the testicle is lodged is exposed. The testicle with the cord and covering is drawn well out of the scrotum and held by an attendant. The operator then passes a needle carrying a strong silk thread through the cord and covering, below the point where he intends severing it. The needle is removed and the cord and covering ligated at this point. The cord is then cut off about one-half an inch from the ligature, and the incision in the scrotum made plenty large in order to insure drainage.

It is very essential to the success of this operation that the animal be dieted for twelve or eighteen hours before attempting to operate. The after-treatment consists in giving the animal separate quarters and feeding a light diet.

Enlarged or scirrhous cords follow infection of the wound, usually with spores of a certain fungus (Botryomyces). This complication more often follows castration of cattle and pigs than of colts. Wrong methods of operating, such as leaving the stump of the cord too long and insufficient drainage for the pus and wound secretions, are the factors that favor this complication. Scirrhous cords or fibrous tumors should be dissected out and removed before they have become large and begun breaking down.

CASTRATION OF RIDGELING OR CRYPTORCHID ANIMALS.—In the ridgeling animal one or both of the testicles have not descended into the scrotal sac, and are usually lodged in the inguinal canal or abdominal cavity. If the testicle is lodged in the inguinal canal the animal is termed a "flanker." In yearling colts the testicular cord is sometimes short, and the testicle is situated high up in the scrotum and inguinal canal. In examining a supposed cryptorchid colt, he should be twitched. This may cause the testicle to descend into the scrotum.

The castration of a true cryptorchid requires a special operation. When properly performed and the animal given special after-care, the operation is not followed by any serious complications. An abnormally large, diseased testicle is sometimes met with that cannot be removed in the usual way, and which complicates and increases the difficulty of operating.

CAPONIZING.—The castration or caponizing of the male chicken is commonly practised in certain localities. This operation changes the disposition of the cockerel. He becomes more quiet and sluggish, never crows, the head is small, the comb and wattles cease growing and the hackle and saddle feathers become well developed. A capon always develops more uniformly and is larger than the cockerel.

The best time to caponize the cockerel is when he weighs between two or three pounds. If older and heavier, the testicle becomes so large that it is very difficult to remove, and the danger from tearing the spermatic artery and a fatal haemorrhage resulting is greater.

There are several kinds of caponizing instruments. They may be purchased in sets. Each set should contain an instrument for removing the testicle; a knife for making the incision through the abdominal wall; a sharp hook for tearing through the thin membrane; spring spreader for holding the lips of the incision apart; a blunt probe for keeping the intestines out of the way of the operator; and a pair of tweezers for removing clots of blood. The different instruments for removing the testicles are a spoon-like scoop, spoon forceps and cannula. The spoon-like scoop is preferred by most operators.

The cockerel is confined for the operation by passing a strong noose of cord around both legs, and a second noose around the wings close to the body, that have weights fastened to them. The cords pass through holes or loops in a barrel or board that is used for an operating table. This holds the cockerel firmly and prevents his struggling.

The bird should be prepared for the operation by withholding all feed and water for a period of twenty-four hours or longer, for the purpose of emptying out the intestine. The operator must have a strong light, in order to work quickly and safely. Direct sunlight or electric light should be used.

The instruments should be placed in a two per cent water solution of carbolic acid. A second vessel containing a two per cent water solution of liquor cresolis compound for cleaning the skin is necessary. Absorbent cotton should be used for washing the wound.

The general method of operating is as follows: The incision is made between the last two ribs and in front of the thigh. The feathers over this region should be removed, and the skin pulled to one side before making the incision. An incision about one and one-half inches in length is made through the skin and muscles, and the spreader inserted. The sharp hook is then inserted and the thin serous membrane over the intestine is torn through. The testicles are situated in the superior portion of the abdominal cavity or under the back. On pushing the intestines to one side, both testicles, which are about the size of a bean and yellowish in color, can be seen. The lower one should be removed first. After removing both testicles, blood clots, feathers, or any foreign body that may have gotten into the wound should be picked up with the tweezers before removing the spreaders and allowing the wound to close. No special after-treatment is required.

The most common complication is rupture of the spermatic artery. This occurs at the time the testicle is torn loose and may be due to careless methods, or operating on cockerels that are too large. If all of the testicle is not removed from the abdominal cavity, the bird is termed a "slip." Sometimes air puffs form after the operation. These should be punctured with a sharp knife.

OVARIOTOMY, "SPAYING."—The removal of the ovaries, or ovariotomy, is practised for the purpose of rendering the female more useful for meat production, prolonging the period of lactation, overcoming vicious habits and preventing oestrum or heat. The operation is commonly performed in the heifer and bitch, occasionally in the mare, and at present rarely in the sow.

Heifers are usually spayed between the ages of eight and twelve months; the bitch and sow when a few months old, or before the periods of heat have begun. The mare is spayed when mature. It is possible to spay the female at any age, but the ages mentioned are the most convenient. Pregnant animals should not be operated on. The season of the year makes little difference in the results, providing the animal can be kept under close observation and given the necessary care and treatment. The spring of the year, just before turning the herd on pasture, is the best season to spay heifers.

All animals should be prepared for the operation by withholding all feed for at least twenty-four hours before they are operated on, and it may be advisable to give them a physic. It is easier to operate when the intestinal tract is comparatively empty, and the death rate is lower than when the animal is not properly prepared for the operation.

The method of operating is not the same in the different species. In young heifers and sows, the flank operation is preferred, and in mares and cows, the vaginal operation. The median line operation is practised in bitches. A spaying emasculator, or ecraseur, are the special instruments need for removing the ovaries.

The animal must be properly confined for the operation. Heifers are usually held in the standing position by fastening the head securely, and crowding the left side of the animal against a solid board partition, or side of a chute. If the vaginal operation is performed, the mare or cow may be confined in stocks. The bitch is usually anesthetized and placed on her back on a table that is inclined, so that the hind parts are elevated.

Ovariotomy cannot be successfully performed by an untrained and inexperienced operator. The necessary precautions against the infection of the part must be observed, in order to promote the healing of the wound and prevent peritonitis. The seat of the operation should be carefully cleaned and disinfected.

Following the operation the animal should be fed a spare diet for a few days. This is a very necessary part of the care of the bitch. The general condition of the animal should be noted daily until there is no further danger from wound infection. Healing is usually completed in from seven to twelve days. The sutures should then be removed, and if stitch abscesses occur, the part should be washed with a disinfectant.

QUESTIONS

1. What is the purpose of dehorning cattle? Give different methods of removing the horns.

2. Give the causes and treatment of choking.

3. What is the purpose of castration and ovariotomy?

4. At what age is it best to practise castration and ovariotomy?

5. In what way should an animal be prepared for castration? Give a description of the method of castration in the different animals.

6. What special care should be given following castration?

7. What are some of the complications that may follow castration?