Data from: Evaluating conditioned place preference in calves 0 and 20 days after hot-iron disbudding
Data files
Jul 17, 2026 version files 2.01 MB
Abstract
Hot-iron disbudding, a routine procedure that prevents horn bud growth through cauterization, is painful for calves. The resulting burns remain sensitive to touch for weeks, but it is unclear whether calves experience ongoing, non-evoked pain during healing. We evaluated conditioned place preference for analgesia in 44 calves disbudded or sham-disbudded 6 hours (Day 0) or 20 days (Day 20) before testing (n = 11/treatment). Calves were conditioned to associate the effects of a lidocaine cornual nerve block with the location (left or right side of the home pen) and pattern of a visual stimulus (solid black or black-and-white striped board), and a control injection of saline with the contrasting stimulus. Calves received 6 conditioning trials over 3 days, alternating between lidocaine- and saline-paired stimuli. On the fourth day, calves were provided both stimuli for 5 minutes and preference was assessed. Contrary to our predictions, we found no evidence of a preference for either stimulus at 0 or 20 days after disbudding or sham-disbudding. Given that pain is well established in the hours after disbudding and some studies report behavioral changes weeks later, we suggest the conditioned place preference paradigm, as applied in this study, would benefit from further refinement.
This repository contains the data and R script used to conduct the descriptive and statistical analyses and create the figures referenced in the paper of the same name.
📄 Study Overview
This study investigated whether hot-iron disbudded calves experience ongoing, non-evoked pain during wound healing, using a conditioned place preference paradigm. Forty-four Holstein and Jersey calves were randomly assigned to four treatment groups (n = 11 per group): disbudded or sham-disbudded either 6 hours (Day 0) or 20 days (Day 20) before testing. Calves were conditioned to associate a lidocaine cornual nerve block (analgesia) or saline injection (control) with distinct visual and spatial stimuli in their home pen over six trials. On the test day, calves were presented with the lidocaine- and saline-paired stimuli simultaneously, and preference was assessed from video recordings.
📁 Files and Descriptions
Adcock_Tucker_Sci-Rep_2025_Data_Analysis_250915.nb.html
- Description: A HTML notebook file containing the R script to import Excel data and evaluate the effects of hot-iron disbudding on conditioned place preference for analgesia (analyzed separately for Day 0 and Day 20). It also evaluates wound sensitivity and summarizes wound tissues as percentages to describe healing progression.
- Input:
Adcock_Tucker_Sci-Rep_2025_Conditioning-Trials-Data.xlsx,Adcock_Tucker_Sci-Rep_2025_Preference-Test-and-Wound-Sensitivity-Data.xlsx,Adcock_Tucker_Sci-Rep_2025_Wound-Tissue-Data.xlsx - Output: Figures 3 and 4
- Use: Open in any web browser or in RStudio (File → Open File)
Adcock_Tucker_Sci-Rep_2025_Conditioning-Trials-Data.xlsx
- Description: Excel file containing the data collected during the 6 conditioning sessions for each calf. The second sheet contains descriptions of each column variable.
| Variable | Definition |
|---|---|
Calf |
Calf ID |
Breed |
Calf's breed (Holstein or Jersey) |
DOB |
Calf's date of birth |
Disbud |
Was calf disbudded or sham-disbudded? |
Day |
Was calf disbudded/sham-disbudded 0 days (Day0) or 20 days (Day20) before the preference test? |
DisbuddingDate |
Date calf was disbudded (left horn bud for Day 0, both horn buds for Day 20) |
DisbuddingWeight_kg |
Calf body weight the day before disbudding/sham-disbudding |
FirstDayConditioning |
The date the calf received her first conditioning trial |
FirstInjection |
The conditioning stimulus (lidocaine or saline) the calf received in their first conditioning trial |
LidocaineSide |
The side of the calf's pen (left or right) associated with the board paired with lidocaine |
LidocainePattern |
The pattern of the board (solid or striped) paired with lidocaine |
ConditioningStimulus |
Conditioning stimulus (lidocaine or saline) used in the conditioning trial |
TrialNumber |
Was is the first, second, or third trial in which the calf received the conditioning stimulus? |
StimulusContact_s |
Duration spent in contact with the conditioning stimulus during the conditioning trial |
Adcock_Tucker_Sci-Rep_2025_Preference-Test-and-Wound-Sensitivity-Data.xlsx
- Description: Excel file containing preference test data and pressure algometry measurements (collected immediately before the second conditioning trial and immediately after the preference test) for each calf. The second sheet contains descriptions of each column variable.
- Missing value code: #N/A
| Variable | Definition |
|---|---|
Calf |
Calf ID |
Breed |
Calf's breed (Holstein or Jersey) |
DOB |
Calf's date of birth |
Disbud |
Was calf disbudded or sham-disbudded? |
Day |
Was calf disbudded/sham-disbudded 0 days (Day0) or 20 days (Day20) before the preference test? |
DisbuddingDate |
Date calf was disbudded (left horn bud for Day 0, both horn buds for Day 20) |
DisbuddingWeight_kg |
Calf body weight the day before disbudding/sham-disbudding in kg |
DisbuddingDurationLeft_s |
Duration iron was applied to the left bud during actual disbudding in seconds |
DisbuddingDurationRight_s |
Duration iron was applied to the right bud during actual disbudding in seconds |
FirstDayConditioning |
The date the calf received her first conditioning trial |
FirstInjection |
The conditioning stimulus (lidocaine or saline) the calf received in her first conditioning trial |
LidocaineSide |
The side of the calf's pen (left or right) associated with the board paired with lidocaine |
LidocainePattern |
The pattern of the board (solid or striped) paired with lidocaine |
LidocaineContact_s |
Time spent in contact with lidocaine-paired stimulus in seconds |
SalineContact_s |
Time spent in contact with saline-paired stimulus in seconds |
ProportionLidocaineContact |
Proportion of time spent in contact with lidocaine-paired stimulus out of total contact with both stimuli |
FirstDayConditioningSensitivity_N |
Amount of force applied to wound(s) on the first day of conditioning in Newtons |
PreferenceTestSensitivity_N |
Amount of force applied to both wounds after the preference test in Newtons |
Adcock_Tucker_Sci-Rep_2025_Wound-Tissue-Data.xlsx
- Description: Excel file containing presence/absence data for each disbudding wound tissue type, scored from photos taken immediately after the pressure algometry measurements for each calf. The second sheet contains descriptions of each column variable.
- Missing value code: #N/A
| Variable | Definition |
|---|---|
Calf |
Animal ID |
Breed |
Calf's breed (Holstein or Jersey) |
DOB |
Calf's date of birth |
Disbud |
Was calf disbudded or sham-disbudded? |
Day |
Were calves disbudded/sham-disbudded 0 days (Day0) or 20 days (Day20) before the preference test? |
DisbuddingDate |
Date calf was disbudded (left horn bud for Day 0, both horn buds for Day 20) |
DisbuddingWeight_kg |
Calf body weight the day before disbudding/sham-disbudding |
Date |
Date the wound sensitivity test was performed |
Wound |
Was wound on left or right side of the head? |
AttachedNecrotic |
Was attached necrotic tissue present? (1/0) |
BurnsOutsideRing |
Were burns outside the ring present? (1/0) |
DetachingNecrotic |
Was detaching necrotic tissue present? (1/0) |
Exudate |
Was exudate present? (1/0) |
Granulation |
Was granulation present? (1/0) |
Crust |
Was crust present? (1/0) |
Period |
Did the wound sensitivity test occur on the first day of conditioning or after the preference test? |