DOI: 10.5061/dryad.crjdfn3fp
title: Data from: Wound characteristics after disbudding: Part I and part II

description: Part I: Disbudding is a common painful procedure in dairy calves. Farms
 vary in method (hot iron or paste), whether horn bud hair is shaved, or
 the quantity of paste applied, for example. Yet, little research compares
 the effects of differing paste applications. Our objective was to assess
 the effects of dose and shaving horn bud hair on caustic paste disbudding
 outcomes including disturbance from rubbing, wound size, sensitivity,
 healing time, horn regrowth, and the need for removal with a 2nd
 procedure. Female Holstein calves were assigned to 1 of 4 caustic paste
 treatments (n = 24-25/treatment): 0.2 or 0.3 mL on either shaved or
 unshaved horn buds, respectively (0.2 Unshaved, 0.2 Shaved, 0.3 Unshaved,
 0.3 Shaved). Before disbudding at 3 d of age, calves received a local
 block and systemic pain relief. Wound tissues and regrowth were scored
 1-2x/wk until fully healed. Wound depth, diameter, and mechanical
 nociceptive thresholds (MNT) to evaluate sensitivity were measured
 approximately 4, 14, 28, 42, 56, and 70 d after disbudding. Calves with
 shaved horn buds were more likely to disturb their paste by rubbing it on
 themselves or their housing up to 4 h after application. This risk was
 lowest with 0.2 Unshaved (12%) and highest with 0.2 Shaved and 0.3 Shaved
 (both 58%). Rubbing, which may result from irritation when the local
 anesthetic wears off, had minimal effects on wound outcomes. Wound depth
 initially increased by ~1.5 mm for all treatments in the 6 wk after paste
 application. Similar sensitivity was observed for all wounds for 42 d,
 while at 56 and 70 d, 0.2 Shaved calves were less responsive than 0.3
 Shaved. Wound diameter was affected by dose and shaving with 0.2 Unshaved
 wounds being an average 6 mm smaller than those from 0.3 Shaved. On
 average, wounds from 4 methods of applying caustic paste took 14.3 to 18.0
 wk to re-epithelialize and 15.9 to 19.4 wk to fully heal, with 0.2
 Unshaved reaching these stages the fastest and 0.3 Shaved the slowest.
 Applying 0.2 Unshaved led to smaller, faster healing wounds, but also
 resulted in the highest rates of horn regrowth (21% regrowth present; 8%
 required 2nd procedure), indicating this approach to paste disbudding was
 the least effective option tested. At the other extreme, 0.3 Shaved caused
 the most rubbing initially, and long term, created wider, slower healing
 wounds, beyond what is needed for a successful procedure. Two treatments,
 0.2 Shaved and 0.3 Unshaved created comparable, long-lasting damage in our
 population of limit fed calves. While these 2 approaches were the best of
 the 4 compared, they take on average 4.4 mo to heal, raising concerns
 about the ethical implications of using chemicals to destroy horn growing
 tissue. Overall, the dose of disbudding paste and presence of hair
 affected calf responses, the wound profile, and efficacy of the procedure.
 Part II: Disbudding is a common painful procedure. Farms vary in
 method (cautery or paste), whether the horn bud hair is shaved, or the
 quantity of paste applied, for example. Yet, little research compares the
 long-term effects among these methods. Our objective was to describe wound
 healing, sensitivity, and horn regrowth following cautery and 2 methods of
 caustic paste disbudding. Female Holstein calves were assigned to 1 of 4
 treatments (n = 25/treatment): non-disbudded sham (Control), 12.7 mm hot
 iron leaving the bud in (Hot iron), 0.2 mL paste on shaved horn buds (0.2
 Shaved), or 0.3 mL paste on unshaved horn buds (0.3 Unshaved). Before
 disbudding, at 3 d of age, calves received a local block and systemic pain
 relief. Wounds were scored 1-2x/wk until they were fully healed and only a
 thin scar line remained. Nine tissue types were scored, including
 epithelium, when the wounds were covered in a new layer of skin. Wound
 depth, diameter and mechanical nociceptive threshold (MNT) measures to
 evaluate sensitivity were collected 4, 14, 28, and 42 d after disbudding.
