Can Isoflurane and Meloxicam Mitigate Pain Associated with Cautery Disbudding of 3-Week-Old Goat Kids?

SIMPLE SUMMARY: Cautery disbudding is commonly carried out on goat kids less than a week of age to prevent horn growth; however, due to differences in management across farms, older goat kids (up to 3 weeks of age) can be disbudded. We evaluated the effect of pain mitigation strategies (isoflurane and meloxicam) on the behaviour and physiology of 3-week-old cautery-disbudded goat kids. We found weak statistical evidence that cortisol concentrations were lower in goat kids that were administered isoflurane (with or without meloxicam) compared to those disbudded without pain relief. However, no other physiological or behavioural measures were affected by the pain mitigation treatments. Further research is needed to determine whether isoflurane (with or without meloxicam) provides sufficient pain relief for disbudding 3-week-old goat kids. ABSTRACT: We evaluated the effect of pain mitigation strategies (isoflurane and meloxicam) on the behaviour and physiology of 3-week-old disbudded goat kids. Fifty Saanen does (mean ± SD, 21 ± 3 days old) were randomly allocated to one of five treatments: (1) cautery-disbudded (CAUT), (2) CAUT + isoflurane (ISO), (3) CAUT + isoflurane + meloxicam (ISO + MEL), (4) CAUT + meloxicam (MEL), and (5) handled without disbudding or pain relief (SHAM). Blood samples were taken immediately prior to treatment and at 15-, 60- and 120-min post-treatment to assess cortisol, glucose and lactate concentrations. Behaviour (head shaking and scratching, body shaking, feeding and self-grooming) was observed for 1 h pre- and post-treatment using video-cameras. ISO + MEL and ISO kids had lower cortisol concentrations than CAUT kids 15 min post-treatment (p ≤ 0.05). There was no effect of treatment or time for glucose and lactate concentrations (p ≥ 0.62). At 35 min post-treatment, CAUT, MEL and ISO kids performed more head shakes than SHAM kids (p ≤ 0.05). Isoflurane, with or without meloxicam, may reduce acute stress associated with disbudding of 3-week-old goat kids. More research is needed to assess whether isoflurane (with or without meloxicam) can provide sufficient pain relief for disbudding 3-week-old kids.