EEG changes in 4-week-old lambs in response to castration, tail docking and mulesing

OBJECTIVE: To interpret changes in EEG in relation to perceived pain of castration, mulesing and docking in lambs. DESIGN: Analysis of covariance (randomised block design) to determine the effects of treatment on eight bandwidths of the EEG frequency spectrum. PROCEDURE: Ninety-eight, 3- to 4-week-old lambs were subjected to one of seven treatments: castration, tail docking, mulesing, ear tagging, sham shearing, formalin injection (to induce lameness) and handling. EEG was recorded for 15 min before treatment, during treatment, and for 15 min after treatment. RESULTS: Consistently lower mean power values across all bandwidths of the EEG were found at the time of mulesing and docking than at handling and shearing (P < 0.01). Formalin injection resulted in lower power values than handling and shearing (P < 0.01). Castration had lower power values than handling and shearing. Similarly, for 15 min after treatment, mulesing and formalin injection had significantly lower power values than handling, shearing, ear tagging and castration (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: The consistent effects associated with mulesing, docking and castration compared to handling, shearing and ear tagging suggest that mulesing at both the time of treatment and during 15 min after treatment results in a response that is similar to that of induced lameness. Docking and castration result in a response at the time of treatment that is similar to induced lameness and mulesing, but during 15 min after treatment is similar to the non-noxious control treatments. However, the depressing effects on the mean power values are the reverse of that anticipated from a previously developed pain model, highlighting the need for further research to develop this technology to evaluate pain associated with husbandry procedures.     

Effects of age on the electroencephalographic response to castration in lambs anaesthetized with halothane in oxygen from birth to 6 weeks old

ObjectivesTo characterize changes in the cerebro‐cortical response of lambs to rubber‐ring castration during the first 6 weeks of postnatal life.AnimalsCoopworth‐Texel cross ram lambs between 3 hours and 44 days of age.MethodsThe electroencephalogram (EEG) and heart rate responses to rubber ring castration were compared. Anaesthesia was induced via a face mask and maintained with halothane in oxygen (e′_Hal = 1.2%). Once a stable plane of anaesthesia had been achieved, data collection of EEG and electrocardiogram (ECG) commenced, and the lambs were castrated 15 minutes later, using rubber rings. Heart rate was derived from the ECG and the median frequency (F₅₀), spectral edge frequency (F₉₅) and total power (p_tot) were derived from the EEG.ResultsCastration‐induced changes in F₅₀ increased from 2 ± 1.8% in the youngest lambs to a maximum of 33 ± 8.9% in the 36 ± 0.5 day‐old lambs. Changes in F₉₅ increased from ?7 ± 3% in the youngest lambs to a maximum of 16 ± 11% in the 36 ± 0.5 day‐old lambs. Linear regression analysis in lambs up to 10 days of age demonstrated a change in the response with age that was significantly different from zero for F₅₀ (r² = 0.28, p = 0.007) and F₉₅ (r² = 0.38, p = 0.001), but not for p_tot or heart rate.ConclusionThis study identified significant changes in the responsiveness of the lambs’ cerebral cortex to the noxious stimulation of castration over the first 7–10 days of postnatal life. The results suggest that mechanisms that suppress responses of the fetus to noxious stimulation may still be active in the first few days after birth.Clinical relevanceThis study documents changes in central nociceptive processing which may reflect the ability of neonatal animals to perceive pain.     

Acute cortisol responses of lambs castrated and docked using rubber rings with or without a castration clamp

Objective To measure the plasma cortisol response in lambs castrated and docked by three different methods (ring castration and tail docking, ring and clamp castration and tail docking; ring and clamp castration and ring tail docking) for 4 h after treatment.
Design A physiological study with controls.
Procedure A rubber ring was applied to the scrotum. Then the castration clamp was placed, distal to the ring, on each spermatic cord such that there was no overlap of the crush lines.
Results There were no differences in the cortisol secretion of the lambs castrated and tail docked by the ring only and by the ring plus castration clamp methods. Using the castration clamp in addition to the ring on the tail had no effect on cortisol secretion.
Conclusions Using the castration clamp did not appear to reduce the cortisol response to ring castration and docking, as demonstrated elsewhere, because the areas of uncrushed tissue between the two castration clamp crush lines allowed nociception from ischemic scrotal tissue to be transmitted cranially via undamaged nerve fibers.     

