Disbudding and dehorning practices for preweaned dairy calves by farmers in Wisconsin, USA

Many dairy farmers in North America disbud or dehorn their cattle to improve human and animal safety. The Farmers Assuring Responsible Management (FARM v. 4.0) program requires that disbudding be performed before 8 wk of age with pain-control medication. The objective of this observational cross-sectional study was to quantify disbudding and dehorning practices of Wisconsin dairy producers to target future extension programming. Responses from 217 Wisconsin dairy producers and calf raisers were collected via digital surveys distributed at extension events and through industry contacts. Of the 217 respondents, 188 performed on-farm disbudding themselves. Most respondents (61%) used caustic paste as their primary method, which was most commonly applied on the day the calf was born (53%). Hot iron was used by 32% of respondents, and surgical methods (gouge, scoop, or wire saw) were used by 6% of respondents. Hot-iron disbudding was most commonly performed at 4 to 8 wk of age (41%) and 1 to 4 wk of age (33%), whereas surgical methods were most commonly performed at 8 wk or older (73%). Pain-control medication was used by 43% of respondents. Specifically, 35% used an anti-inflammatory, and 21% used a local nerve block. Veterinary involvement in creating the disbudding protocol was associated with increased odds of using pain control. Respondents with a target weaning age of ≥10 wk had greater odds of complying with FARM disbudding requirements and were also more likely to use polled genetics. Respondents aged 18 to 34 and respondents with >60 calves were more likely to have made changes to their disbudding or dehorning protocol in the last decade. Although use of pain control was higher than in previous US studies, full adoption of pain management requires further extension efforts. Veterinarians appeared influential on adoption of pain control, and their involvement may encourage adoption of pain management. Further research should investigate how the implementation of new FARM v. 4.0 standards will change the disbudding and dehorning practices of American dairy producers.