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On-farm evaluation of pinhole castration for mass
castration of goats and cattle in pastoral communities of central Uganda
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J Okwee-Acai*, G Bigirwa, JS Onyait, B Agwai
and J Acon |
Department of Veterinary
Pharmacy, Clinical and Comparative Medicine, School of Veterinary
Medicine and Animal Resources, P. O. Box 7062 Makerere University,
Kampala
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Abstract |
Pinhole castration is
described as simple, cheap and minimally invasive alternative to
conventional surgical castration. We evaluated effectiveness, associated
costs and animal’s systemic responses during mass castration of kids and
calves in pastoral communities of central Uganda. Kids (n=112) and
calves (n=201) routinely presented to community practitioners were
castrated using pinhole technique. Rectal temperature and appetite was
noted for six consecutive days after castration. Sixty days later, the
testes were observed for evidence of gross atrophy. Testes showing gross
changes were recovered by knife castration for histopathology. The mean
age of kids was 3-4 months, while calves were about a year or older.
Each pinhole procedure lasted for 7-8 min and consumed 10-15 cm of
suture; costing 0.3-0.4 US dollars. Following castration, there was
significant (t =-3.46; P<0.05) rise in mean rectal temperature (39.7°C)
in both kids and calves for 3-5 days. About 5% of castrated animals
showed unilateral or bilateral noatrophy; however, 94% of these were
actually hydrocele with dysfunctional testes. In conclusion, pinhole
castration is an effective, minimally invasive, cheap and simple
alternative for mass castration of kids and calves. However, efficacy of
the technique should be investigated further in calves that are about a
year of age.
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Keywords:
Pinhole technique; mass
castration; pastoral communities; Uganda
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To cite this article:
Okwee-Acai J, G Bigirwa,
JS Onyait, B Agwai and J Acon, 2016.
On-farm evaluation of pinhole castration for mass
castration of goats and cattle in pastoral communities of central
Uganda.
Res.
Opin.
Anim. Vet. Sci., 6(1): 13-18. |
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