Acute cortisol responses and wound healing in lambs after ring castration plus docking with or without application of a castration clamp to the scrotum

OBJECTIVE: To test whether the cortisol response to ring castration plus docking is reduced by additional application of a castration clamp across the full width of the scrotum distal to the ring. DESIGN: A physiological study with controls. PROCEDURE: Lambs, 3 to 6 weeks of age, were castrated using a ring or ring plus castration clamp applied for 6 or 10 s and docked using a ring. Blood samples were taken before and regularly for about 4 h after treatment and analysed for plasma cortisol concentrations. The healing of the scrotal wounds was monitored for 6 weeks after castration. RESULTS: The plasma cortisol concentrations were lower only at 60 min after treatment in lambs castrated with a clamp placed on the scrotum for 10 s after ring castration and docking than in lambs castrated and docked by ring alone. Scrotal wounds healed more quickly after ring plus clamp than after ring only castration. CONCLUSIONS: The castration clamp had at most a marginal effect on the cortisol response to ring castration and docking of 3- to 6-week-old lambs, but it did seem to improve the rate of healing.     

Electroencephalographic responses of anaesthetized pigs (Sus scrofa) to tail docking using clippers or cautery iron performed at 2 or 20 days of age

Objective

To compare electroencephalographic (EEG) responses of pigs to tail docking using clippers or cautery iron, performed at 2 or 20 days of age.

Effects of tail docking and castration on behaviour and plasma cortisol concentrations in young lambs

Behavioural and cortisol responses of lambs to the usual husbandry practices of castration and, or, tail docking using tight rubber rings were investigated between birth and seven days old. There were four treatments: control handling and blood sampling (n = 52), tail-docking (T) (n = 57), castration plus tail-docking (CT) (n = 54) and intravenous adrenocorticotrophin injection (ACTH) (n = 52). After treatment there was a transient rise in plasma cortisol concentration, the magnitude and duration of which increased in the following order; control, T, CT and ACTH. Behavioural characteristics indicative of distress included restlessness (standing up and lying down frequently, rolling, kicking, stamping), lateral recumbency, immobility with neck extension and hyperventilation. Using changes in cortisol concentrations and behaviour the lamb responses were characterised as reflecting 'mild disturbance without distress' (control, ACTH), 'mild distress' (T) and 'marked distress' (CT). The mild distress lasted for about 30 minutes in T lambs and marked distress for about 60 minutes in CT lambs.     

Afferent activity in the superior spermatic nerve of lambs — The effects of application of rubber castration rings

Electrophysiological techniques were used to record afferent activity in the superior spermatic nerves of young lambs under general anaesthesia. Receptive fields were identified in the pampiniform plexus and the deep tissue of the testis in response to mechanical stimulation. Application of a standard rubber castration ring to the scrotal neck evoked vigorous afferent activity, including some from formerly silent units with receptive fields particularly in the pampiniform plexus. Some of this multi-unit discharge adapted rapidly within 10 s of the application of the ring and was followed by a discharge pattern which decayed exponentially over 90 min. The rate of decay of this discharge showed more than one exponent (time constant) with inflections at approximately 90 s and 16 min. After the application of the castration ring, quantitatively controlled scrotal compression continued to excite receptors, though a declining frequency was recorded over the period of observation. It was concluded that: (a) rubber castration rings initiated afferent activity which persisted for periods in excess of 90 min, a time course which is similar to the behavioural and humoral changes in the conscious animal; (b) both standard and small rubber castration rings were ineffective in rapidly producing neuronal pressure block of the slowly conducting afferent fibres in the superior spermatic nerve; (c) intra-testicular injection of local anaesthetic rapidly blocked afferent fibres running in the superior spermatic nerve.Abbreviations TTL transistor transistor logic     

The behaviour pattern of lambs after castration using a rubber ring and/ or castrating clamp with or without local anaesthetic

Aims. To determine if individual behaviours may be used to compare the distress caused by the different methods of castration.

