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Oltedal A, Björkman S, Peltoniemi O, Gaustad AH, Oropeza-Moe M. Transvaginal Ovum Pick-Up in sows: Impacts on welfare and reproduction. Theriogenology 2024; 226:68-75. [PMID: 38865790 DOI: 10.1016/j.theriogenology.2024.05.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/12/2024] [Revised: 04/25/2024] [Accepted: 05/07/2024] [Indexed: 06/14/2024]
Abstract
There are few existing publications that describe transvaginal ultrasound-guided Ovum Pick-Up (OPU) in sows, and the impacts of the procedure for the welfare of the animals are unknown. In this study, we evaluated the effects of OPU, performed following restraint in a claw-trimming chute, on the animal welfare and reproductive health of second parity hybrid sows. The study utilized a generalized randomized block design at a commercial sow pool. We assessed salivary cortisol levels before, during, and after the procedure to compare the physiological stress response between OPU and restraint chute procedures (control group). We found a significant increase in salivary cortisol caused by the physical restraint procedure, and that the salivary cortisol level at the end of the procedure did not differ between OPU and control groups (p = 0.51). Furthermore, we conducted a novel approach-aversion test for sows, designed to assess if a feed reward would motivate the animals to willingly participate in the OPU-procedure. The animals were trained daily to enter the chute to access a feed reward. Ten animals in each group failed to complete the training period and did not voluntarily enter the restraint chute on the experimental day. This indicates that even the short daily restraint procedure during the four-day long training period was aversive to some animals. There was no difference in aversion towards the restraint chute between OPU and control groups one day after the procedure. The reproductive performance of the animals was subsequently evaluated through oestrus synchronization and insemination of the sows after the experiment. There was no observed difference in the farrowing rate (p = 0.72) and total number of born piglets (p = 0.84) between OPU and control sows. On average, we retrieved 9.0 ± 5.9 oocytes during the OPU-sessions (N = 26). Our results show that a majority of the sows prioritize the motivation for feed over their aversion to the OPU procedure. However, the physical restraint procedure is unpleasant for the animals and elicits a temporary stress response. We suggest that transvaginal OPU may be used for the recovery of oocytes from live sows, but refinements are needed to avoid stress during the lifting procedure. Such modifications could also potentially reduce the observed inter-individual variations in oocyte recovery outcomes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aslak Oltedal
- Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Sandnes, Norway.
| | | | | | | | - Marianne Oropeza-Moe
- Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Sandnes, Norway
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2
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Colston KPJ, Ede T, Mendl MT, Lecorps B. Cold therapy and pain relief after hot-iron disbudding in dairy calves. PLoS One 2024; 19:e0306889. [PMID: 38995898 PMCID: PMC11244798 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0306889] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/15/2023] [Accepted: 06/25/2024] [Indexed: 07/14/2024] Open
Abstract
Even when pain control is implemented, calves may experience pain for days after hot-iron disbudding. Whether calves seek pain relief post-disbudding offers a novel approach to assessing pain in these animals. By employing an approach-aversion paradigm, we explored the ability of cold therapy to provide immediate pain relief in disbudded calves. Calves were habituated to the manual placement of a cool or ambient pack on their forehead for a short duration simultaneous to milk reward consumption, prior to disbudding. Calves were then disbudded under local anaesthesia (procaine) and analgesia (meloxicam), and responses to the packs were observed over subsequent days. Individual calves were consistently exposed to either cool or ambient packs in different halves of a two-sided experimental pen, allowing for the testing of approach-aversion and conditioned place preference. We found calves approached milk rewards quicker and maintained contact for longer when receiving cold therapy compared to the ambient control. However, calves did not display any conditioned preference for the pen where they received the cool pack. These results add to the growing evidence of lasting pain following disbudding procedures and suggests that cold therapy provides some form of pain relief post-disbudding. Future studies should seek other ways to use cold therapy post-disbudding to reduce aversiveness and human involvement.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kane P. J. Colston
