Randomised Control Trial Investigating the Efficacy of Meloxicam and Sodium Salicylate Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs for Calf Cautery Disbudding

SIMPLE SUMMARY: The disbudding of calves is undertaken as a routine management practice. It is known to be a painful procedure for calves, and it is a legal requirement that calves are disbudded under local anaesthesia. It is also recommended that calves receive pain-relieving drugs (NSAIDs, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) which improve welfare and performance as well as reducing the pain experienced. Calves were allocated to one of two groups prior to undergoing disbudding; both groups received the same local anaesthetic. One group received a subcutaneous injection of Meloxicam as a positive control, and the second group received oral sodium salicylate added into their milk. Behaviour changes were monitored between treatment groups using accelerometers, with no differences being found in activity, lying bouts or lying times. There were also no differences in weight gain between the groups. Sodium salicylate offers a cheaper option for farmers when compared to meloxicam and can be administered orally, which is a less invasive technique than injection. Despite anaesthetic and NSAID administration, all calves showed behaviour changes for 5 days post procedure. ABSTRACT: Disbudding calves using hot iron cautery is a routine management procedure to destroy the germinal cells around the horn bud in calves. It is recommended that NSAIDs are used in conjunction with local anaesthesia to reduce pain in calves during and after the procedure. In this study, two treatment groups were examined; calves in the positive control MEL group received subcutaneous meloxicam, and SAL calves received sodium salicylate orally for three days, both in addition to a local anaesthesia. Tri-axis accelerometers were attached to the calves, and DLWG (Daily Live Weight Gain) was measured. There was no significant difference between the treatment groups with regard to DLWG (p = 0.52), MI (motion index (p = 0.66)), lying bouts (p = 0.96) or lying times (p = 0.54). Given these findings, sodium salicylate may offer a lower-cost option for farmers when given at licensed doses compared to meloxicam, as well as providing a reduced-stress method of NSAID administration via an oral route. In addition, this study identified significant differences in activity in the time periods before and after disbudding, with MI (p < 0.01), lying bouts (p = 0.002) and lying times (p < 0.001) indicating changes in behaviour which extended to five days post disbudding.