Methods. A controlled experiment in which the behaviour pattern of 174 lambs given one of twenty treatments (six ring, five clamp plus ring and four clamp castration with a variety of local anaesthetic placements plus five control treatments) were monitored for 4 hours from about 5 seconds after treatment.

Results. The contrast between the behaviour patterns of lambs castrated by different methods with or without local anaesthesia and control groups allowed the identification of individual behaviours stimulated by the different methods of castration. After ring castration there was an increase in restlessness, in contrast to clamp castration, which had no obvious individual behaviour associated with it during the 4 hours after treatment. Clamp plus ring castration resulted in a behaviour pattern similar to those caused by ring castration alone.

Conclusions. Individual behaviours can only be used to compare the distress caused by different methods of castration if the methods stimulate similar behaviours. The distress which occurs after ring or clamp castration cannot be compared using behavioural observations because the two techniques stimulate different types of behaviour.     

Intratesticular lidocaine reduces the response to surgical castration in dogs

ObjectiveTo investigate whether intratesticular injection of lidocaine pre-surgery would reduce the intraoperative responses to elective castration in dogs.Study designDouble-blinded, randomized, controlled, prospective clinical study.AnimalsForty-two client-owned dogs weighing 2.2–38.4 kg and aged between 4.5 and 56 months.MethodsGroup L dogs received an intratesticular injection of 2% lidocaine (2 mg kg^?1) and Group S an identical volume of saline prior to surgery. Premedication was with acepromazine and morphine intramuscularly. Anaesthesia was induced with propofol intravenously and maintained with isoflurane vaporized in oxygen. Heart rate (HR), mean arterial pressure (MAP), respiratory rate (f_R), end-tidal isoflurane (Fe′ISO) and carbon dioxide concentrations, oxygen saturation and ECG were monitored during surgery. Fe′ISO was maintained at 1.0 ± 0.1%. Supplemental propofol was given in response to gross movement.ResultsGroup L had significantly lower maximum values for both HR and MAP. Group L displayed significantly smaller increases in HR during exteriorization of the first testis than Group S. There was an overall significant difference in MAP between groups during all surgical events (p = 0.041) and time points (p = 0.002). In univariate analysis, Group L showed significantly less changes in MAP during skin incision, exteriorization of the first testis and clamping of both spermatic cords. Group S reached its highest f_R significantly earlier. Group L (eight dogs) required additional propofol 33 ± 18 minutes after the start of surgery and Group S (seven dogs) at 19 ± 17 minutes; this difference was not statistically significant. Seven dogs in Group L and 12 dogs in Group S required rescue analgesia with morphine (GCMPS-SF score ≥6); this difference was not statistically significant. No adverse effects were reported postoperatively.Conclusions and clinical relevanceBased on this study, the authors recommend the use of intratesticular lidocaine for surgical castration in dogs.     

Blood pressure, heart rate, hormonal and other acute responses to rubber-ring castration and tail docking of lambs

AIM: To examine cardiovascular, hormonal and other physiological responses of 2-month-old lambs to rubber-ring castration and tail docking. METHODS: Twenty-two male lambs, well accustomed to handling and prepared with femoral artery and jugular vein cannulae, were studied during a 5 h control period and, at least 2 days later, for 1 h before and 4 h after castration and tail docking using rubber rings. Pressure recordings were made via femoral cannulae and blood samples for analysis of plasma constituents were taken from jugular cannulae. RESULTS: Mean systolic, diastolic and mean arterial blood pressure, heart rate and the plasma concentrations of adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) and cortisol all increased markedly during the first 1 h after ring castration and tail docking. Although plasma ACTH and cortisol concentrations had returned to control levels by 2.5-3 h, blood pressures and heart rate were still elevated 4 h after ring application. In contrast, there were no significant changes in mean plasma concentrations of renin, electrolytes, minerals, glucose, lactate, urea, creatinine, total carbon dioxide and total proteins, plasma osmolality or the haematocrit after ring application. There were no significant changes in the mean values for any parameter during the 5 h control period or the 1 h period before ring application. CONCLUSION: Systolic, diastolic and mean arterial blood pressure and heart rate may be more sensitive than plasma ACTH or cortisol concentrations as indices of low-grade pain induced by ring castration and tail docking. Alternatively, it is possible that by 4 h after ring placement a small shift in sympathetic tone still persists in the absence of low-grade pain.     