- Bristol Veterinary School, University of Bristol, Bristol, United Kingdom
| | - Thomas Ede
- Department of Clinical Studies, Swine Teaching and Research Center, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Kennett Square, PA, United States of America
| | - Michael T. Mendl
- Bristol Veterinary School, University of Bristol, Bristol, United Kingdom
| | - Benjamin Lecorps
- Bristol Veterinary School, University of Bristol, Bristol, United Kingdom
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3
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Marchesini G, Fossaluzza D, Palme R, Andrighetto I, Magrin L, Serva L. Management of dairy heifers: Can operant conditioning be an effective and feasible tool to decrease stress and ease animals' close contact and handling? J Dairy Sci 2024; 107:4973-4986. [PMID: 38369120 DOI: 10.3168/jds.2023-23992] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/20/2023] [Accepted: 01/11/2024] [Indexed: 02/20/2024]
Abstract
Besides health monitoring, a regular check of dairy heifers' growth rate is desirable, but it is rarely done because procedures that require restraint and handling can be associated with substantial stress for both animals and farmers. Inexperienced heifers, especially if they are highly responsive to humans, may find restraint and handling potentially aversive. This study investigated whether training heifers of different age and responsiveness toward humans (RTH), through operant conditioning, could reduce stress in animals, ease close contact and handling, and be feasible in terms of farmers' effort. We assessed 60 Holstein heifers of 2 age classes (young, n = 29, 291 ± 39 d; old, n = 31, 346 ± 62 d) according to the avoidance distance test and classified them as confident (n = 20), neutral (n = 21), or nonconfident (n = 19). Half of the heifers of each age and RTH class were trained (n = 29), whereas the other half was not (n = 31). The trained heifers were subjected to target training for 8 sessions and positively reinforced with feed to allow being touched on the muzzle, rump, and perineum. If a heifer refused positive reinforcement, the trainer stepped back as negative reinforcement. In the last week of the experiment, the effect of training on the reaction to handling was assessed in all heifers. We measured heart rate, root mean square of successive interbeat interval differences (RMSSD), and fecal cortisol metabolites (FCMet). The presence of behavioral distress signs was recorded as well. The avoidance distance test was performed a second time 24 h after the measuring session. All of the trained heifers, regardless of RTH class, successfully accomplished the target training task in 6 sessions, each spending on average 25.3 s per session. All of the trained heifers allowed touches on the rump and perineum at the end of the fourth session. Training nonconfident heifers required more time compared with the others. Trained heifers showed higher RMSSD than nontrained heifers (14.2 vs. 16.9 ms, respectively), indicating a lower vagal tone, and thus, a slightly lower stress level than nontrained heifers. Training did not lead to differences in HR, FCMet, or presence of stress behavioral signs. Nonconfident heifers had the highest mean baseline FCMet values compared with neutral and confident heifers (38.4 vs. 30.3 vs. 29.1 ng/g, respectively). Nonconfident heifers also showed the lowest value of FCMet 12 h after the measuring session (36.7 vs. 44.6 vs. 49.7 ng/g), likely due to a decreased responsiveness of the adrenal gland to a stressor. The average avoidance distance decreased between the beginning and the end of the experiment, especially for neutral and nonconfident heifers, regardless of whether they were trained or not. These results show how using operant conditioning on some heifers not only decreased their vagal tone, but also reduced the responsiveness to humans of all the animals, trained and not trained; in the latter case, this reduction was through nonassociative learning, such as habituation.
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Affiliation(s)
- G Marchesini
- Department of Animal Medicine, Production and Health, University of Padova, 35020 Legnaro (PD), Italy.
