Physiological and behavioural changes in Holstein calves during and after dehorning or castration

Schwartzkopf-Genswein, K. S.; Booth-McLean, M. E.; McAllister, Tim A.; Mears, G. J.

doi:10.4141/a04-051

Cited by 28 publications

(18 citation statements)

References 23 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Our results support and extend the findings reported by Schwartzkopf-Genswein et al (2005), in which 1-to 2-mo-old Holstein bull calves were disbudded by hot iron cautery and then approximately 21 d later were surgically castrated. In that study, as in the present report, cortisol concentrations reached maximum peaks at approximately 30 min for both procedure groups, but then a more sustained response in the castrated calves resulted in significant differences between groups in cortisol concentrations at the 120 and 240 min time points, similar to what we observed in calves undergoing the DH 1 -CAST 2 sequence in our study.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 91%

“…One study has investigated separate castration and dehorning procedures in the same calves, but the procedures were performed in series, with castration always after dehorning, so comparisons between procedures were confounded with order of application (Schwartzkopf-Genswein et al, 2005). Another study has investigated castration, dehorning, and the concurrent procedure in parallel but not in series Sutherland et al, 2013).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

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

Mosher

Wang

Allen

et al. 2013

Journal of Animal Science

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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...

show abstract

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 91%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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

Mosher

Wang

Allen

et al. 2013

Journal of Animal Science

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Heinrich et al (2009) also reported similar increases in RR following disbudding of calves with a local anaesthetic. The HR response in the present study was similar to the levels reported in other studies (Schwartzkopf-Genswein et al, 2005;Stewart et al, 2008;Heinrich et al, 2009;Stewart et al, 200) and was lower than the increase found in calves disbudded without pain relief. There are no previous studies to compare the responses to ear-tagging; however, owing to the shorter duration and relatively little tissue damage, it is likely that ear-tagging is less painful than disbudding and this is supported by the greater behavioural and physiological response to disbudding than ear-tagging in the present study.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 91%

Effect of previous handling experiences on responses of dairy calves to routine husbandry procedures

Stewart

Shepherd

Webster

et al. 2013

Animal

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The nature of human-animal interactions is an important factor contributing to animal welfare and productivity. Reducing stress during routine husbandry procedures is likely to improve animal welfare. We examined how the type of early handling of calves affected responses to two common husbandry procedures, ear-tagging and disbudding. Forty Holstein-Friesian calves (n 5 20/treatment) were exposed to one of two handling treatments daily from 1 to 5 weeks of age: (1) positive (n 5 20), involving gentle handling (soft voices, slow movements, patting), and (2) negative (n 5 20), involving rough handling (rough voices, rapid movements, pushing). Heart rate (HR), respiration rate (RR) and behaviour (activity, tail flicking) were measured before and after ear-tagging and disbudding (2 days apart). Cortisol was measured at 220 (baseline), 20 and 40 min relative to disbudding time. There were no significant treatment differences in HR, RR or behaviour in response to either procedure. However, the following changes occurred across both treatment groups. HR increased after disbudding (by 14.7 6 4.0 and 18.6 6 3.8 bpm, positive and negative, respectively; mean 6 s.e.m.) and ear-tagging (by 8.7 6 3.1 and 10.3 6 3.0 bpm, positive and negative, respectively). After disbudding, there was an increase in RR (by 8.2 6 3.4 and 9.3 6 3.4 breaths/min, positive and negative, respectively), overall activity (by 9.4 6 1.2 and 9.9 6 1.3 frequency/min, positive and negative, respectively) and tail flicking (by 13.2 6 2.8 and 11.2 6 3.0 frequency/min, positive and negative, respectively), and cortisol increased from baseline at 20 min post procedure (by 10.3 6 1.1 and 12.3 6 1.1 nmol/l positive and negative, respectively). Although we recorded significant changes in calf responses during ear-tagging and disbudding, the type of prior handling had no effect on responses. The effects of handling may have been overridden by the degree of pain and/or stress associated with the procedures. Further research is warranted to understand the welfare impact and interaction between previous handling and responses to husbandry procedures.

show abstract

“…Schwartzkopf-Genswein and others reported that HR in dehorned calves was significantly higher that control animals for 120 minutes after the procedure [21]. Similarly, Grondahl-Nielsen et al (1999) observed that HR was elevated for 3.5 h in dehorned calves receiving no anesthetic or analgesic compared with calves that were only sham dehorned [29].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Pharmacokinetics and effect of intravenous meloxicam in weaned Holstein calves following scoop dehorning without local anesthesia

et al. 2012

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

BackgroundDehorning is a common practice involving calves on dairy operations in the United States. However, less than 20% of producers report using analgesics or anesthetics during dehorning. Administration of a systemic analgesic drug at the time of dehorning may be attractive to dairy producers since cornual nerve blocks require 10 – 15 min to take effect and only provide pain relief for a few hours. The primary objectives of this trial were to (1) describe the compartmental pharmacokinetics of meloxicam in calves after IV administration at 0.5 mg/kg and (2) to determine the effect of meloxicam (n = 6) or placebo (n = 6) treatment on serum cortisol response, plasma substance P (SP) concentrations, heart rate (HR), activity and weight gain in calves after scoop dehorning and thermocautery without local anesthesia.ResultsPlasma meloxicam concentrations were detectable for 50 h post-administration and fit a 2-compartment model with a rapid distribution phase (mean T½α = 0.22 ± 0.087 h) and a slower elimination phase (mean T½β = 21.86 ± 3.03 h). Dehorning caused a significant increase in serum cortisol concentrations and HR (P < 0.05). HR was significantly lower in the meloxicam-treated calves compared with placebo-treated calves at 8 h (P = 0.039) and 10 h (P = 0.044) after dehorning. Mean plasma SP concentrations were lower in meloxicam treated calves (71.36 ± 20.84 pg/mL) compared with control calves (114.70 ± 20.84 pg/mL) (P = 0.038). Furthermore, the change in plasma SP from baseline was inversely proportional to corresponding plasma meloxicam concentrations (P = 0.008). The effect of dehorning on lying behavior was less significant in meloxicam-treated calves (p = 0.40) compared to the placebo-treated calves (P < 0.01). Calves receiving meloxicam prior to dehorning gained on average 1.05 ± 0.13 kg bodyweight/day over 10 days post-dehorning compared with 0.40 ± 0.25 kg bodyweight/day in the placebo-treated calves (p = 0.042).ConclusionsTo our knowledge, this is the first published report examining the effects of meloxicam without local anesthesia on SP, activity and performance of calves post-dehorning. These findings suggest that administration of meloxicam alone immediately prior to dehorning does not mitigate signs of acute distress but may have long term physiological, behavior and performance effects.

show abstract

Physiological and behavioural changes in Holstein calves during and after dehorning or castration

Cited by 28 publications

References 23 publications

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

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

Effect of previous handling experiences on responses of dairy calves to routine husbandry procedures

Pharmacokinetics and effect of intravenous meloxicam in weaned Holstein calves following scoop dehorning without local anesthesia

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About