A review of beef cattle sexual behaviour, and the factors influencing libido and paternity

A review of the literature on cattle sexual behaviour was conducted to identify gaps in our knowledge and potential areas for research that may improve the efficiency and efficacy of bull usage in beef cattle herds in northern Australia. This is highly important because natural mating accounts for the vast majority of pregnancies in these herds and there are the economic considerations of the capital costs per calf produced. Furthermore, the genetics imparted by bulls make a much greater contribution to accelerating the genetic improvement of herds than do those of females, and there are major financial gains to be made from using bulls whose progeny have improved growth, fertility, survival, temperament and carcase attributes

Self-administration by consumption of flunixin in feed alleviates the pain and inflammation associated with castration and tail docking of lambs

It can be impractical for farmers to provide pain relief to livestock following husbandry procedures such as castration and tail-docking, particularly in pasture-based systems because animals need to be repeatedly gathered to handling facilities and restrained. We investigated whether voluntary consumption by lambs of an analgesic incorporated into feed can achieve pain relief following surgical castration and hot-knife tail-docking. Sixty-four, singleton, male Merino lambs were randomly allocated to one of four treatment groups: sham castration and tail-docking (S), castrated + tail-docked + no pain relief (C), castrated + tail-docked + flunixin in feed (4.0 mg/kg, CF) and castrated + tail-docked + flunixin injection (2 mg/kg, CI). Haematology, cortisol, and plasma haptoglobin concentrations were measured before and up to 48 h after treatment. Lambs also had their scrotal and tail wounds scored based on severity of swelling and wound appearance, with 2 being a healed wound and 8 being severe swelling and evident necrosis and pus. Behaviours were recorded by video for 12 h after treatment. Lambs in the CF and CI groups displayed fewer active pain avoidance behaviours (P < 0.05, mean = 3.06 and 3.75 respectively) than C lambs (mean = 6.06) in the first hour following treatment. CF and CI lambs also displayed fewer pain related postures in the 12 h following treatments. All lambs that were castrated and tail-docked had an increase in cortisol 30 min after treatment (df = 57, P < 0.05 for all). The CI group had lower cortisol concentrations by 6 h (t = 2.17, 25.02 nmol/L) and CF by 12 h (t = 1.76, 33.44 nmol/L) compared with C lambs, however these concentrations were still above basal levels. Flunixin treatment also reduced inflammation, with CF and CI lambs having lower neutrophil/lymphocyte ratios and lower mean wound scores than C lambs. Provision of flunixin in feed was as effective as the flunixin injection in improving behaviour and reducing inflammation in lambs following castration and tail-docking

A comparison of welfare outcomes for weaner and mature Bos indicus bulls surgically or tension band castrated with or without analgesia: 1. Behavioural responses

Tension-band castration of cattle is gaining favour because it is relatively simple to perform and is promoted by retailers of the devices as a humane castration method. Furthermore, retailers encourage delaying castration to exploit the superior growth rates of bulls compared with steers. Two experiments were conducted, under tropical conditions, comparing tension banding and surgical castration of weaner (7-10 months old) and mature (22-25 months old) Bos indicus bulls with and without pain management (ketoprofen or saline injected intramuscularly immediately prior to castration). Welfare outcomes were assessed using a wide range of measures; this paper reports on the behavioural responses of the bulls and an accompanying paper reports on other measures. Behavioural data were collected at intervals by direct observation and continuously via data loggers on the hind leg of the bulls to 4 weeks post-castration. Tension-banded bulls performed less movement in the crush/chute than the surgically castrated bulls during the procedures (weaner: 2.63 vs. 5.69,

Welfare outcomes for 3- and 6-month-old beef calves in a tropical environment castrated surgically or by applying rubber rings

Castration of cattle using rubber rings is becoming increasingly popular due to the perceived ease of the procedure and greater operator safety when compared with surgical castration. Few comparative studies have investigated the effects of different castration methods and calf age on welfare outcomes, particularly in a tropical environment. Thirty Belmont Red (a tropically adapted breed), 3-month-old (liveweight 71-119. kg) and 30, 6-month-old (liveweight 141-189. kg) calves were assigned to a two age. ×. three castration (surgical, ring and sham) treatment factorial study (Surg3, Surg6, Ring3, Ring6, Sham3 and Sham6, n= 10 for each treatment group). Welfare outcomes were assessed post-castration using: behaviour for 2 weeks; blood parameters (cortisol and haptoglobin concentrations) to 4 weeks; wound healing to 5 weeks; and liveweights to 6 weeks. More Surg calves struggled during castration compared with Sham and Ring (

A comparison of welfare outcomes for weaner and mature Bos indicus bulls surgically or tension ban castrated with or without analgesia: 2. responses related to stress, health and productivity

Tension banding castration of cattle is gaining favour because it is relatively simple to perform and is promoted by retailers of the banders as a humane castration method. Two experiments were conducted, under tropical conditions using Bos indicus bulls comparing tension banding (Band) and surgical (Surgical) castration of weaner (7-10 months old) and mature (22-25 months old) bulls with and without pain management (NSAID (ketoprofen) or saline injected intramuscularly immediately prior to castration). Welfare outcomes were assessed using a range of measures; this paper reports on some physiological, morbidity and productivity-related responses to augment the behavioural responses reported in an accompanying paper. Blood samples were taken on the day of castration (day 0) at the time of restraint (0. min) and 30. min (weaners) or 40. min (mature bulls), 2. h, and 7. h; and days 1, 2, 3, 7, 14, 21 and 28 post-castration. Plasmas from day 0 were assayed for cortisol, creatine kinase, total protein and packed cell volume. Plasmas from the other samples were assayed for cortisol and haptoglobin (plus the 0. min sample). Liveweights were recorded approximately weekly to 6 weeks and at 2 and 3 months post-castration. Castration sites were checked at these same times to 2 months post-castration to score the extent of healing and presence of sepsis. Cortisol concentrations (mean. ±. s.e. nmol/L) were significantly (