| | - D Fossaluzza
- Department of Animal Medicine, Production and Health, University of Padova, 35020 Legnaro (PD), Italy
| | - R Palme
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Veterinary Medicine, 1210 Vienna, Austria
| | - I Andrighetto
- Department of Animal Medicine, Production and Health, University of Padova, 35020 Legnaro (PD), Italy
| | - L Magrin
- Department of Animal Medicine, Production and Health, University of Padova, 35020 Legnaro (PD), Italy
| | - L Serva
- Department of Animal Medicine, Production and Health, University of Padova, 35020 Legnaro (PD), Italy
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Ede T, von Keyserlingk MAG, Weary DM. Exploring the effect of pain on response to reward loss in calves. Sci Rep 2023; 13:15403. [PMID: 37717122 PMCID: PMC10505155 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-42740-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/05/2022] [Accepted: 09/14/2023] [Indexed: 09/18/2023] Open
Abstract
Negative emotional states are known to interact, potentially aggravating one another. In this study, we used a well validated paradigm (successive negative contrast, SNC) to determine if pain from a common procedure (disbudding) influences responses to a reward downshift. Holstein calves (n = 30) were trained to approach a 0.5 L milk reward. Latency to approach, number of vocalisations and pressure applied on the bottle were recorded during training. To assess how pain affected responses to reward downshift, calves were randomly assigned to one of three treatments before the downshift. Two groups were disbudded and provided the 'gold standard' of pain mitigation: intraoperative local anesthesia and analgesia. One of these disbudded groups was then provided supplemental analgesic before testing. The third group was sham disbudded. All calves were then subjected to the reward downshift by reducing the milk reward to just 0.1 L. Interactions were detected between test session and daily trials on pressure applied for the Disbudded group (estimate ± SEM: 0.08 ± 0.05), and on vocalisations for the Sham (0.3 ± 0.1) and Disbudding + Analgesia (0.4 ± 0.1) groups. Our results indicate that SNC is a promising paradigm for measuring negative affect in calves and suggests that pain potentially affects the response to a reward downshift.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thomas Ede
- Animal Welfare Program, Faculty of Land and Food Systems, University of British Columbia, 2357 Main Mall, Vancouver, BC, V6T 1Z6, Canada.
- Department of Clinical Studies, Swine Teaching and Research Center, University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine, Kennett Square, PA, USA.
| | - Marina A G von Keyserlingk
- Animal Welfare Program, Faculty of Land and Food Systems, University of British Columbia, 2357 Main Mall, Vancouver, BC, V6T 1Z6, Canada
| | - Daniel M Weary
- Animal Welfare Program, Faculty of Land and Food Systems, University of British Columbia, 2357 Main Mall, Vancouver, BC, V6T 1Z6, Canada
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Ede T, Woodroffe RE, von Keyserlingk MAG, Weary DM. Calves peak-end memory of pain. Sci Rep 2023; 13:5679. [PMID: 37029265 PMCID: PMC10082038 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-32756-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/01/2022] [Accepted: 04/01/2023] [Indexed: 04/09/2023] Open
Abstract
In humans, the 'peak-end' rule states that recollection of an experience is most often influenced by the peak (the most intense moment) and end of the experience. We investigated whether calves followed the peak-end rule in their memory of a painful procedure: disbudding. As proxies for retrospective and 'real-time' reports of pain, we used conditioned place aversion, and reflex pain behaviours. In two separate trials, calves were subjected to two disbudding conditioning sessions (one horn per treatment), acting as their own control. In the first trial, calves (n = 22) were disbudded and remained in a pen for 4 h, and disbudded and left in another pen for 4 h with an additional 2 h following an analgesic treatment. In the second trial, calves (n = 22) were disbudded and left in pens for 6 h during both treatments, receiving the analgesic at either 2 h or 4 h after disbudding. Calves were then tested for place aversion. For both trials we did not observe a preference for the pens where calves received analgesic treatment towards the end of the session. We did not find an association between aversion and the sum, peak or end of pain behaviours. Results are not consistent with a peak-end effect in calves' memory of pain.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thomas Ede
- Animal Welfare Program, Faculty of Land and Food Systems, University of British Columbia, 2357 Main Mall, Vancouver, BC, V6T 1Z6, Canada
- Department of Clinical Studies, Swine Teaching and Research Center, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Kennett Square, PA, USA
| | - Raphaela E Woodroffe
- Animal Welfare Program, Faculty of Land and Food Systems, University of British Columbia, 2357 Main Mall, Vancouver, BC, V6T 1Z6, Canada
| | - Marina A G von Keyserlingk
- Animal Welfare Program, Faculty of Land and Food Systems, University of British Columbia, 2357 Main Mall, Vancouver, BC, V6T 1Z6, Canada
| | - Daniel M Weary
- Animal Welfare Program, Faculty of Land and Food Systems, University of British Columbia, 2357 Main Mall, Vancouver, BC, V6T 1Z6, Canada.
