We evaluated alternatives to cautery disbudding of goat kids using physiological measures of immediate and longer-term pain. Fifty Saanen doe kids were randomly assigned to 1 of 5 treatments (n = 10/treatment): (1) cautery disbudding (CAUT), (2) caustic paste disbudding (CASP), (3) liquid nitrogen disbudding (CRYO), (4) clove oil injected into the horn bud (CLOV), or (5) sham disbudding (SHAM). Serum cortisol and haptoglobin concentrations were measured from blood samples collected immediately before treatment (baseline) and at 15, 30, 60, and 120 min and then again at 6 and 24 h post-treatment. An infrared thermography camera was used to take images of the horn buds 24 h pre- and 24, 48, and 72 h post-treatment to measure skin temperature. Body weight was measured daily for 1 wk to assess weight change post-treatment. Images of the horn buds were taken at d 1, 2, and 7 and at 6 wk post-treatment to assess tissue damage and wound healing. Mean cortisol concentrations were elevated in CASP kids 1 h post-treatment relative to CAUT kids. Cortisol concentrations of CRYO kids were higher than those of CAUT kids 30 min post-treatment; concentrations for CLOV kids were similar to CAUT kids post-treatment. Mean haptoglobin concentrations were similar across treatments over time; however, CLOV kids had higher concentrations at 24 h post-treatment than all other treatments. Skin temperatures of CASP and CLOV kids were elevated relative to CAUT kids at all time points post-treatment, and all disbudded kids had skin temperatures above those of SHAM kids at 72 h post-treatment. Treatment did not influence weight gain. The CAUT kids had large, open wounds exposing bone; small scabs were still evident 6 wk post-treatment. The CASP kids had red and open, raw wounds that generated large eschars, apparent for up to 6 wk. The CRYO kids had closed, dry wounds initially, but over time lesions appeared that caused open wounds; small scabs were present 6 wk post-treatment. The CLOV kids had closed, dry wounds with blackened skin; healed skin and minimal scabs were present 6 wk post-treatment. Caustic paste and cryosurgical disbudding appeared to cause more pain compared with cautery disbudding; thus, these methods may not provide good alternatives to cautery disbudding. Clove oil appeared to cause a similar pain response as cautery disbudding and smaller wounds with earlier tissue repair; this method shows promise as an alternative to cautery disbudding.

Muddy surfaces have negative effects on the health and welfare of dairy cattle, and if possible, cows will avoid this surface. However, it is unclear whether it is the moisture content or the contamination with manure that is aversive to the cows. This study aimed to assess the use and preference for different wood chip (0.4 m deep) surface types: (1) clean and dry (clean, dry matter content, DM: 44 ± 2.8%), (2) dirty (dirty, contaminated with manure, DM: 40 ± 3.7%), and (3) clean and wet (wet, wetted by water, DM: 23 ± 3.3%). Eighteen nonlactating, pregnant cows were tested individually (mean 24-h temperature: 9.9 ± 4.46°C, mean ± standard deviation for all preceding values). Cows were kept indoors in test pens for 18 h on wood chip without feed and 6 h on pasture to allow for daily feed intake. To ensure cows made informed choices and to measure changes in behavior and hygiene associated with each option, they were first exposed to each surface for 5 d (n = 12 cows per surface type when they were restricted on one surface; i.e., each cow was exposed to 2 treatment surfaces only). Cows on the wet surface spent the least amount of time lying when restricted to one surface for 18 h (wet: 21%, dirty: 57%, clean: 64%) and spent more time lying when on pasture for 6 h (wet: 13%, dirty: 4%, clean: 3%). The total lying times during the 5-d surface exposure were wet: 4.

No abstract

Information on the phosphorus (P) forms of pasture soils is central to agricultural and environmental sustainability. We used a combination of 31 P nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy of NaOH-EDTA extracts and sequential fractionation to investigate P forms, with an emphasis on organic P in relation to environmental and biophysical variables, in 24 diverse pasture soils taken from around New Zealand (organic C 19-102 g kg À1 , total P 116-2746 mg kg À1 , pH 5.2-7.0). Soils were separated by cluster analysis of soil physicochemical properties and sequentially extracted P pools into those either derived from volcanic-ash materials or not. This separation was also evident for organic P species in NaOH-EDTA extracts, which removed about 75% of total soil organic P. The major organic P compound class was monoesters (24-60% of extracted P), made up of 14 to 91% myo-inositol hexakisphosphate. The next largest organic P class was diesters (0-4% of P extracted), which were enriched in volcanic-ash soils (monoester to diester ratio = 14) compared to non volcanic-ash soils (ratio = 30). Correlation analysis indicated that mean annual temperature had a significant negative and positive effect on monoester and diester concentrations, respectively. This was attributed to better physical protection of monoesters (especially inositol phosphates) from mineralization, and increased diesters from microbial activity and biological turnover. The anomalous behaviour of volcanic-ash soils was attributed to slow mineralization and the sampling of soils at different times of year without full knowledge of the large and highly dynamic microbial biomass P pool which is predominantly diesters.

Asexual Epichloë endophytes colonize agricultural forage grasses in a relationship which is mutually beneficial and provides the host plant with protection against herbivorous insects. The endophyte strain AR37 (Epichloë festucae var. lolii) produces epoxy-janthitrem alkaloids and is the only endophyte known to provide ryegrass with resistance against porina larvae (Wiseana cervinata (Walker)), a major pasture pest in cooler areas of New Zealand. This study examined the effect of temperature on concentrations of epoxy-janthitrems in AR37-infected ryegrass and determined how the resulting variations in concentration affected consumption, growth and survival of porina larvae. Twenty replicate pairs of perennial (Lolium perenne L.) and Italian ryegrass (L. multiflorum Lam.) plants with and without endophyte were prepared by cloning, with one of each pair grown at either high (20°C) or low (7°C) temperature. After 10 weeks, herbage on each plant was harvested, divided into leaf and pseudostem, then freeze dried and ground. Leaf and pseudostem material was then incorporated separately into semi-synthetic diets which were fed to porina larvae in a bioassay over 3 weeks. Epoxy-janthitrem concentrations within the plant materials and the semi-synthetic diets were analyzed by high performance liquid chromatography. AR37-infected ryegrass grown at high temperature contained high in planta concentrations of epoxy-janthitrem (30.6 μg/g in leaves and 83.9 μg/g in pseudostems) that had a strong anti-feedant effect on porina larvae when incorporated into their diets, reducing their survival by 25–42% on pseudostems. In comparison, in planta epoxy-janthitrem concentrations in AR37-infected ryegrass grown at low temperature were very low (0.67 μg/g in leaves and 7.4 μg/g in pseudostems) resulting in a small anti-feedant effect in perennial but not in Italian ryegrass. Although alkaloid concentrations were greatly reduced by low temperature this reduction did not occur until after 4 weeks of exposure. Alkaloid concentrations were slightly lower in Italian than in perennial ryegrass and concentrations were higher in the pseudostems when compared with the leaves. In conclusion, epoxy-janthitrems expressed by the AR37 endophyte show strong activity against porina larvae. However, when ryegrass plants are grown at a constant low temperature for an extended period of time in planta epoxy-janthitrem concentrations are greatly reduced and are less effective against this pasture pest.