Castrating Pigs *WARNING - GRAPHIC*

We did it.  It took a bit of courage and a few friends, but we did it.

J and I had decided that we were going to castrate the piglets yesterday, but it was clinched when our neighbors volunteered to come over and help.  We already had plans for a barbecue with some other friends, so we pulled out a few more steaks, but another half rack in the fridge, and invited them to join us.

We waited until after everyone had eaten before we started the castration process.  And honestly, the worst part of the whole thing was trying to catch the piglets.  They are a little over a month old now.  My guess is they weigh anywhere from 15 pounds (the runts) to 35 pounds (heavy enough I couldn't lift them over my head and I'm pretty tough). The piglets are able to run under the fence between the two pens, J went into the pen with Ruby and a couple of friends went in the pen with Jaws.  I strategically placed myself outside all of the pens so that I could pull piglets over the fence as they were caught, and because I'm not willing to get in a pen with a 450-pound angry momma pig. J felt a small dose of her anger when she charged him, grabbed his pant leg and ripped a hole in it, before retreating.  Luckily, she didn't grab his leg.  He swears she wasn't going to, but I'm not so sure.

I was surprised that Jaws reacted angrily when the babies squealed, but once we gave Jaws some food, he didn't care what we did with the piglets.  We gathered the piglets in a 4x4 crate, catching boys and girls alike just for ease of capture. Once we had caught all of the piglets, we let the girls go so Ruby would calm down.

There was one little boy (we called him "Nuts") that had a large protrusion near his testicles.  From a distance I had assumed it was a hematoma (a pooling of blood under the skin from an injury), but upon closer inspection, I decided it was more likely a fairly large hernia.  Because of the proximity to the testicles, I decided not to castrate this piglet today.  While it will be harder on everyone when the piglet is larger, I would rather see the hernia healed than accidentally open the skin and have the hernia truly external.

Finding the right spot.

Before we began, I lined up our supplies.  I had a bottle of iodine, an aerosol can of BluKote, and a scalpel.  Both the vet and the guy at the feed store had assured me that I could use the scalpel for several piglets as long as I disinfected between piglets.  In my opinion, this did not hold true.  The first piglet was easy to cut, but by the third piglet, I felt that I had to use way too much pressure to achieve the same goal.  In the future, I would buy a scalpel for each piglet and discard after one use.

Making the first incision.

Pushing the teste out.  Cut through this membrane.

We had three guys hold the piglets, although I think you could easily do it with two holding and one cutting, and if you had to, you could get away with only one holding.  One guy held the snout so that the piglet didn't scream.  This was more for our comfort as piglets are VERY loud when they want to be.  The second guy secured the front legs.  The third (J did this part) held the hind legs.  Initially, he held them towards the back so that I could find the testes, and then while I held my finger in front of them, he pushed the hind legs forward and slightly out, tightening the skin over the testes.  The piglet was very successfully immobilized this way.

I first poured a generous amount of iodine over the entire area (and myself).  I made a small incision from front to back over the teste.  Then a second incision through the membrane that holds the teste.  I knew that I was through the membrane when a clear fluid squirted out - I think this is what the teste is surrounded by.  Gently, I coaxed the test out of the incision.

The cord is thick. 

I cut away any remaining membrane and then began to cut the cord.  I was told to "shave" the cord so that the cut is not flat.  This part seemed to be the most painful for the piglet and while I tried to do it quickly, it was not a quick process (at least it didn't feel like it to me and I'm sure it didn't feel like it to the piglet).  I know that some people just pull the teste out and the cord breaks, but I was concerned that whatever the cord is attached to on the inside might be injured that way.

Shave it quickly, but don't cut bluntly.

After the first teste, I made an identical incision over the second one and repeated the process.  When both testicles were removed, I grabbed the BluKote and gave the whole area an ample dose.  I also managed to get most of J's hands (which will be blue for a few days now).  Once the piglet was sprayed, we quickly gave him back to his momma.

The whole process of extraction took less than five minutes per piglet.  Honestly, the hardest part was catching the little buggers. 

If you're reading this because you're trying to decide whether or not you can do it yourself, you can.  It really wasn't as bad as I anticipated.  And today, the boys are just as rambunctious and happy as ever - even if their booties are a little swollen and sore.   K took some amazing photos of the whole process and when I find the mini-USB cable, I'll add them to the post for those looking for images.