Randomised, controlled field trial of two new techniques for the castration and tail docking of lambs less than two days of age

Two methods to reduce the pain associated with the castration and tail docking of lambs with rubber rings were tested by 10 shepherds, each using 60 housed lambs. In 20 of the lambs the innervation to the scrotum, testes and tail was crushed with a 'Big Nipper' bloodless castrator, and in 20 local anaesthetic (2 per cent lignocaine with adrenaline) was injected with a newly developed high-pressure jet injector under the rubber rings after they had been applied; 10 lambs were given a placebo treatment and 10 were treated by the shepherds' routine elastrator ring procedure. Both new methods significantly decreased the incidence of limb and tail movement by 78 per cent and the time spent by the lambs in abnormal postures, when compared with either the shepherds' routine treatment or the placebo treatment. An experienced observer and most of the shepherds also assessed that the lambs suffered signficantly less pain when treated by the two new methods than when they were treated with rubber rings alone. No detrimental long-term effects of the two new methods were observed. On average the new methods took 68 seconds to apply, compared with 29 seconds for the rubber rings; of the two new methods most shepherds preferred using the pressure jet injector.     

Effects of surgical or banding castration on stress responses and behaviour of bulls

OBJECTIVE: To compare the effects of surgical and latex banding methods of castration in 14- and 9-month-old bulls. DESIGN: Two randomised, controlled experiments. PROCEDURE: In Experiment 1, following administration of local anaesthetic, 14-month-old bulls were castrated by either surgical or banding methods, or left entire. Behavioural, plasma cortisol, plasma haptoglobin and bodyweight responses were recorded. A group of steers from the same mob was used as an additional comparison for bodyweight data. In Experiment 2, following administration of local anaesthetic, 9-month-old bulls were castrated by either surgical or banding methods and cortisol, haptoglobin and bodyweight responses were recorded. Entire bulls from the same group were used as an additional comparison for bodyweight data. RESULTS: In Experiment 1, surgical castrates exhibited more leg stamping and tail swishing than banded or entire animals in the hours after castration. Surgical castrates in both experiments also showed an increase in plasma haptoglobin, which resolved after 4 days. Plasma cortisol was generally not affected by castration. Surgical castrates grew more slowly than entire bulls, but faster than banded animals, in the 56 days after treatment. In Experiment 1, after 56 days, the bodyweights of surgical and banded castrates were not different from the bodyweights of the steers. Fourteen-month-old banded cattle developed persistent wounds above the latex band which remained for several weeks after scrotal dehiscence, but this did not occur in the 9-month-old animals. CONCLUSION: The banding procedure produced fewer acute effects, but a greater suppression of growth than surgical castration and induced prolonged wound formation in the older age group, suggesting that this procedure may not be as suitable for yearling cattle.     

Electroencephalographic assessment of oral meloxicam,topical anaesthetic cream and cautery iron for mitigating acute pain in pigs (Sus scrofa) undergoing tail docking

Objective

To evaluate the efficacy of oral meloxicam, topical anaesthetic cream and cautery iron in mitigating acute nociceptive responses of pigs to tail docking.

半胱胺颗粒料促进羔羊增重的试验

为观察半胱胺颗粒料对羔羊增重的影响，用３日龄羔羊３０只，随机分成试验组和对照组各１５只，试验组每周喂１次ＣＳ颗粒料，观察８周，结果试验组比对照组增重提高１３．０％（Ｐ〈０．０１），表明半胱胺颗粒料具有促生长作用。     

Effect of topical vapocoolant spray on perioperative pain response of unweaned calves to ear tagging and ear notching

Objective

To evaluate the efficacy of a vapocoolant spray to provide local anaesthesia for calves during ear tagging and ear notching.

