Comparative effects of castration and dehorning in series or concurrent castration and dehorning procedures on stress responses and production in Holstein calves1

Abstract

The study objective was to compare serum cortisol as an acute stress measure, chute exit velocity as a behavioral measure, and ADG as an indicator of performance and well-being after castration, dehorning, or concurrent castration/dehorning of calves when performed in parallel and in series. Intact male Holstein calves, 3 to 4 mo, underwent sham handling before 2 procedures performed in series separated by 2 to 3 wk. In Period 1, calves were either dehorned by amputation, surgically castrated, concurrently castrated/ dehorned, or served as nonsurgical controls (n = 10/treatment). In Period 2, calves that had been dehorned, castrated, or castrated/dehorned were then castrated, dehorned, or served as nonsurgical controls, respectively. Indicators of distress were measured after all procedures; ADG was assessed for 7 d after each procedure and over the 2 to 3 wk interim. Period 1 cortisol concentrations in dehorned calves were less than in castrated and castrated/dehorned calves at 120 min and from 50 to 240 min, respectively (P < 0.02). There was marginal evidence that cortisol concentrations were greater in castrated/dehorned than castrated calves at 60 min (P = 0.06). Period 2 cortisol concentrations were less in dehorned than castrated calves at 120 min (P = 0.005) but were greater from 360 to 480 min (P < 0.002). The Period 2 cortisol profile of control calves did not differ from the baseline obtained during sham handling, despite the intervening castration/dehorning in Period 1, suggesting that memory did not affect cortisol. The cortisol profile of castrated calves did not differ between periods except at 720 min, when Period 1 concentrations were greater than Period 2 (P = 0.02). Cortisol concentrations of calves dehorned in Period 2 were greater than those dehorned in Period 1 at 20 and 240 to 480 min (P < 0.05). In both periods, castrated calves exited the chute slower than dehorned calves (P < 0.05). The ADG did not differ between surgically treated calves in Period 1; in the interim, the ADG of castrated calves was greater than that of castrated/dehorned calves (difference ± SED, 1.4 ± 0.6 kg/d; P = 0.03), and in Period 2, the ADG of dehorned calves was less than castrated calves (1.8 ± 0.6 kg/d; P = 0.005). Our study supports both the common practice of concurrent castration/dehorning and the sequence of dehorning and castration. Delayed dehorning (vs. delayed castration) appeared to be more acutely stressful and more detrimental to ADG. ABSTRACT:The study objective was to compare serum cortisol as an acute stress measure, chute exit velocity as a behavioral measure, and ADG as an indicator of performance and well-being after castration, dehorning, or concurrent castration/dehorning of calves when performed in parallel and in series. Intact male Holstein calves, 3 to 4 mo, underwent sham handling before 2 procedures performed in series separated by 2 to 3 wk. In Period 1, calves were either dehorned by amputation, surgically castrated, concurrently castrated/ dehorned, or served as nonsurgical...

Effect of a single dose of subcutaneous meloxicam before knife castration alone or combined with hot-iron branding on scrotal healing, inflammatory response, and behaviour in 2-mo-old beef calves over 42 d post procedure

“…For example, Ballou et al (2013) and Sutherland et al (2013) observed an increase in plasma cortisol concentrations when castration and dehorning were combined compared with when they were done alone, and the behavioural responses were elevated by combining both procedures . In contrast, Mosher et al (2013) did not find differences in plasma cortisol, when castration was performed alone or concurrently with dehorning; however, in this study, calves were acclimated by sham castration and sham dehorning the day before. To date, no published studies have evaluated the combination of castration and branding or their long-term effects (lasting more than 7 d post procedure) on indicators of pain, inflammation, or wound healing when the two procedures are combined.…”

“…Castration is typically performed in conjunction with other painful procedures such as dehorning, branding, and vaccination. To date, all published studies evaluating the combined effect of two painful routine management procedures have assessed castration in combination with dehorning (Schwartzkopf-Genswein et al 2005;Ballou et al 2013;Mosher et al 2013;Sutherland et al 2013). Hot-iron branding is a method used to permanently identify cattle, and it is still commonly used in countries where no electronic identification is required or in areas where producers comingle animals on community pastures.…”

Effects of Topical Anaesthetic and Buccal Meloxicam Treatments on Concurrent Castration and Dehorning of Beef Calves

“…Weight loss was greatest in CONN calves and lowest in CONP calves. This aligns with previous findings showing concurrent castration and dehorning to negatively impact average daily gain (ADG) [23,27]. Weight change of BMTA calves did not differ significantly from that of CONP calves, indicating that a combination of TA and MEL may provide superior pain relief than TA or MEL alone.…”

“…For example, increased nociceptor activity increases sympathetic tone and adrenal secretions, potentially inhibiting gastric control centres, causing decreased rumen motility [26]. A reduction in weight gain is expected to follow castration and dehorning [27], suggesting poor animal welfare and economic losses result from such procedures [24]. In the current study, all calves, including CONP calves, appeared to lose weight over the 6 days following treatment.…”

Ganancia de peso diaria de machos castrados vs. machos enteros durante la recría

“…Por otra parte, el posicionamiento de la temática del bienestar animal y su impacto tanto en la producción como en la calidad del producto obtenido ha cobrado mayor rele-vancia durante la última década (Müller-Lindenlauf et al, 2010). Sin embargo, también ha cuestionado algunas prácticas habituales de manejo animal tales como inyecciones, descuerne y castración (Mosher et al, 2013). En este sentido, Hocquette et al (2014) han asociado a la castración como uno de los factores extrínsecos que afectan la calidad de la carne.…”