 Compared to Controls, all disbudded calves exhibited lower MNT values in
 the first 42 d, while sensitivity was similar among disbudding treatments.
 Wound diameter was similar 4 d after disbudding. In the following weeks
 wounds from Hot iron contracted while those from paste first increased in
 size. Wound depth in the weeks after disbudding was smaller for Hot-iron
 disbudding than paste. Paste wounds took 16 and 17-18 wk to epithelialize
 and heal, respectively and this was at least twice as long as Hot Iron,
 where these stages were reached after 7 and 10 wk, on average. Horn
 regrowth was present in 4% of buds from both Hot iron and 0.3 Unshaved,
 and 8% from 0.2 Shaved. Applying 0.2 Shaved or 0.3 Unshaved paste created
 similar wound size, sensitivity, healing, and regrowth, confirming the
 likeness of these ways of chemically destroying horn growing tissue. Taken
 together, all wounds were more sensitive than un-damaged tissue for at
 least 42 d, and paste wounds were deeper and increased in size while
 Hot-iron wounds contracted. Paste wounds also took at least twice as long
 to re-epithelize and fully heal compared to those from cautery disbudding.
 These results highlight the importance of understanding methodological
 differences associated with routine management procedures and suggest
 cautery disbudding is better for calf welfare than caustic paste.
description: The methodological details are described in the two associated
 publications. 
description: # Data from: Wound characteristics after disbudding: Part I and part II
 [Access this dataset on Dryad](https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.crjdfn3fp)
 Data were collected from 149 Holstein heifers. Calves were assigned to 1
 of 6 treatments (n = 24-25/treatment): 1) hot-iron disbudding with a 12.7
 mm tip leaving the bud in, 2) 0.2 mL paste on unshaved horn buds 3) 0.2 mL
 paste on shaved horn buds, 4) 0.3 mL paste on unshaved horn buds, 5) 0.3
 mL paste on shaved horn buds, 6) non-disbudded control group. Treatments
 were assigned in blocks of 6 using a random number generator without
 replacement (represented as "Block" in the Excel files). On d 3
 of life, pain relief was provided, disbudding was carried out according to
 the calf's treatment or a sham procedure was performed. For paste
 disbudded calves, removal of the paste by rubbing on the hutch or another
 body part was scored at 1 and 4 h after application as
 "Rubbing". When applicable, disbudding wounds were scored for
 the presence/absence of 9 tissue types: fresh paste, attached necrotic,
 burns outside of the hot-iron ring, detaching necrotic, exudate,
 granulation, crust, epithelium, and fully healed. Wounds were scored
 1-2/wk until they were scored as fully healed 2 consecutive times. The
 presence of horn regrowth was monitored through visual inspection and
 palpation for approximately 7 months. If regrowth was extensive, as second
 procedure to remove the regrowth occured. This lead to 2 categories: horn
 regrowth present, and a subset where regrowth was removed. At 4, 14, 28,
 42, 56, and 70 d after disbudding, wound sensitivity (mechanical
 nociceptive thresholds) and size (diameter and depth) were collected.
 Non-disbudded controls were removed from the experiment after the 42 d
 observation. Throughout the RMarkdown files (RMDs), paste treatments will
 have their treatment name updated to remove the word "paste" for
 creating final publication figures. Data from all treatments are presented
 in the respective Excel file. For publication, data are broken into 2
 parts. Part 1 evaluates differences among the 4 paste treatments to
 understand the effects of dose and shaving on the outcome variables of
 interest. Part 2 evaluates differences among multiple disbudding methods
 by comparing 2 of the paste treatments that were similar to each other,
 with the hot iron and control treatments for wound healing, size, and MNT.
