Data from: Behavioral changes in the first 3 weeks after disbudding in dairy calves

Hot-iron disbudding, the practice of cauterizing horn bud tissue to
prevent horn growth in dairy calves, results in behavioral changes
indicative of pain in the first few days after the procedure. However, few
studies have quantified behavioral changes in the following weeks, while
the burn wounds are still healing. Female Holstein calves were disbudded
with a heated iron and pain relief (5.5 mL lidocaine cornual nerve block
and 1 mg/kg oral meloxicam) at 4 to 10 d of age (n = 19) or not disbudded
(n = 19). Calves wore ear tag accelerometers that reported the dominant
behavior being performed at 1-min intervals from 3 to 21 d after
disbudding. Compared to age-matched controls, disbudded calves tended to
spend more time inactive throughout the observation period, ruminated less
in the first 3 to 11 d after disbudding, and sucked more from a milk
bottle beginning 5 d after disbudding until the end of the 21-d
observation period. In addition to the accelerometer data, live
observations of sleeping (using a behavioral proxy), lying, and ruminating
were collected using instantaneous sampling at 5-min intervals for 24-h
periods 3, 10, and 17 d after disbudding. Disbudded calves slept with
their head down more on all live observation days and spent more time
lying on the 17th d after disbudding, but ruminating did not differ
compared to controls, in contrast to the accelerometer results. More time
spent inactive, sleeping, and lying, and less time spent ruminating (as
indicated by the accelerometer) can be interpreted as attempts to reduce
painful stimulation of the disbudding wounds and allocate energy to
healing. It is unclear whether the greater amount of sucking in the
disbudded calves is nutritive (milk present) or non-nutritive (milk
absent), as the algorithm did not distinguish the type of sucking, and
further research is needed to explore the factors underlying this effect.
We conclude that disbudding alters daily behavior patterns for at least 3
wk, far beyond the duration of recommended pain medication, raising
additional welfare concerns about the procedure.