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Reedman CN, Duffield TF, DeVries TJ, Lissemore KD, Winder CB. Graduate Student Literature Review: Role of pain mitigation on the welfare of dairy calves undergoing disbudding. J Dairy Sci 2022; 105:6809-6819. [PMID: 35688730 DOI: 10.3168/jds.2021-21349] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/28/2021] [Accepted: 04/14/2022] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
This review synthesizes research findings on the pain and welfare of dairy calves undergoing disbudding procedures. We describe disbudding practices in North America as well as the use and perceptions of pain control for these procedures. Governing bodies across Canada and the United States, including each country's veterinary medical association and nationwide initiatives such as proAction and Farmers Assuring Responsible Management (FARM), recommend or require the use of a local anesthetic, a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID), and a sedative for disbudding procedures. Although the use of pain relief for disbudding has increased over the past decade or so, some in the dairy industry still do not believe that pain control for disbudding is necessary. As a painful procedure, disbudding has numerous welfare impacts on the calf both during and following the procedure that can be categorized under all 3 principles of animal welfare: natural living, biological functioning, and affective state. The use of pain control for disbudding; namely, a local anesthetic and NSAID, can improve welfare outcomes such as procedure-induced pain behavior, cortisol concentrations, mechanical nociceptive threshold, emotional states, and so on, compared with no pain control for the procedure. Although extensive research exists on pain control practices for disbudding, this review identified further gaps in knowledge and areas for future research. Mechanical nociceptive threshold can be evaluated around the disbudding wounds and is a reliable test in older calves; however, this outcome in very young calves after caustic paste disbudding has been reported to be inconclusive compared with that in older calves. As well, research evaluating xylazine sedation for disbudding has reported both potentially positive and negative results that are difficult to interpret or base suggestions on for the use of this drug. Finally, wounds caused by disbudding take a long time to heal (up to 13 wk) and have increased sensitivity for the entire healing process. Therefore, future research should aim to (1) determine accurate behavioral tests for calves under 1 wk of age undergoing disbudding to better understand their experience, (2) further attempt to understand the effects of xylazine sedation for disbudding and potential impacts of providing this medication, and (3) determine more ways to reduce the healing time and pain experienced by the calf after disbudding procedures.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cassandra N Reedman
- Department of Population Medicine, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, N1G 2W1 Canada.
| | - Todd F Duffield
- Department of Population Medicine, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, N1G 2W1 Canada
| | - Trevor J DeVries
- Department of Animal Biosciences, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, N1G 2W1 Canada
| | - Kerry D Lissemore
- Department of Population Medicine, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, N1G 2W1 Canada
| | - Charlotte B Winder
- Department of Population Medicine, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, N1G 2W1 Canada
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7
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Adcock SJ, Tucker CB. Buffering lidocaine heightens aversion to cornual nerve injections in dairy calves. J Dairy Sci 2022; 105:4490-4497. [DOI: 10.3168/jds.2021-21012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/14/2021] [Accepted: 02/09/2022] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
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Nogues E, von Keyserlingk MAG, Weary DM. Pain in the weeks following surgical and rubber ring castration in dairy calves. J Dairy Sci 2021; 104:12881-12886. [PMID: 34538489 DOI: 10.3168/jds.2021-20127] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/04/2021] [Accepted: 08/05/2021] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
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.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emeline Nogues
- Animal Welfare Program, Faculty of Land and Food Systems, University of British Columbia, 2357 Main Mall, Vancouver, BC Canada V6T 1Z4
| | - Marina A G von Keyserlingk
- Animal Welfare Program, Faculty of Land and Food Systems, University of British Columbia, 2357 Main Mall, Vancouver, BC Canada V6T 1Z4
| | - Daniel M Weary
- Animal Welfare Program, Faculty of Land and Food Systems, University of British Columbia, 2357 Main Mall, Vancouver, BC Canada V6T 1Z4.
