Pain in the weeks following surgical and rubber ring castration in dairy calves

Abstract

Many male dairy calves are castrated when reared for beef production, but for dairy breeds the assessment of the longer-lasting pain associated with this procedure has received little scientific attention. In this study we assessed 2 methods: surgical (n = 10 calves) and rubber ring (n = 11). All calves were castrated at 28 d of age using multimodal pain control. During the 8 wk that followed, we recorded wound healing, local inflammation, body weight, milk and calf starter intake, lying time, and wound-directed behavior. Surgical wounds were fully healed on average 4 wk after the procedure, but only 1 calf in the rubber ring treatment fully healed within the 8-wk study. Inflammation was greater after rubber ring castration; skin temperature in the area around the lesion was 1.7 ± 0.35°C (mean ± standard deviation) higher than for the surgical treatment. Compared with surgically castrated calves, those castrated by rubber ring gained less weight over the study period (on average 11.9 ± 5.1 kg less), a difference due in part to lower intake of calf starter (on average 1.8 ± 0.6 kg less). Calves in the rubber ring treatment spent less time lying down (on average 4.2 ± 1.2% fewer scans per day) and licked their lesions more frequently (on average 16.0 ± 3.3 more licks per day). We conclude that the rubber ring calves experienced more pain in the weeks following the procedure and thus recommend that surgical castration be favored for preweaning dairy calves.

Pain in the hours following surgical and rubber ring castration in dairy calves: Evidence from conditioned place avoidance

“… Marti et al (2017) reported a lower weight gain over 68 d for surgically castrated calves compared with control and band calves, despite more intense and longer swelling for band castration calves. In a study with methods most comparable to ours (use of sedative, local anesthesia, and analgesia in Holstein calves <1 mo old), calves castrated with rubber rings took longer to heal, had more inflammation, gained less weight, spent less time lying, and exhibited more lesion lickings than surgically castrated calves ( Nogues et al, 2021 ).…”

Assessment of the Effective Tissue Concentrations of Injectable Lidocaine and a Lidocaine-Impregnated Latex Band for Castration in Calves

“…When using a rubber band for castration, a combination of local anesthetic and NSAID can control pain over a short period after castration, yielding no formation of negative memory associated with the procedure in the 96 h after completion [ 32 ]. However, in the weeks following rubber band application, calves exhibit lower weight gains, starter intake, and lying time likely associated with a protracted pain response [ 12 ], suggesting that NSAID re-administration would be required to maintain efficacy over the duration of the elastration procedure. LLBs, on the other hand, were designed to address both acute and chronic discomfort by delivering lidocaine rapidly and for a prolonged duration.…”

“…Although this method initially leads to fewer obvious signs of pain [ 9 ], the pain related to band castration is chronic as the wound-healing process can last for weeks [ 10 , 11 ]. Furthermore, when compared to the use of surgical castration, dairy calves castrated with a rubber ring gained less weight and spent less time lying down over the 8-week study period [ 12 ]. This highlights the need for better methods to control the long-term pain associated with this castration method.…”

Thermal Imaging as a Method to Indirectly Assess Peripheral Vascular Integrity and Tissue Viability in Veterinary Medicine: Animal Models and Clinical Applications

“…These results might be associated with a similar inflammatory and painful response in all bulls, showing that IRT can be an adjuvant to monitor the healing period and manage pain, an important sign that also must be considered [ 90 ]. In longer-lasting pain procedures such as rubber ring castration, usually performed in domestic animals, Nogues et al [ 91 ] evaluated wound healing and inflammation in dairy calves after surgical or rubber ring castration. Rubber-ring-castrated animals did not fully heal within the eight evaluation weeks and, according to IRT, the thermal surface response around the lesion was 1.7 ± 0.35 °C higher than the surgical group.…”