Effect of the combination of meloxicam and lidocaine during Saanen kids castration on physiological and behavioral parameters

Abstract

Given that many management practices applied to goats are painful, to improve their well-being it is necessary to study alternatives that control or minimize pain. The aim of this study was to determine if the addition of lidocaine to treatment with meloxicam reduces the pain caused by castration in kids.  Twenty Saanen kids, 10 per treatment, of 16.4 ± 1.8 days old were randomly assigned to Meloxicam (Me) treatment: surgical castration + intramuscular meloxicam 15 minutes before the intervention (0.25 mL; 20 mg/ mL) and Meloxicam + Lidocaine (MeLi): same as Me + lidocaine (2 mL; 20 mg/ mL). Kids were weighed at birth, the day before castration and 7 days after the treatments were applied. After the provision of liquid diet in the morning and afternoon, on the day of castration, as well as the day before and after, the animals were observed for 60 minutes according to a defined partial ethogram. After this on castration day heart rate and respiratory rate were evaluated. No differences were detected in terms of live weight in any of the instances evaluated. Neither statistical differences were detected referring to heart rate (p= 0.28) or respiratory rate (p= 0.61). On the day of castration animals presented the highest frequencies associated with lying down and standing behaviors. Only standing behavior differed and was statistically superior in animals of MeLi treatment (Me 2,90±2,36 a, MeLi 4,85±3,00b; p=0,04). Despite that in this study, for ethical reasons, there was no control group without any measure to alleviate pain, it is possible to presume that the treatments considered were not completely effective in relieving the pain imparted.