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Lomb J, Mauger A, von Keyserlingk MAG, Weary DM. Effects of positive reinforcement training for heifers on responses to a subcutaneous injection. J Dairy Sci 2021; 104:6146-6158. [PMID: 33685711 DOI: 10.3168/jds.2020-19463] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/12/2020] [Accepted: 12/17/2020] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
Cattle are subjected to routine procedures that require restraint and close contact to humans, which are both potentially aversive to the animal. Positive reinforcement training techniques may affect how animals perceive and respond to these procedures. The objectives of the current study were to describe a positive reinforcement regimen used to train cattle to stand still for a sham injection, and to assess the effects of this training on the responses to an actual injection. Eight "agency" heifers were trained, over an average of 85 ± 4.6 sessions, with positive reinforcement (i.e., animals received a grain reinforcer for desired behaviors) to enter a headlock, and they were habituated with counterconditioning and desensitization to a sham injection (i.e., animals were gradually exposed to the sensation of the sham injection, paired with access to grain). The headlock remained open at all times to allow heifers to leave. Eight "habituation" heifers were exposed to the treatment area and headlock for an equal number of sessions and duration as agency heifers, and 7 "naïve" heifers were provided no exposure to the treatment area. Once agency heifers tolerated the sham injection, all animals received a 1-mL subcutaneous injection of 0.9% NaCl while in the head lock (habituation and naïve heifers were locked in but agency heifers were free to withdraw). Immediate responses to the injection, starting with tenting of the skin, were video recorded and summarized as a reactivity score, which included the number of steps, head tosses, and backing-up movements; we also recorded the latency to approach the treatment area and headlock for 3 d after the injection. Of the agency heifers, 5 remained standing for the actual injection, whereas 3 heifers moved out of the headlock for a brief period (1, 3, and 5 s, respectively). Habituation heifers had a higher reactivity score [17.5 (10.5-28); median (IQR)] than agency [6 (2-13.5)] and naïve heifers [6 (5-7)]. Averaged over the 3 d after injection, agency heifers showed lower latencies to come to the treatment area [8.7 (7.2-24.2) s] than did habituation [50.5 (28-60) s] and naïve [53.7 (18-60) s] heifers. Agency heifers voluntarily entered the headlock within 1.3 (1-1.5) s but, with one exception, none of the other heifers did so within the allowed 15 s. These results indicate that dairy heifers can be trained with positive reinforcement and counterconditioning to voluntarily accept a painful procedure, and that training can reduce avoidance behaviors during and after the procedure.
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Affiliation(s)
- J Lomb
- Animal Welfare Program, Faculty of Land and Food Systems, University of British Columbia, 2357 Mall, Vancouver, BC, Canada V6T 1Z4
| | - A Mauger
- Animal Welfare Program, Faculty of Land and Food Systems, University of British Columbia, 2357 Mall, Vancouver, BC, Canada V6T 1Z4
| | - M A G von Keyserlingk
- Animal Welfare Program, Faculty of Land and Food Systems, University of British Columbia, 2357 Mall, Vancouver, BC, Canada V6T 1Z4
| | - D M Weary
- Animal Welfare Program, Faculty of Land and Food Systems, University of British Columbia, 2357 Mall, Vancouver, BC, Canada V6T 1Z4.
