The effect of meloxicam on behavior and pain sensitivity of dairy calves following cautery dehorning with a local anesthetic

AbstractEffects of a single injection of meloxicam on calf behavior, pain sensitivity, and feed and water intakes were examined following dehorning. Sixty Holstein heifer calves were blocked by age and randomly assigned to receive an i.m. injection of meloxicam (0.5 mg/kg) or a placebo. All calves were given a lidocaine cornual nerve block (5mL per horn). Treatments and nerve blocks were administered 10min before cautery dehorning. Continuous sampling of behavior was performed during five 1-h intervals using video recordings, and total daily activity was monitored using an accelerometer. A pain sensitivity test was administered with a pressure algometer, and feed and water intakes were recorded daily. Calves were sham-dehorned 24h before actual dehorning to establish baseline values, and all variables were assessed at the same times following dehorning and sham dehorning for up to 48h post-dehorning. Meloxicam-treated calves displayed less ear flicking during the 44h following dehorning (increases of 4.29±1.10 and 1.31±0.66 ear flicks/h in the first 24h, and increases of 3.27±0.89 and 0.55±0.50 ear flicks/h during the second 24h, for control and meloxicam calves, respectively) and less head shaking during the first 9h following dehorning (increase of 2.53±0.54 and 0.85±0.46 headshakes/h over baseline for control and meloxicam, respectively). Meloxicam-treated calves were less active than controls during the first 5h following dehorning (activity 34.1±3.2 and 30.6±2.6 for control and meloxicam, respectively) and displayed less sensitivity to pressure algometry 4h after dehorning (pressure tolerance of 1.62±0.13kg of force and 2.13±0.15kg of force for control and meloxicam calves, respectively). Changes in behavior suggest that meloxicam was effective for reducing post-surgical pain and distress associated with calf dehorning

A prospective longitudinal study of risk factors associated with cattle lameness in southern Alberta feedlots

The objectives of this study were to determine the incidence proportion of lameness in feedlot cattle and the associated risk factors. Lameness was studied in two southern Alberta feedlots over a 2 yr period. The incidence proportion of lameness was 36.3% for all calves pulled for treatment. Risk factors associated (P < 0.0001) with increased lameness included body weight (BW), type of cattle, source, stocking density, percentage of forage in the diet, season, precipitation 1 d before diagnosis, and average temperature range 3 d prior to diagnosis. As BW (P < 0.001) increased, the odds of becoming lame also increased. Yearlings and Holsteins had greater (P < 0.001) incidence of lameness than respiratory disease. The odds of becoming lame decreased (P < 0.001) with increased pen density and percentage of forage in the diet. Lameness was greatest in spring (P < 0.001) with the odds of becoming lame being more likely (P < 0.001) with increased precipitation and temperature range (P < 0.001). Use of a multifactorial approach including animal, managerial, and environmental factors in a single analysis will improve our understanding of the risk of increased lameness and aid in development of strategies to reduce its incidence in feedlots.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio