Disbudding with caustic paste, which chemically destroys horn-producing tissue, is common on U.S. dairy farms. Research on behavioral changes in calves has predominantly focused on the 48 h after disbudding with a hot iron or caustic paste. In the weeks following the procedure, behavioral changes such as ear flicks, head shakes and other head and body movements have been evaluated primarily for hot-iron disbudding. Our objective was to quantify behaviors often associated with pain in calves for up to 6 wk after caustic paste disbudding compared with a sham procedure. Jersey and Holstein female calves were disbudded using caustic paste at 3 d of age with a local anesthetic (lidocaine) and an NSAID (meloxicam, n = 18), while control calves received a sham procedure (n = 15). To manipulate the calves’ experience, we measured behavior for both paste-disbudded and intact control calves under two conditions, either with the provision of lidocaine as a local anesthetic (Anesthesia observations) at 4 d, 3 and 6 wk of age, or without any pain relief (Baseline observations) at 3 and 6 wk. We predicted that caustic paste disbudded calves would exhibit more behavioral indicators of pain, through the presence of more spontaneous movements and less activity, than intact control calves during Baseline observations. We also predicted the behavioral differences would be reduced during Anesthesia observations when caustic paste-disbudded calves would experience pain relief. Ten behaviors were continuously measured from video recordings for 75 min/d as either total frequency (ear flicks, head shakes, head rubs, head scratches, tail flicks, and transitions between lying and standing) or duration (grooming, ruminating, lying with the head still, and non-nutritive oral manipulation). Unexpectedly, we found that the sensation loss from lidocaine did not persist for the entire 75-min period and therefore we chose to analyze only the Baseline observations. We found no evidence of significant differences between caustic paste-disbudded or intact control calves for any of the behaviors observed 3 and 6 wk after the procedure. Our results raise further methodological questions about how to best assess long-term pain in cattle. Future models could consider exploring 24-h observations or other pharmacological manipulations, such as NSAIDs or ring blocks.

Data were collected from 33 heifers. Calves were assigned to 1 of 2 treatments: caustic paste disbudding (n = 18; 13 Holsteins and 5 Jerseys) or control (n = 15; 11 Holsteins and 4 Jerseys). On d 3 of life, pain relief was provided, and Dr. Naylor’s paste was rubbed into unshaved horn buds at 0.25 or 0.30 mL/per horn bud when calves had a birth weight of < 34 kg or ≥ 34 kg, respectively for disbudded calves. All calves were video recorded 5 times during the next 6 wk. To manipulate the level of pain experienced, we measured behavior under 2 conditions for all calves, first without pain relief (Baseline) and then with 7 mL of 2% lidocaine per horn bud (Anesthesia) at the same time of day (~0630h). Anesthesia observations occurred at 4 d of age, 3 and 6 wk, while Baseline observations occurred at 3 and 6 wk. Videos recording lasted for 75 min and were continuously observed for the frequency or duration of 10 behaviors. The 75 min videos were initially broken up into "segments" which the order on an observation are indicated by "Video_Segments". We will reformat the data so we can easily observe when behaviors are occurring across the 75 min, regardless of the video segment. To assess the the efficacy anesthesia, a pinprick test was conducted. A clean needle was used to gently prick 10 locations at the base of the horn bud or wound and behavioral responses were observed. Pinprick tests occurred on the Anesthesia days 10 min after the injection, before behavior was recorded, and at the end of observations, 85 min after the injection. On Baseline days, 2 pinpricks were used to show calves had sensation before video recording began. Files are numbered in the order we will follow to move from raw data through processing, summarizing, and then analyzing.

Data from: Behaviors 3 and 6 weeks after caustic paste disbudding in dairy calves

Data files

Abstract

Description of the data and file structure

1_BehaviorData_Prep.Rmd

1_BehaviorData_Prep.pdf

1_BehaviorData_BORISOutputs.xlsx

2_BehaviorData_Numbness.xlsx

3_BehaviorData_SecondBySecond.xlsx

4_DisbuddingAndPharmacologicalManipulation.xlsx

5_BehaviorAnalysis_DisbuddingAndPharmacologicalManipulation.Rmd

6_BehvaiorReliablity_Data.xlsx

7_BehaviorReliabilityAnalysis.Rmd

SupplementalTable.pdf, SupplementalTable.csv

Videos:

Code/Software