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Adcock SJJ, Tucker CB. The effect of early burn injury on sensitivity to future painful stimuli in dairy heifers. PLoS One 2020; 15:e0233711. [PMID: 32492026 PMCID: PMC7269268 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0233711] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/06/2019] [Accepted: 05/11/2020] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Animals that experience painful procedures as neonates are more sensitive to pain later in life. We evaluated whether disbudding with a heated iron at 3 (n = 12), 35 (n = 9), or 56 (n = 20) d of age affected heifers’ pain responses to vaccine injections at 11 mo of age. Heifers responded to the injection procedure with struggling and changes in eye temperature and heart rate variability compared to a sham procedure the day before, and still had a heightened response 6 d later, regardless of disbudding age. However, some heart rate variability indices suggested increased sympathetic dominance in heifers disbudded at 35 d, compared to the other 2 age groups, independent of the injection procedure. We also found that heifers disbudded at 3 or 35 d had a higher mean heart rate after the injection procedure compared to those disbudded at 56 d. We conclude that: (1) heifers find injections aversive; and (2) there is some evidence that disbudding age influences autonomic nervous system activity later in life.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarah J J Adcock
- Center for Animal Welfare, Department of Animal Science, University of California, Davis, California, United States of America
- Animal Behavior Graduate Group, University of California, Davis, California, United States of America
| | - Cassandra B Tucker
- Center for Animal Welfare, Department of Animal Science, University of California, Davis, California, United States of America
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11
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Ede T, Lecorps B, von Keyserlingk MAG, Weary DM. Symposium review: Scientific assessment of affective states in dairy cattle. J Dairy Sci 2019; 102:10677-10694. [PMID: 31477285 DOI: 10.3168/jds.2019-16325] [Citation(s) in RCA: 42] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/17/2019] [Accepted: 06/29/2019] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
Affective states, which refer to feelings or emotions, are a key component of animal welfare, but these are also difficult to assess. Drawing upon a body of theoretical and applied work, we critically review the scientific literature on the assessment of affective states in animals, drawing examples where possible from research on dairy cattle, and highlighting the strengths and weaknesses of scientific methods used to assess affective states in animals. We adopt the "valence/arousal" framework, describing affect as a 2-dimensional space (with valence referring to whether an experience is positive or negative, and arousal referring to the intensity of the experience). We conclude that spontaneous physiological and behavioral responses typically reflect arousal, whereas learned responses can be valuable when investigating valence. We also conclude that the assessment of affective states can be furthered using mood assessments and that the use of drug treatments with known emotional effects in humans can be helpful in the assessment of specific affective states in animals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thomas Ede
- Animal Welfare Program, Faculty of Land and Food Systems, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada V6T 1Z6
| | - Benjamin Lecorps
- Animal Welfare Program, Faculty of Land and Food Systems, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada V6T 1Z6
| | - Marina A G von Keyserlingk
- Animal Welfare Program, Faculty of Land and Food Systems, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada V6T 1Z6
| | - Daniel M Weary
- Animal Welfare Program, Faculty of Land and Food Systems, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada V6T 1Z6.
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12
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Ede T, von Keyserlingk MAG, Weary DM. Efficacy of xylazine in neonatal calves via different routes of administration. Vet J 2019; 247:57-60. [PMID: 30971352 DOI: 10.1016/j.tvjl.2019.02.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/13/2018] [Revised: 02/26/2019] [Accepted: 02/27/2019] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
Intramuscular (IM) injections may be more aversive than subcutaneous (SC) and intra-nasal (IN) routes. Xylazine is commonly used as a sedative for cattle, but little is known about efficacy via these routes. The first aim of this study was to compare efficacy using these different routes of administration. The second aim was to determine whether a simple behavioural assessment was associated with physiological responses. Using a within-subject design, the effects of xylazine (0.2mg/kg) were assessed in 12 Holstein calves (6.2±2.8days old) administered via IM, SC, IN drip tube (IN) and IN spray (INs). Sedation was assessed on a scale based on recumbency and eyeball rotation. Heart rate (HR), respiratory rate (RR) and rectal temperature (RT) were recorded for 2h after treatment. Intramuscular and SC routes produced an equivalent mean±standard deviation (SD) onset of sedation (IM: 4.8±2.0min vs. SC: 6.8±2.2min) and duration of sedation (IM: 60.3±25.5min vs. SC: 61.9±23.3min). IN treatments produced less consistent and longer onset times (IN: 33.0±26.9min, and INs: 31.0±15.1min) and a shorter duration of sedation (IN: 42.0±31.5min, and INs: 26.7±21.8min). Behaviour scores were moderately correlated with changes in HR (r=-0.52; CI -0.60, -0.43) and changes in RR (r=-0.42; CI -0.51, -0.32), but not with changes in RT (r=-0.09, CI -0.20, 0.02). We conclude that SC is a viable alternative to the more aversive IM route, and that a simple clinical scale can be useful for assessing xylazine sedation.
