Pain in the hours following surgical and rubber ring castration in dairy calves: Evidence from conditioned place avoidance

Abstract

Graphical Abstract Summary: We set out to assess whether calves form a negative memory of two castration procedures (surgical and rubber ring), even when provided with a sedative, local anesthetic, and analgesic. Calves were castrated or shamcastrated in pens with different visual cues (red squares/blue triangles). In the days afterward, we tested if calves avoided the pen where they had experienced the procedure. Surprisingly, calves did not avoid the pen where they had been castrated, suggesting that the multimodal pain control we provided was effective in the hours following castration.

Assessment of the Effective Tissue Concentrations of Injectable Lidocaine and a Lidocaine-Impregnated Latex Band for Castration in Calves

“…It is often thought that long-term pain relief can be achieved using an NSAID; however, it likely depends on the castration method used. When using a rubber band for castration, a combination of local anesthetic and NSAID can control pain over a short period after castration, yielding no formation of negative memory associated with the procedure in the 96 h after completion [ 32 ]. However, in the weeks following rubber band application, calves exhibit lower weight gains, starter intake, and lying time likely associated with a protracted pain response [ 12 ], suggesting that NSAID re-administration would be required to maintain efficacy over the duration of the elastration procedure.…”