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Spaying/Neutering
Unless you plan on keeping males and females separate, neutering
is required for goats, sheep, rabbits, cattle, and pigs. This
is a routine procedure for most large animal veterinarians,
however, it may not be routine for them to use anesthesia.
Castrations without anesthesia are common in the "livestock"
industry. Insist that your veterinarian use a local anesthesia
and if proper restraint of the animal is difficult, you may
also want to use a sedative to avoid struggling and resulting
injuries.
Neutering is not necessary for turkeys, chickens, ducks,
and geese, and is risky since few (if any) veterinarians do
this procedure. The use of nest boxes and daily collection
of eggs will generally eliminate hatching problems. Birds
who wander should be kept in a pen they cannot escape from,
since brooding on eggs will not only result in more chickens,
but is danger for the bird who could fall prey to foxes, coyotes,
or other predators. Spaying is generally not recommended for
ruminants since the procedure is quite dangerous and can lead
to fatalities. If it is necessary due to possible exposure
to unaltered males (areas where cattle free-range and can
get in with your herd, etc.) we suggest an ovariectomy done
at large animal hospital experienced with the procedure.
Spaying pigs and rabbits is also a good idea, since both
tend to have future reproductive diseases later in life if
left unaltered. Female pigs also go into heat every 28-30
days and often display mounting behaviors, which can cause
permanent injuries to other pigs they are housed with. It
is best to do the procedure when they are piglets since it
is a much higher risk when they are older due to their tolerance
of anesthesia. Rabbits can usually be spayed by a companion
animal vet, but again make sure this is a procedure they have
experience doing.
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