Beef + Lamb New Zealand

0.80A 0.84A 1.09 1.01A 0.021 0.513 0.33 0.48 0.83A 0.72 0.71 0.75 0.332 0.470 2 0.19B 0.88A 0.82A 0.99A 0.88A 0.86A 0.009 0.470 1.38 1.33 1.16 0.71AB 0.93 1.06 0.234 0.554 1.03 0.60 0.70 0.95 0.99 0.77 0.593 0.547 3 0.30B 1.21A 1.36A 1.32A 0.86A 0.99A < 0.001 0.511 1.37B 0.75 1.06A 0.81 1.07 1.10 0.323 0.538 1.17 0.76 0.43A 0.60A 0.94 0.64 0.171 0.547 4 0.16B 1.47A 0.93AB 1.18A 0.72AB 1.08A < 0.001 0.509 1.58 1.08 1.57 1.29 0.89A 1.57 0.182 0.619 0.89B 0.28A 0.43 0.39A 1.27B 0.24A < 0.001 0.469 5 0.11B 1.37A 0.83AB 1.55A 0.71AB 0.94A < 0.001 0.481 1.84 1.35 1.66 1.32 1.38 1.49 0.534 0.576 0.87B 0.26A 0.44 0.44 0.83B 0.41A 0.069 0.455 6 0.05B 0.95A 1.01A 1.07A 0.87A 0.60A < 0.001 0.492 2.00 1.54 1.77 1.51 1.42A 1.89 0.304 0.549 0.78 0.42 0.07A 0.33 0.57 0.25A 0.074 0.458 Values are respresented as observations scored out of three. Control = lambs were not mulesed; Placebo = lambs were mulesed and administered no pain relief; MC-15 = lambs were mulesed and administered Metacam® 20 15 min before mulesing; TS = lambs were mulesed and administered Tri-Solfen®; MC-15 + TS = lambs were mulesed and administered a combination of Metacam® 20 15 min before mulesing and Tri-Solfen®; MC0 = lambs were mulesed and administered Metacam® 20 in the cradle. A Means within a row are significantly different to the Control treatment (P < 0.05). B Means within a row are significantly different to the Placebo treatment (P < 0.05). 1 Total pain = hunched and abnormal standing and stiff walking. 2 Total normal = normal standing and walking. 3 Total lying = ventral, lateral and ventral/lateral lying. *LSD (P = 0.05). Behavioural effects of pain relief for mulesing Lambs that were administered the combination of observed in response to mulesing in the current study are Tri-Solfen® and

mulesing such as; rear leg collapse, dog sitting, lateral lying or lying with cradle for 4-hour wound sensitivity assessment, before being head flat, prominent tremors and shaking, inability to stand and/ returned to their dams and turned out to pasture. Lambs were or marked and unusual leaning. re-yarded 2 and 4 weeks later when wounds were examined and re-photographed. Wound healing Wound healing was assessed by mapping wound surface area Trial 2 This trial examined wound sensitivity to P stimulation (WSA) using digital photography and Scion Image PC® digital and pain-related behaviour in 80 lambs undergoing both image analysis software (National Institute Health, USA). Digital mulesing and marking. The first 24 lambs were allocated to photographs were taken with a linear scale held against the wool wound sensitivity testing. General management with mulesing immediately above the wound. Using the image analysis was as above. Alternate lambs were treated with Tri-Solfen® or software, pixels per cm2 were calculated, then the wound outline remained untreated. Spinosyn (Extinosad®, Elanco Animal was mapped and surface area was calculated in cm2. Two Health, Macquarie Park, NSW) with blue food dye added to recordings were made for each image by two separate assessors achieve blinding was applied according to recommendations as a and the results were averaged to provide the final surface area flystrike preventative treatment. Lambs remained in the cradle measurement. Wounds were photographed at the time of for 3 min after which skin and wound sensitivity was performed. mulesing (before application of any treatment) and 14 and 28 They were then housed in a mixed treatment group in an indoor days later. Images were identified by lamb tag number and pen and returned to the

