Interpretive Summary: A Clinical Trial on the Welfare Effects of Administering Meloxicam to 10 to 21 Day Dairy Calves Following Caustic Paste Disbudding

By: Jiancheng Qi, Jing Fang , Fangyuan Huang, Zhiqiang Li , Maqsood Ahmed Kumbhar, Hengmin Cui , Hongrui Guo, Liuhong Shen , Zhihua Ren, Yi Geng , Yanchun Hu, Junliang Deng , Shuming Yu, Ali Mujtaba Shah , Zhicai Zuo

Caustic paste disbudding ( CPD ) is a widely used practice in the cattle industry, yet there is a shortage of literature on the effects of meloxicam on calves aged 10 to 21 d who have undergone this procedure. In this clinical trial, we conducted a comparative analysis of the pain-related behavioral, physiological, and hematological performance of calves that were administered with either lidocaine plus normal saline (n  = 15) or lidocaine plus meloxicam (n  = 15) before undergoing disbudding operations. The findings demonstrated that the CPD operation had a significant impact on the pain-related behavior, physiological functions, and serum anti-inflammatory and antioxidative markers of the calves. On the other hand, the administration of meloxicam had notable advantages for the calves by enhancing the physiological and hematological parameters.

Read the full article in the Journal of Animal Science.