Probably, all people saw bulls with a nose ring in the pasture. This phenomenon is widespread and is considered quite commonplace. But few people think about why a bull has a nose ring. Why is such a “cattle accessory” needed and what is its purpose?
Of course, such a “piercing” to the bulls is not necessary for beauty. Do not try in this way and mark their animals their owners. In fact, the nose ring is nothing more than a very effective means of taming the bull.
Main purpose
So, why does a bull have a nose ring? Male cattle, as you know, are powerful and unusually strong animals. Moreover, their character, and especially that of non-castrated manufacturers, is very wayward. It is often even difficult for the farm owner to drive the bull into a stall, and not just, for example, to inspect the bull or vaccinate him.
In order that the animal does not resist, the owner, if necessary, uses a metal ring. There are only three sensitive places in bulls, as in almost any other mammals: eyes, ears and nose. By exerting even slight pressure on the pain points, the animal can be obeyed very easily. At the same time, the cattle’s most convenient place for impact is precisely the nose, or rather, its septum.
As soon as the owner presses on the ring, the bull, in anticipation of pain, becomes very flexible. The animal either stands quietly, or dutifully follows the owner, using his "piercing" as a leash. Scientifically, a ring inserted into a bull’s nose is called a septum. Translated from English, this means literally "partition".
When the bulls get in the ring
Thus, why a bull has a nose ring is understandable. But when do such a "piercing" of the animal? This procedure is carried out in most cases to gobies selected as producers, under the age of one year. In principle, this operation is not complicated by itself. Experienced farmers in most cases do it themselves. But for a novice who has just recently started to breed cattle, it is better to entrust the veterinarian with the banding procedure.
Firstly, acting ineptly, a layman can seriously injure the animal during this operation. In this case, wounds in the nose of a bull can subsequently become inflamed, which will extremely negatively affect his general well-being and lead to a temporary decrease in productivity. The answer to the question of why a bull is inserted into the nostrils is taming. That is, the task of the farmer in this case is to facilitate the care of the animal. However, the goby should not suffer during banding, of course, in any case.
And secondly, the procedure for fastening the ring can be dangerous for the most inexperienced farmer. A frightened bull in pain will surely begin to resist and can inflict not only damage to its “tormentor," but even mutilation.
Sequencing
So, why do the bulls put a ring in their nose, we found out. But how, in fact, do veterinarians and experienced farmers perform this procedure on the farmsteads? When performing "piercing" bulls, specialists usually use the following materials:
- sterile medical cotton;
- the actual stainless steel ring itself with a cross section of about 1 cm with a lock and a pointed edge;
- a rope;
- syringes.
Of the medicines used in this case:
- "Xylosin" (a drug that reduces motor activity);
- Novocaine 2%;
- medical alcohol.
Actually, the procedure for ringing bulls is as follows:
- the animal is completely immobilized with ropes (including the head);
- make a bull a shot of "Xylosin" in the jugular vein at a dose of 0.5 ml;
- they clean the animal’s nose from mucus with cotton and inject novocaine into the septum;
- gently puncture the animal with the sharp end of the ring and snap the lock.
Recommendations for the procedure
Of course, a bull cannot achieve full sterility on the farm before piercing the septum. Therefore, all the tools and materials during this procedure must necessarily be thoroughly treated with alcohol before use.
As soon as the bull-calf comes out of anesthesia, he is given additional anesthesia using, for example, Meloxicam. It is desirable to repeat the same procedure 12 hours after the operation. In the future, the nose of the animal can not be touched for at least 8-10 days, until the septum is completely healed.
What other animals can be inserted rings
Nose piercings can only be seen in bulls. But sometimes pigs “ring” in a similar way. The answer to the question of why a bull has a nose ring is taming. For pigs, a similar procedure is carried out for a slightly different purpose. In this case, the ring is used, of course, not at all to tame the animal. To pigs, such an accessory is inserted into the nose so that they do not dig the floor in the barn or the ground in the yard.
Why bulls have a ring in their nose is thus understandable. But sometimes a similar “piercing” can also be seen in small calves. Owners of farms insert a ring into their nose in such animals when it is not possible to keep young animals separately from the queens. The ring in this case prevents the calves from sucking milk from the cows.