Indicators of dehydration in healthy 4- to 5-day-old dairy calves deprived of feed and water for 24 hours.

Our objective was to identify practical indicators of calf dehydration that could be used in an industry context. Eleven healthy 4-d-old commercial dairy calves were fed 2 L of mixed colostrum, then deprived of food and water for 24 h. Total body water was determined in the fed state using the deuterium dilution method. Body weight, along with a range of behavioral and physiological variables, was recorded 1 h after feeding, then at 90-min intervals through to 24 h. Blood samples were collected at every second sampling to assess changes in plasma hemoglobin, hematocrit, and osmolality. Linear mixed-effects models were used to explore associations between hydration status (% body water) and outcome variables. All calves remained bright and alert with good suckling reflexes throughout the 24-h period. After 24 h, total body water had decreased by an average of 8.4% (standard error 1.18), consistent with mild to moderate dehydration. Skin tent return time, capillary refill time, and detectable enophthalmos were associated with hydration status. Calves with skin tent return times of 3 s or longer were 4.4 percentage points less hydrated than those with return times of less than 3 s. Similarly, a capillary refill time of 3 s or longer was associated with a 4.3 percentage point reduction in hydration compared with refill times of less than 3 s. Calves with detectable enophthalmos (≥1 mm) were 3.5 percentage points less hydrated than those without enophthalmos. The skin tent, capillary refill, and enophthalmos tests are all relatively simple to perform and, although requiring the calf to be briefly restrained, can easily be performed by a single operator. The outcome of these tests was relatively consistent, in that calves above the threshold in any test were 3.5 to 4.5% less hydrated than calves below the threshold. As such, these tests may be of practical utility to identify calves with mild to moderate dehydration in an industry setting.

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. STUDY DESIGN: A prospective, randomized, controlled experimental study. ANIMALS: A total of 40 healthy Large WhitexLandrace pigs aged 21±1 days, weighing 6.1±0.9 kg. METHODS: Pigs were randomly assigned to one of four treatments (n=10 per treatment): CONTROL: docked using clippers without analgesia; MEL: docked using clippers after administration of oral meloxicam; EMLA: docked using clippers after application of topical anaesthetic cream; and CAUT: docked using a cautery iron without analgesia. Anaesthesia was induced and maintained with halothane in oxygen. Following induction, end-tidal halothane was stabilized at 0.95-1.05% and electroencephalograph (EEG) recording commenced. After 5 minutes of baseline data collection, tail docking was performed and recording continued for a further 10 minutes. The EEG summary variables median frequency (F50), 95% spectral edge frequency (F95) and total power (PTOT) were calculated for the baseline period and for consecutive 30-second intervals following docking. RESULTS: Following docking, F50 increased and PTOT decreased significantly in CONTROL and MEL pigs. EMLA pigs exhibited no change in any variable, whilst CAUT pigs exhibited a reduction in PTOT but no change in F50. F50 was higher in control pigs than in EMLA pigs 30-60 seconds after docking (p≤0.01). PTOT was lower in CONTROL than in EMLA pigs 30-90 seconds after docking (p<0.03) and in CAUT pigs 60 seconds after docking (p=0.01). CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Prior application of EMLA cream abolished EEG indicators of nociception in pigs docked using clippers. Docking using a cautery iron without analgesia ameliorated EEG indicators of nociception, relative to using clippers without analgesia. Prior administration of EMLA cream or the use of cautery instead of clippers may reduce the acute pain experienced by pigs undergoing tail docking.