Transdermal
flunixin meglumine was approved in 2018 to treat
pain related to
foot-rot in cattle, leading to the question of whether it would be effective as part of a comprehensive
pain management strategy for disbudding. To investigate, calves were assigned to three treatment groups: 2%
lidocaine cornual
nerve block only (L),
lidocaine nerve block +0.45 mg/lb (1 mg/kg) oral
meloxicam (M), or
lidocaine nerve block +1.5 mg/lb (3.3 mg/kg) transdermal
flunixin meglumine (F) (n = 61). Ear flicking (p = 0.001), head shaking (p < 0.001), tail flicking (p < 0.001), interaction with the environment (p < 0.001), grooming (p < 0.01), posture changes (p < 0.05), and standing (p < 0.001) were impacted by the time relative to the procedure.
Cortisol levels rose post procedure (p < 0.001). There was no difference in rates of behaviors or
cortisol between treatments. These results indicate that calves showed alterations in behavior and
cortisol in response to disbudding but not between treatments. We conclude that the
pain management protocol for disbudding, which included transdermal
flunixin meglumine with a
lidocaine cornual
nerve block, did not show significant differences from protocols using
meloxicam with a
lidocaine block, or a
lidocaine block alone.