CHAPTER X.
Operations—Bleeding—Castration—Catching and Holding—Drenching—Ringing.
BLEEDING.
This is a most useful and necessary operation, and one which in many diseases is of vital importance. The common and vulgar mode of getting blood from the pig is by cutting off portions of the ears or tail; but these modes of proceeding should only be had recourse to when local and instant blood-letting is requisite. The jugular veins of swine lie too deep and are too much imbedded in fat to admit of their being raised by any ligature about the neck; it is therefore useless to attempt to puncture them we should only be striking at random. Those veins, however, which run over the interior surface of the ear, and especially towards its outer edge, may be opened without much difficulty: if the ear is turned back on to the poll, one or more of them may easily be made sufficiently prominent to admit of its being punctured by pressing the fingers on the base of the ear near to the conch; when the necessary quantity of blood has been obtained, the finger may be raised and it will cease to flow.
The palate veins which run on either side of the roof of the mouth are also easily opened by making two incisions, one on each side of the palate, about half way between the centre of the roof of the mouth and the teeth. The flow of blood may be readily stopped by means of a pledget of tow and a string, as in the horse.
M. Gohier, who had considerable practice in bleeding swine, was of opinion that the cephalic and sephena veins might be opened without any great exertion of skill by any one who possessed a little knowledge of anatomy. The lancet should be used somewhat obliquely, and a sufficient quantity of blood having been obtained, the flow arrested in the usual manner.
Mr. Cupiss recommends the brachial vein of the fore-leg (commonly called by farriers the plate-vein) as a favorable place for bleeding. This vein runs along the inner side of the fore-leg under the skin, and the best place for puncturing it is about an inch above the knee, and scarcely half an inch backwards from the radius. No danger need be apprehended from cutting two or three times if sufficient blood cannot be obtained at once. The vein will become easily discernible if a ligature is tied firmly round the leg just below the shoulder.
Columella tells us "to let blood from the ear." or "strike a vein beneath the tail at the distance of two inches from the buttocks, where it attains sufficient size for the purpose, and it must first be beaten with the sprig of a vine; then, when swelled up by the stroke of this rod, opened with a lancet, and, after enough blood has been drawn, the vein must be bound up with the rind of the willow or elm-tree."
This operation should always be performed with the lancet if possible: in cases of urgent haste, when no lancet is at hand, a small penknife may be used; but the fleam is a dangerous and objectionable instrument.
CASTRATION OR SPAYING.
This operation is performed on many of our domesticated animals, with a view of increasing their docility and usefulness, and on others to dispose them to fatten and attain to early maturity; it consists in removing the testicles of the male, and the ovaries, and sometimes a more or less considerable portion of the uterus, of the female.
Pigs are chiefly castrated with a view to fattening them; and doubtless castration has the required effect, and therefore is less objectionable when performed on the pig, than when the horse or dog is subjected to it; for at the same time that it increases the quiescent qualities of the animal, it diminishes his courage, spirits, and nobler attributes, and even affects his form. The tusks of a castrated boar never grow like those of the natural animal, but always have a dwarfed, stunted appearance.
If possible, this operation should be performed in the spring or autumn, as the temperature is then more equable, and care should be taken that the animal is in perfect health. Those which are fat and plethoric should be prepared by bleeding, cooling diet, and quiet.
Pigs are castrated at all ages, from a fortnight to three, six, and eight weeks, and even four months old. There are various modes of performing the operation: we will begin by quoting those de- scribed by Professor Vatel:—Vatel's Eléments de Pathologie Vétérinaire.
"Castration by simple division of the spermatic cord.—If the pig is not more than six weeks old, an incision is made at the bottom of the scrotum, the testicle pushed out, and the cord cut without any precautionary means whatever. But when the animal is older, there is reason to fear that hemorrhage to a greater or less extent will supervene; consequently it will be advisable to pass a ligature round the cord a little above the spot where the division is intended to take place.
"Castration by tearing the cord.—Swine are thus operated on by some cutters:—An assistant holds the pig, pressing the back of the animal against his chest and belly, keeping the head elevated, and grasping all the four legs together; or, which is the preferable way, one assistant holds the animal against his cheat, while another kneels down and secures the four legs. The operator then grasps the scrotum with his left hand, makes one horizontal incision across the base of it, opening both divisions of the bag at the same time. Then laying down his knife, he presses the testicles out with his finger and thumb, grasps them between his teeth and tears them out. He then closes the wound by pressing the edges gently together with his fingers; the tearing prevents all hemorrhage, and the wound speedily heals. This mode of operation is sometimes performed on animals two and three years old. Some break the spermatic cord without tearing it: they twist it, and then pull it gently and firmly until it gives way.
"Castration by sawing or scraping.—Here a portion of the base of the scrotum is cut off, the testicles forced out, and the cord sawn through by a somewhat serrated but blunt instrument. The hemorrhage, if any there be, is arrested by introducing ashes into the wound. The animal is then dismissed, and nothing further done with him. Fromage de Feagre has castrated many pigs of three or four months old by dividing the spermatic cord in this way. This mode of operating, however, should only be practised on very young animals.
"Castration by ligature.—Here a waxed cord is passed as tightly as possible round the scrotum above the epididymes, which completely stops the circulation, and in a few days the scrotum and testicles will drop off. This mode of operating should never be performed on pigs more than six weeks old, and the spermatic cord should always be first of all uncovered."