 ## Description of the data and file structure * *BiweeklyMeasures.xlsx*;
 This file presents the measures that were collected biweekly beginning 4 d
 after disbudding. Calf number shows the individual ID. Date shows when a
 row of data were collected. "DaysDisbudded" calculates the
 number of days between the procedure "DateDisbudded" and the
 current data collection day. "Observation" shows which measure
 in the consecutive order is represented for a calf, while
 "ObservationDays" shows the consistent number of disbudding days
 that observation equates to across calves. "DOB" represents the
 date of birth. Treatment describes the combined approach for how the calf
 was disbudded, while "shaving" and "dose" specify
 either shaved/unshaved horn buds or 0.2/0.3 mL paste from the treatment.
 "Tool" specifies if the hot iron, paste, or control is used for
 the procedure. "MNT operator" is the researcher who collected
 the MNT data for that calf on a given day. The "MNT" column
 shows the N of force that was applied with an algometer before a calf
 showed a behavioral response. "Attempts" are the number of times
 the algometer was applied before a successful reading (no disruption)
 occurred. If a hot iron disbudded calf had a burn outside of the horn bud
 area that was expected to interfere with the typical MNT testing site, the
 algometer was moved slightly to the side, which is represented by
 "MovedForBurnOutsideRing". Wound diameter and depth are both
 represented in mm. The tissue column shows all of the tissue types that
 were scored on that day, which is represented in 0/1 format in columns
 W-AE. Side indicates left or right horn bud while the location indicates
 if the MNT measure was collected in the caudal or lateral position around
 the respective bud/wound. "Rate"" indicates the N of
 force/sec in which the amount of pressure applied to the algometer
 increased. This was calculated using ("StopMNT" -
 "StartMNT"/"StopTime" - "StartTime").
 "AnyDistrubanceAnytime" shows a 0 if the calf did not disturb
 the paste on the respective horn bud in the first 4 h after application,
 while a 1 designates some level of paste rubbing occurred. Regrowth and
 Regrowth removal represent if there was any amount of horn regrowth (1) or
 removal of that regrowth (1) during the experiment or not (0).
 "N/A" represents missing data. * *WoundHealing.xlsx*; This file
 presents the wound scores that were collected 1-2 x/wk from the day calves
 were disbudded until they were scored as fully healed at least 2
 consecutive times. Calf number shows the individual ID. "Date"
 shows when a row of data were collected. "DaysDisbudded"
 calculates the number of days between when the procedure
 "DateDisbudded" and the current data collection day. Side
 indicates if the left or right horn bud is being represented.
 "DOB" is the date of birth for a calf. Treatment describes the
 combined approach for how the calf was disbudded, while
 "shaving" and "dose" specify either shaved/unshaved
 horn buds or 0.2/0.3 mL paste from the treatment. The tissue column shows
 all of the tissue types that were scored on that day, which is represented
 in 0/1 format in columns L-U. Regrowth and Regrowth removal represent if
 there was any amount of horn regrowth (1) or removal of that regrowth (1)
 during the experiment or not (0). "AnyDistrubanceAnytime" shows
 a 0 if the calf did not disturb the paste on the respective horn bud in
 the first 4 h after application, while a 1 designates some level of paste
 rubbing occurred. The "Latency_Epi" shows the number of days it
 took for a horn bud to be scored as Epithelium for the first time. The
 "Latency_Heal" shows the number of days it took for a horn bud
 to be scored as Fully healed for the first time. "N/A"
 represents missing data. * *PasteRubbing.xlsx*; This file presents data on
 if each horn bud of a calf had their paste rubbed off or not. Rubbing was
 scored for paste disbudding treatments only at 2 and 4 h after the
 application. Each calf was observed at those 2 time points,
 "Observation" inidcates which time point is present in that row.
