DOI: 10.25338/b8535z
title: Data from: Development and application of a scoring system for septum injuries in beef calves with and without a nose flap

description: The weaning period is a stressful time for beef calves because they must
 quickly gain independence from their dam. Gradual methods of weaning, such
 as when the calf is fitted with a nose flap to prevent suckling, are known
 to reduce the behavioral and physiological indicators of stress. Nose
 flaps are held in place by the nasal septum and are worn for 4 to 7 d. In
 the present study, the objectives were to 1) identify if a plastic nose
 flap worn for 7 d caused nasal injuries, (2) identify if factors like calf
 body weight or septum size predict injuries or flap loss, and (3) create a
 scoring system that could reliably score wound characteristics. Eighty-two
 (N = 82) Angus and Angus-Hereford crossbred beef calves were randomly
 assigned to ‘Flap’ or ‘No Flap’ treatments. Calves weighed 247 ± 29 kg and
 those with a flap had septums that were 39 ± 2 mm (mean ± SD). Images were
 taken of each nostril before flap insertion, on the day of removal, and 6
 d after removal. Wounds were scored for the presence/absence of 3
 characteristics in either nostril: damage (tissue where the flap rested
 was a different color than surrounding nostril), impression (edges of the
 wound were clearly raised or sunken), and blood. One trained observer
 scored a subset of photos (N = 64) twice, in a consistent manner for all 3
 characteristics (damage, impression, and blood; 97%, 91%, and 100%
 agreement between 1st and 2nd evaluations, respectively), indicating that
 our system is repeatable. Thirty-two percent of calves in the Flap
 treatment lost their flap before the day of removal. No calves in the No
 Flap treatment were injured. All animals that kept their flap in for 7 d
 had damage and impressions in at least 1 nostril and 86% of calves had
 blood present immediately after nose flap removal (P ≤ 0.001 compared to
 No Flap) indicating that the flaps altered the nasal tissue and created
 open wounds. Six d after flap removal, 100% still had visible damage, 64%
 had impressions, and 29% had blood, indicating that while damage is longer
 lasting, wounds can start to repair after the flap is removed. Injuries
 were prevalent in all calves, thus there was no relationship between calf
 size (body weight or septum width) on these wounds (P ≥ 0.374). Body
 weight or septum size did not differ (P ≥ 0.489) between calves that kept
 or lost their flap. Injuries inflicted from a nose flap may counteract the
 previously documented benefits of this method of weaning, making it less
 advantageous than alternatives and raise concerns about other uses of
 these devices in other contexts.
description: Please see the details in the accompanying research
 publication.
description: Please see the README file. 
description: # Data from: Development and application of a scoring system for septum
 injuries in beef calves with and without a nose flap
 The supplemental materials are
 referenced in the corresponding research publication and provide
 additional information and context for the experiment’s design and
 results. Raw data, RMarkdown files, and tables are presented as
 proportions and means, which is how the data were analyzed.  ##
 Description of the data and file structure **Supplemental tables and
 figures:** * Supplemental Table S1.xlsx *Current commercially available
 nose flaps for purchase in the United States. Description, type of flap,
 image1, manufacturer, and reported dimensions included. Images are from
 manufacturer or seller websites *Supplemental Tables 2 and 3.pdf* *
 Supplemental Table S2. *Current (as of 2022) research articles with nose
 flaps utilized in their method section. Included are the journal
 publication details, type of nose flap and dimensions reported, and the
 weight and age of the calves studied. * Supplemental Table S3. *Mean,*
 *SE, and 95% CI for calf weight (kg) and septum width measurements (mm),
 along with model outputs. **Raw data:** This section includes the data
 used for this paper. Data: *Nasal_photo_scores_all_days_220821.csv.* *
 **CALF_ID**: Each calf utilized had an individual identification number on
 an ear tag. * **L_IMPRESSION, DAMAGE and BLOOD**: Zero/one scores for
 impression, damage, and blood characteristics in the left nostril. *
 **R_IMPRESSION, DAMAGE and BLOOD**: Zero/one scores for impression,
 damage, and blood characteristics in the right nostril. * **DATE TAKEN**:
 The exact date of data collection. * **DOT**: Day of Trial, identifies
 what was done on that day in relationship to the nose flap insertion:
 before, at removal and 6 d after flap removal. * **WEIGHT_KG**: Reflects
 each calf’s body weight on the day of flap insertion. * **SEPTUM WIDTH**:
 Reports the outer septum width measurements (in mm) that were taken of all
 calves that received a flap. * **TREATMENT**: All data in this section
 were collected from 82 angus crossbred weaned calves that acted as control
 (No flap, n=41 or had a nose flap fitted to their nasal septum for 7 d
 (Flap, n=28). The ‘Lost flap’ treatment (Lost flap, n=13) was specified
 when a calf removed the flap before 7 d. * **IMPRESSION1**: Zero/one
 scores, reports a 1 value if impression was observed in at least one
 nostril. * **DAMAGE1**: Zero/one scores, reports a 1 value if damage was
 observed in at least one nostril. * **BLOOD1**: Zero/one scores, reports a
 1 value if blood was observed in at least one nostril. Missing data were
 reported as “NA” or Not Applicable due to missed handling event or blurry
 photos that were unable to be scored. ## Code/Software RMarkdown code: All
 code in this section use the data files listed above to build and validate
 models to describe effects of treatment (flap, no flap), time point
 (before flap insertion, at removal, or 6 d afterwards), or calf size
 (weight, septum width), and/or produce the figures used in the
 corresponding paper. Rmd files can be downloaded and run in R, or
 downloaded and viewed via the pdf output, which includes the code and
 output previews. Both versions are annotated. • *Nose flap analysis 220818
 (pdf and .Rmd)*