Effects of age, castration, and season on difficulty of pelt removal in lambs

Sixty-four white-faced rams and wethers were dressed with the aid of a commercial pelt puller. The effects of age, castration, and season on difficulty of pelt removal and pelt damage were evaluated. Lambs were divided into two age groups (5 and 12 mo) within gender (ram and whether) and season (spring and fall). A greater force (P less than .05) was required to remove pelts from rams than from wethers in both 5- and 12-mo-old groups. Older lambs slaughtered in the fall required more force (P less than .05) to remove their pelts than did those slaughtered in the spring, but differences by season did not exist for 5-mo-old lambs. The difference between rams and wethers in percentage of live weight that was closely shorn pelt weight was not significant (P greater than .05). The area of grain crack in the flank expressed as a percentage of total area of the skin was lower (P less than .05) for skins from 5-mo-old lambs and ram lambs than it was for skins from 12-mo-old lambs and wether lambs, respectively. Factors involved in difficulty of pelt removal in ram lambs included crosscut shoulder weight, fat firmness, and carcass weight. Difficulty of pelt removal in wether lambs was best predicted by including crosscut shoulder weight and bodywall thickness in multiple regression equations.     

Castration of lambs: a welfare comparison of different castration techniques in lambs over 10 weeks of age

Seventy male lambs over 10 weeks of age were castrated using Burdizzo, rubber rings, or surgery to assess the acute and long-term effects of castration. All castrations were performed under local anaesthesia. The surgically castrated lambs were additionally sedated with xylazine and the sedation reversed with tolazoline. The frequency of abnormal postures and immediate behavioural responses indicated that surgically castrated lambs were most distressed; the lambs castrated using Burdizzo and rubber rings were not dissimilar to those of the control group. Between 1.5 and 9 h after castration, signs of pain and distress were at a lower level in lambs anaesthetised with bupivacaine compared with those treated with lidocaine. Due to the markedly faster wound healing, Burdizzo castration seemed to be preferable (fewer signs of long-term pain) when compared to the rubber ring technique. It was concluded that local anaesthesia with bupivacaine, followed by the Burdizzo method is the preferable technique for the castration of lambs older than 10 weeks of age.     

Effects of castration, tooth resection, or tail docking on plasma metabolites and stress hormones in young pigs

Changes in the activity of the sympathetic nervous system or in the hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal axis have been extensively used to evaluate pain induced by castration or tail docking in numerous species. Such data are missing in pigs. Therefore, three experiments were conducted to determine the effects of castration, tail docking, or tooth resection on stress hormones. Glucose and lactate also were measured because catecholamines stimulate mobilization of glycogen, which results in glucose and lactate release. In Exp.1, 18 male pigs from seven litters (two or three pigs per litter) were catheterized surgically into one jugular vein, under general anesthesia, at 5 or 6 d of age. Two days later, they were submitted either to bilateral castration, control handling, or no handling (n = 6 per group). Blood samples were collected before (- 15 and -2 min) and after (5, 15, 30, 60, 90, 180 min) the experimental treatment. In Exp. 2, 27 female pigs from 12 litters (one to four pigs per litter) were submitted either to tooth clipping with pliers, tooth resection with a grinder apparatus, control handling, or no handling (n = 6 or 7 per group) at 1 d of age. In Exp. 3, 17 female pigs from nine litters (one to three pigs per litter) were submitted to one of the following treatments: 1) tail docking with an electric-heated scissor docking iron, 2) control handling, and 3) no handling (n = 5 or 6 per group) at 1 d of age. Castration induced significant (P < 0.05) increases in adrenocorticotropin hormone (ACTH; from 5 to 60 min), cortisol (from 15 to 90 min), and lactate (from 5 to 30 min). These variations are indicative of stress and tissue damage following castration. In contrast, neither tail docking nor tooth resection had marked effects on plasma cortisol, ACTH, glucose, and lactate. Measurements of plasma cortisol, lactate, and ACTH could be useful for validating treatments designed to relieve the distress reaction induced by castration in pigs.