the effect would be enhanced following hot knife tail docking. by a combination of the two classes of drug for surgical castration. To facilitate the collection of biological samples and behavioural observations, the experiment was performed in eight replicates, Materials and methods blocked across treatments. Thus one lamb from each of the 10 groups Animals and treatments was allocated to each block. One block per day was subjected to The experiment was undertaken at CSIRO’s FD experimentation over a 2-week period. The day before castration McMaster and Laboratory, Armidale, NSW and was approved by the institutio tail docking, a block of lambs and ewes was placed in a study pen nal Animal Ethics Committee. Seventy-eight fine adjoining the main group. The study pen was divided in half such wool Merino ram lambs at a mean age of 5 weeks were randomised on body that each section (4.5 x 3.0 m) housed five lambs and ewes. At this weight into treatment groups as shown in Table 1. Half the time, lambs were weighed and individually identified with coloured lambs in the castration treatments were castrated by elastrator rubber spray to assist behavioural observations. Ewes and lambs were rings and the held in other half were surgically castrated by knife. For the knife-cast the study pen for 24 h after castration, during which time blood samples rated animals, the lower half of the scrotum was excised and were collected via venepuncture and behaviours were recorded the testes on removed by the pull method. video. The ewes and lambs were then returned to the larger group until the completion of blood sampling and then put back on pasture. The ewes and lambs were accommodated in group pens in an animal Lambs were again weighed 21 days post castration. All lambs had house for a

LCD). Time to mother (P = 0.297) were not significant. up was measured as time taken for the lamb to locate and be recog- nised by its mother from its time of release into the yard. Time to feed Trial 2. The change in body weight from pretreatment (21.05 ⫾ was measured as the time taken for the lamb to begin suckling from 0.49 kg) to 24 h post-treatment (20.48 ⫾ 0.45 kg) was not significant the ewe from its time of release from the yard. This did not always (P = 0.404). Treatment (P = 0.737) and treatment by time interaction happen simultaneously with mothering up. (P = 0.999) were not significant. During Trial 1, we observed that several ewes displayed circling behav- Times to mother up and to feed iour when lambs attempted to feed, delaying the time to feed response. Trial 1. Results from Trial 1 are displayed in Figure 1. Lambs that had We postulated that the odour from singed wool associated with the HI been HI tail docked with or without mulesing and/or treatment with tail docking wound might have been confusing the ewes and thus topical anaesthetic dressing had significantly (P < 0.05) longer mean confounding the response. To investigate this further, a fourth group times to mother up and to feed than undocked/unmulesed control of lambs that underwent HI tail docking only (n = 6, no mulesing, and lambs. Behaviour of ewes, including circling of lambs and smelling of no topical anaesthetic treatment) was included to assess the times to the perineum, was noted when lambs were placed in the pen with mother up and to feed. These lambs underwent the same treatment dams. There was no significant difference in time to mother up sequence and were released individually into the pen of the six dams (P ⱖ 0.13) or time to first feed (P ⱖ 0.12) between any of

…New Zealand Veterinary Journal 53, 271–278. Coetzee JF, Lubbers BV, Toerber SE, Gehring R, Thomson DU, White BJ and Apley MD 2008. Plasma concentrations of substance P and cortisol in beef…

cradle. Facial response scores 4 weeks the majority of the lambs treated with rubber rings still had were graded as: 0 = no response; 1 = minor facial ‘awareness’, such as their scrotums and tails attached, although the tissues were cold, eye widening or blinking or nasal flaring; 2 = partial startle reflex of shrunken and firm, indicative of ischaemic necrosis. In many cases the head, such as slight lifting of the snout or partial head rotation; there was reddening and swelling of the skin immediately proximal to 3 = full startle reflex of the head, resulting in a major movement such the ring, accompanied by a small amount of yellow to greenish as lifting head off the cradle, full head jerk or full head rotation. Scores exudate, suggesting focal inflammation and minor infection. for each site were added to achieve a total score for each lamb. Total scores were calculated out of 24 for peri-wound sensitivity and out of Direct sensory testing of the castration wound and 42 for direct wound sensitivity. surrounding skin Before surgical castration. There was little response to LT or P stimulation of the intact skin of the scrotal area prior to castration. Plasma lignocaine and bupivacaine analyses Mean response from the four testing sites (maximum possible score In experiment 3, lambs were selected at random, placed in the cradle 24) was ⱕ0.44 ⫾ 1.04 for LT and ⱕ1.03 ⫾ 1.6 for P. There were no and 10 mL of blood was collected via direct jugular venous puncture. significant differences between groups within each trial. Lambs were then surgically castrated and tail-docked. Four lambs also underwent mulesing by an accredited practitioner using the industry After surgical castration. There was a significant elevation in the standard technique. All wounds

s on a farm ing New Zealand after 1 October 2019. Furthermore, all were all allocated for behavioural observation. The 1 N. Harding, DairyNZ, Hamiton, New Zealand. NEW ZEALAND VETERINARY JOURNAL 297…

alia and New Zealand, with a demonstrated ability to reduce post-operative hyperalgesic responses and pain-related behaviour in calves post-disbudding [7,8] and castration [9]. It contains local anaesthetics (50…