I often get a call from farmers wondering about pain killers for cattle or sheep. I would recommend giving an anti-inflammatory (AI) injection and they would respond by saying, “No, I would prefer a pain killer”.

There can be some confusion about the differences between the two. I often then explain to them that anti-inflamatorries are pain killers. Pain is basically a reaction to any inflammation whether recent (acute) like a hard calving or longstanding (chronic) like an old injury.

Farmers are very good at knowing when the animals on their farms are in pain. However, we still tend to underuse anti-inflammatories when we may also be guilty of overusing antibiotics.

Pain relief for calving

Recently I performed an embryotomy on a calf (a dismemberment of the foetus in the uterus when delivery by natural birth is impossible) and this was obviously a case where using some form of pain relief was imperative. However, there are other areas where I think that more AIs could be used and these areas are in calvings and lambings.

Too often we use antibiotics after calvings when an AI injection would be just effective. This is very much a personal preference, but I think that especially in big Holstein dairy cows you want them to start eating again as soon as possible to avoid complications like LDAs or ketosis. By giving these dairy cows pain relief they will exhibit normal behaviour quicker.

I also believe that, once the calving technique was reasonably sterile, this pain relief helps with the natural process of involution. This means the cow will clean and return to normal uterine function quicker on her own. Obviously where dead calves or abortions are involved I use antibiotics routinely as well.

I often find that giving pain relief to suckler cows results in them taking up with the calf better and leaves them pain free to get on with their mothering job. Obviously there are arguments to be made for applying AIs for other conditions but birthing is one area I’m focusing on. In human medicine women are routinely only administered pain relief after giving birth.

Pain relief at lambing

Another animal I think that benefits from AI is the ewe after a difficult or assisted lambing.

One thing that will stop a ewe eating is pain; sheep are more sensitive to cattle when it comes to pain in my opinion. This time of year we do lots of difficult lambings, especially with dead lambs that usually involve heavy pulls where a section is not an option due to sepsis.

In these cases I use an AI/antibiotic combination which greatly helps the chances of survival. After pain relief ewes in my opinion will eat quicker and take up with their lambs faster too.

Ultimately, it would be worthwhile for farmers to talk to their own vets about the different pain protocols around assisted or difficult lambings and calvings.