Effect of local anaesthetics and non-steroidal analgesics on maintenace behaviour of hot- iron disbudded beetal kids under stall- fed conditions

The present study was conducted on 14 -15 days old, 24 Beetal kids of equal weight and parity, randomly divided into four groups (6 in each group, 3 male & 3 female) i.e. D₀ (Control, no medication), D_L (Lignocaine (2%) @ 1 ml/bud, as cornual nerve block), D_M (Meloxicam @ 0.25 mg/kg body weight, I/M) and D_L+M (Lignocaine + Meloxicam at above dose and route). Different behavioral parameters, during and 1^st, 3^rd, 6^th, 12^th and 24^th hours of disbudding by hot iron cauterization, were recorded for 30 minutes by point sampling method. The proportion of vocalization and the leg shaking behaviour were significantly (P < 0.01) higher in D₀ followed by D_M and lower in D_L and D_L+M during disbudding. Consistency of different behaviours over hours like sitting, sleeping, standing, walking, feeding, grooming, exploration, biting cage wire, tail shaking etc. indicated that kids of control as well as Lignocaine infiltrated groups were more restless due to pain after disbudding than other groups. It can also be concluded that dis-budding of the kids by pre-medication of nonsteroidal analgesics (NSAIDs) or combination of local anaesthetics and NSAIDs may reduce the pain related behaviours during and after disbudding. However, there is necessity for further investigations into strategies that reduces the impact on welfare during and after disbudding in goat kids.