Content
Animals communicate in a variety of ways and are often trying to say something we don't know how to recognize.
Pain is a form of communication and a protective mechanism of the animal organism that we must try to understand. With the growing concern for animal welfare, bovine veterinary medicine has developed new ways to identify and alleviate the pain of these large animals.
In this article by PeritoAnimal, we will explain the main signs of pain in cattle so you can recognize and act as quickly as possible when you suspect you have a sick cow.
Pathophysiology of pain in cattle
THE ache is defined as a unpleasant sensory and emotional experience that is associated with actual or potential injuries, being seen as a form of disabling disease[1] and a serious welfare problem.
It serves as a protective mechanism for the body and identifying its cause can minimize consequences and ensure the welfare of farm animals.
Large animals such as bulls, oxen and cows have a higher pain threshold than dogs and cats [2,3] and, therefore, it can be more time-consuming and difficult to identify pain in these animals.
According to the physiology of pain, it can be classified according to:
- Duration: acute (momentary or sudden) or chronic (persistent after an injury or something physiological)
- Location: localized or generalized
- Depth: superficial (for example in the skin) or deep (muscles, bone, joints)
- Origin: somatic or visceral origin (from the viscera or organs), neuropathic (from the nervous system) and psychogenic (from mental origin)
How to recognize when an animal is in pain?
An organism's responses to pain involve states:
- Hormones: Increased cortisol, adrenaline, norepinephrine, hormones associated with stress and which can be measured through blood, saliva and urine.
- Metabolic: increased heart rate and/or breathing (you can see the animal panting), fever and eyes that are wide open and with dilated pupils (mydriasis).
- behavioral: in ruminants, one of the ways to measure the response to pain is through the evaluation of behaviors. This factor is an observable assessment that can be measured and will depend on a number of factors, genetic lineage, sex, weight, general health and environment.[4].
At sharp pains they can usually be easier to identify, as the symptoms are more evident, such as:
- altered facial expressions
- vocalizations
- restlessness
- tremors
- stiffness in limbs
- stretcher (lameness)
- compulsive licking of a region of the body
- difficulty in swallowing (dysphagia)
- difficulty urinating (dysuria)
- abnormal behaviors such as shaking the head, kicking the abdomen or biting structures, flight or aggression towards humans and other cattle
These symptoms vary depending on the location and intensity of the pain.
already the chronic pain of a sick cow, moderate and persistent may be more difficult to visualize and identify, as the animal may present:
- Fever
- Grinding teeth (bruxism)
- Sleep Cycle Changes
- Change in posture (spine curvature), ear and head position
- Decrease or increase in food and water intake (which translates into weight loss or gain)
These factors are more complicated to assess because cattle, being production animals, are seen and treated as a herd, which makes it very difficult to follow the routines of a single animal and find out if it is sleeping or eating well. In this case, it is necessary to be aware of the signs that are more visible, and if you suspect that a cow is sick, you must isolate the animal and observe it in the parameters described above and, if the suspicions are confirmed, you must call your veterinarian.
Specifically about dairy cows, we can list disease symptoms in cattle like:
- Fever
- Depression
- Reduced activity and interaction with the environment and other animals
- Decrease in food, water and weight loss
- touch sensitivity
- Decrease in milk production
- lameness
- Change in posture (spine curvature, squatting or head position)
- Increased heart rate (HR) and respiratory (RR)
As we have seen, ruminants in a state of pain can change their posture, habits and routines, and may even become aggressive due to pain, however, it is important to mention that the absence these and other obvious signs does not indicate which animal is not experiencing pain.
There is currently a pain assessment system that is based on the observation of abnormal behaviors and the total score assigned to those behaviors. That is, the more abnormal behaviors, the higher the score the cattle will have and the higher their pain level. This system, still under development, is an attempt to make pain assessment in ruminants universal.
Read our article with the most common diseases in cattle.
Treatment
A prerequisite for being able to relieve pain is knowing how to recognize it, but, as we have seen, this is a difficult task. However, with dedication and persistence and several studies, it is increasingly easier to identify the causes of pain in cattle.
There are many drugs to treat pain and alleviate discomfort in animals: non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and opioids are the most used groups of drugs, and the latter are still much discussed due to the serious side effects they cause.
With your help, through the detailed description of the animal's symptoms, and with the examination and evaluation of the ruminant veterinarian, it will be possible to alleviate the pain and discomfort of the animals, ensuring their well-being.
This article is for information purposes only, at PeritoAnimal.com.br we are not able to prescribe veterinary treatments or perform any type of diagnosis. We suggest that you take your pet to the veterinarian in case it has any type of condition or discomfort.
If you want to read more articles similar to Sick cow - signs of pain in cattle, we recommend that you enter our Prevention section.