We cannot approve of the tearing or gnawing the testicle with the teeth; it is a disgusting practice, and inflicts unnecessary pain on the patient: the use of a blunt knife is far preferable, as this lacerates the part equally as much without so bruising it and rendering it painful; and it is the laceration only we require, in order to prevent the subsequent hemorrhage which would occur if the cord were simply severed with a sharp instrument.
The castration by ligature requires great nicety and skill, otherwise accidents will occur, and considerable pain and inflammation be caused. Too thick a cord, a knot not tied sufficiently tight, or a portion of the testicle included in the ligature, will prevent the success of the operation.
The most fatal consequence of castration is tetanus, induced by the shock communicated to the nervous system by the torture of the operation.
In spaying the sow the animal is laid upon its left side and firmly held by one or two assistants; an incision is then made into the flank, the fore-finger of the right hand introduced into it, and gently turned about until it encounters and hooks hold of the right ovary, which it draws through the opening; a ligature is then passed round this one, and the left ovary felt for in like manner. The operator then severs off these two ovaries, either by cutting or tearing, and returns the womb and its appurtenances to their proper position. This being done, he closes up the womb with two or three stitches, sometimes rubs a little oil over it, and releases his patient, and all generally goes on well; for the healing power of the pig is very great, as the following fact will testify.
Mr. Thomson, veterinary surgeon at Beith, N. B., was castrating a pig, and while cutting through the peritoneum, one of the assistants lost his hold, and the animal sprang up. The scalpel was plunged deep into the belly, entered one of the convolutions of the ileum, and divided one of the guts almost through, besides making a wound in the mesentery. Mr. Thomson sewed up the mesentery with a fine needle and thread, and restored it to its place, and secured the side with firm stitches—not, however, with much hope of seeing his patient recover. But, to his surprise, two days afterwards little appeared to be the matter, and in a short time the animal was well.
The after treatment is very simple. The animals should be well littered with clean litter, in styes weather-tight and thoroughly ventilated; their diet should be attended to; sour milk or whey, with barley-meal, is an excellent thing to give at these times; it is well to confine them for a few days, as they should be prevented from getting into cold water or mud until the wound is perfectly healed, and also from creeping through hedges or fences.
The best age for spaying a sow is about six weeks; indeed, as a general axiom, the younger the animal is castrated the better it gets over the operation, which is seldom attended by fatal results. Some persons, however, have two or three litters from their sows before they operate upon them; where this is the case, the consequences are more to be feared, as the parts have become more susceptible, and are consequently more liable to take on inflammation. Lisle says: "Where this is done, it is best to spay a sow two or three days before her litter of pigs are weaned, because then, if harm follows the operation, the young ones will draw off the venom."
CATCHING AND HOLDING THE PIG.
Swine are very difficult animals to obtain any mastery over, or to operate on or examine. Seldom tame or easily handled, they are at such periods most unmanageable, kicking, screaming, and even biting fiercely. Hurtrel d'Arboval recommends the following means of getting hold of them:—"Fasten a double cord to the end of a stick, and beneath the stick let there be a running noose in this cord; tie a piece of bread to the cord and present it to the animal, and when he opens his mouth to seize the bait, catch the upper jaw in the noose, run it tight, and the animal is fast."
Another means is to catch one foot in a running noose suspended from some place, so as to draw the imprisoned foot off the ground; or to envelop the head of the animal in a cloth or sack.
But, so far as it can be, all coercion should be avoided, for the pig is naturally so averse to being handled, that in his struggles he will often do himself far more mischief than the disease we seek to investigate or remedy would effect.
DRENCHING.
Here again the observations with which we closed the preceding paragraph are applicable, for there are more instances than one on record in which the pig has, in his struggles, ruptured some vessel and died on the spot, or so injured himself as to bring on inflammation and subsequent death. Whenever it is possible, the medicine should be mingled with a portion of food, and the animal thus cheated or coaxed into taking it. Where this cannot be done, the following is the best method:—
Let a man get the head of the animal firmly between his knees, without, however, pinching it, while another secures the hinder parts. Then let the first take hold of the pig's head from below, raise it a little, and incline it slightly towards the right, at the same time separating the lips on the left side so as to form a hole into which the fluid may be gradually poured, not more being introduced into the mouth at a time than can be swallowed at once. Should the beast snort or choke, the head must be released for a few moments, or he will be in danger of being strangled.
RINGING.
The operation of ringing is performed in order to counteract the propensity swine have to dig and furrow up the earth. The ring is passed through what appears to be a prolongation of the septum, between the supplemental, or snout-bone, and the proper nasal. The animal is thus unable to obtain sufficient purchase to use his snout with any effect without causing the ring to press so painfully upon the part that he is speedily compelled to desist. But the ring is apt to break, or it wears out in process of time and has to be replaced. The operation is most painful, and the shrill squeaks of the animal undergoing it cause it to be a perfect nuisance to the neighborhood.
John Lawrence gives the following directions concerning this operation: "The snouts of pigs should be perforated at weaning-time, after they shall have recovered from castration; and it will be necessary to renew the operation as they become of large growth. It is too generally neglected at first; but no pigs, young or old, should be suffered to roam at large unrung. It should be ascertained that the sow's rings are sufficiently strong previously to her taking the hog, on account of the risk of abortion from the operation being renewed while she is in pig. Care must be taken by the operator that he go not too close to the bone, and that the ring turns easily."
The far better mode of proceeding is, when the pig is young, to cut through the cartilaginous and ligamentous prolongations by which the supplementary bone is united to the proper nasals. The divided edges of the cartilage will never unite again, and the snout always remains powerless.