Comparison of behavioural indicators of acute pain and stress during and after three methods of handling and restraint for pre-weaned beef calves

Pre-weaned beef calves in western Canada are processed at approximately 6–12 weeks of age, when they are individually handled and restrained to conduct various husbandry procedures. Best practice recommendations for safeguarding animal welfare during husbandry procedures suggest using calm, quiet handling techniques and proper restraint, but little is known about methods of “proper restraint”. The most common methods for handling and restraining calves in western Canada are roping and wrestling (RW), roping and Nord fork (RNF), and using a tilt table (TT). Thus, the objective was to compare the effects of these 3 methods on behavioural indicators of pain and stress responses under industry relevant conditions. A total of 117 beef bull calves were assigned to 3 groups (RW, RNF, or TT), consisting of 39 bull calves each (30 processed calves, 9 control calves). Control calves were handled and restrained according to their assigned group but did not undergo any processing procedures. Processing included ear tagging, vaccinations, growth implant in the ear, surgical castration, record keeping, and oral analgesic administration. Video recordings were used to quantify duration of handling and restraint, and behaviours associated with active stress or pain responses. Duration of handling and restraint was longest for TT calves. Handling difficulty was not related to handling method. Vocalization rate was highest for RNF calves during processing by approximately 6–10 counts/min over TT and RW, respectively (P < 0.05) and struggling rate was higher for TT calves by approximately 2–3 counts per minute vs RW and RNF, respectively (P < 0.05). Upon release, RNF calves had a higher occurrence of running upon release compared to the other groups (P < 0.05). After processing, foot stomping rate differed among groups and was highest for RNF calves, followed by RW calves, then TT calves (RNF: 1.9 [2.3]; RW: 1.0 [0.9]; TT: 0.5 [0.5]; P < 0.01). No injuries were observed in any calves. Comparison of multiple behavioural indicators of active coping with pain and stress between the handling methods did not indicate any individual method was clearly preferable or detrimental method for animal welfare. The variation in individual behaviours, such as struggling during restraint and processing or foot stomping after, supports further investigation into specific welfare considerations of each handling method.