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Affiliation(s)
- T Ede
- Animal Welfare Program, Faculty of Land and Food Systems, University of British Columbia 2357 Main Mall, Vancouver, B.C., V6T 1Z4, Canada
| | - M A G von Keyserlingk
- Animal Welfare Program, Faculty of Land and Food Systems, University of British Columbia 2357 Main Mall, Vancouver, B.C., V6T 1Z4, Canada
| | - D M Weary
- Animal Welfare Program, Faculty of Land and Food Systems, University of British Columbia 2357 Main Mall, Vancouver, B.C., V6T 1Z4, Canada.
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Jimenez RE, Adcock SJJ, Tucker CB. Acute pain responses in dairy calves undergoing cornual nerve blocks with or without topical anesthetic. J Dairy Sci 2019; 102:3431-3438. [PMID: 30772020 DOI: 10.3168/jds.2018-15445] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/25/2018] [Accepted: 12/10/2018] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
Dairy calves are routinely administered medicines, vaccines, and anesthesia via injection. Although injections are painful, little is known about methods to alleviate this pain. The aim of this study was to determine whether lidocaine-prilocaine cream, a topical anesthetic, reduced calves' pain response to a subcutaneous injection around the cornual nerve. Calves were assigned 1 of 2 treatments: lidocaine-prilocaine cream at the sites of injection (n = 10) or no cream (n = 9). Thirty minutes after treatment, calves received a subcutaneous injection of 2% buffered lidocaine hydrochloride around the left and right cornual nerves. Contrary to our hypothesis, calves that received anesthetic cream beforehand displayed more escape behaviors during the injections than control calves. Both treatments had similarly low amounts of head-related behaviors afterward. Maximum eye temperature did not differ between the calves that received anesthetic cream and control calves, although eye temperature increased over time for both treatments. Heart rate increased during the 30 s following the first injection in both treatments. There were no treatment differences for any heart rate measures over the 5-min period after the first injection (mean heart rate, root mean square of successive differences, high-frequency power, and the ratio of low-frequency power to high-frequency power). These results suggest that cornual nerve blocks with buffered lidocaine are painful and that a lidocaine-prilocaine cream was not only ineffective in reducing this pain but that it may also worsen it.
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Affiliation(s)
- Reyna E Jimenez
- Center for Animal Welfare, Department of Animal Science, University of California, Davis 95616
| | - Sarah J J Adcock
- Center for Animal Welfare, Department of Animal Science, University of California, Davis 95616
| | - Cassandra B Tucker
- Center for Animal Welfare, Department of Animal Science, University of California, Davis 95616.
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Abstract
Dairy calves are routinely disbudded by cauterization with a hot iron. To mitigate the intra-operative and initial post-operative pain associated with this procedure some farmers provide calves general and local anesthetics, but it is unknown if the procedure remains aversive. We used a place-conditioning paradigm to assess aversion caused by hot-iron cautery with a local anesthetic compared to a sham procedure. A test area was divided into three equally sized pens: two 'treatment' pens with distinct visual cues were connected by a central 'neutral' pen. Each calf went through the disbudding procedure and a 6-h recovery period in one treatment pen and the control procedure in the other treatment pen. In three tests (48, 72 and 96 h after the second treatment), calves could freely roam among the pens until they chose to lie down, ending the session. Calves spent less time in either of the treatment pens compared to the central pen. When only comparing the two treatment pen, calves spent less time in the disbudding pen, especially during the first test. Calves were also less likely to lie down in the pen associated with the disbudding procedure. We conclude that even with the use of a local anesthetic, hot-iron disbudding is salient and aversive for calves, indicating the need to refine or avoid the procedure.
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