 At each time, 4 categories of rubbing were scored as a 0 or 1:
 "ExtendsBeyondCircle", "SmallDisturbance",
 "LargeDisturbance","HutchOrBody". An additional column
 indicates "SmallORLarge" if a horn bud had either of these
 disturbances at that time point. "AnyDisturbanceAnytime" shows a
 1 if calves had any of the 4 disturbance categories at any of the times
 they were observed. "Date" shows the calendar day when data were
 collected, while "TimeObserved" specifies the exact time of the
 observation. "TimeDisbudded" shows when paste application was
 completed on the same date that rubbing was scored. Shaving, Dose,
 Treatment, Calf, Side, and DOB all show the same data presented in other
 files for each individual. The collapsed disturbance category was
 incorporated into the other Excel sheets, but the complete data set is
 presented here for any readers who may be interested. Regrowth and
 Regrowth removal represent if there was any amount of horn regrowth (1) or
 removal of that regrowth (1) during the experiment or not (0). *
 *PartI_BiweeklyAnalysis.Rmd*; This RMarkdown file uses the Biweekly
 Measures.xlsx file listed above to build and validate models to describe
 the effects of treatment on wound MNT, diameter, depth, and the effects of
 paste rubbing on these 3 variables. This file produces the model results
 and figures used in the corresponding paper (Part I). Rmd files can be
 downloaded and run in R. This file is annotated. *
 *PartI_BiweeklyAnalysis.pdf*; This file is the PDF output of the
 corresponding RMarkdown file, and includes the code and output previews.
 This file is annotated. * *PartII_BiweeklyAnalysis.Rmd*; This RMarkdown
 file uses the Biweekly Measures.xlsx file listed above to build and
 validate models to describe the effects of treatment on wound MNT,
 diameter, depth, and the effects of paste rubbing on these 3 variables.
 This file produces the model results and figures used in the corresponding
 paper (Part II). Rmd files can be downloaded and run in R. This file is
 annotated. * *PartII_BiweeklyAnalysis.pdf*; This file is the PDF output of
 the corresponding RMarkdown file, and includes the code and output
 previews. This file is annotated. * *PartI_WoundAnalysis.Rmd*; This
 RMarkdown file uses the Wound Healing.xlsx file listed above to build and
 validate models to describe the effects of treatment on latency to
 re-epithelial and fully heal, and the effects of paste rubbing on healing
 time. This file produces the model results and figures used in the
 corresponding paper (Part I). Rmd files can be downloaded and run in R.
 This file is annotated. * *PartI_WoundAnalysis.pdf*; This file is the PDF
 output of the corresponding RMarkdown file, and includes the code and
 output previews. This file is annotated. * *PartII_WoundAnalysis.Rmd*;
 This RMarkdown file uses the Wound Healing.xlsx file listed above to build
 and validate models to describe the effects of treatment on latency to
 re-epithelial and fully heal, and the effects of paste rubbing on healing
 time. This file produces the model results and figures used in the
 corresponding paper (Part II). Rmd files can be downloaded and run in R.
 This file is annotated. * *PartII_WoundAnalysis.pdf*; This file is the PDF
 output of the corresponding RMarkdown file, and includes the code and
 output previews. This file is annotated. * *Model_Outputs_Part_1.xlsx*;
 This file presents the raw summary, model predicted data, model outputs
 and test statistics, means, SE, and 95% CI for all variables testing in
 the part I manuscript. Each tab represents a different model. *
 *Model_Outputs_Part_2.xlsx*; This file presents the raw summary, model
 predicted data, model outputs and test statistics, means, SE, and 95% CI
 for all variables testing in the part I manuscript. Each tab represents a
 different model. * *Supplemental_Figures.pdf*; This file presents
 supplemental figures (Supplemental Figure S1-S11) with examples of
 secondary injuries from caustic paste, a large burn from hot iron
 disbudding, and hair within the damage tissue described throughout the
 manuscripts. ## Code/Software All analyses were run in R using RStudio.
 Software versions, including those for all packages used, are included in
 *PartI_BiweeklyAnalysis.Rmd*, *PartII_BiweeklyAnalysis.Rmd*,
 *PartI_WoundAnalysis.Rmd*, *PartII_WoundAnalysis.Rmd*, and the associated
 PDF exports.