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Dairy Cow Mutilations & Amputations

The most common amputations performed on dairy cows are disbudding, dehorning, teat removal, tail docking, and for some male calves, castration.[1]

 

  1. USDA (2018) Dairy 2014: Health and Management Practices on U.S. Dairy Operations, Report 3, pp. 62-78.

The terms disbudding and dehorning are often used interchangeably, but they have different meanings. “Disbudding is used to mean the prevention of horn growth before it has become advanced, and dehorning means the amputation of horns at any stage after their growth has progressed beyond the early budding stage.”[1]

Disbudding is routinely performed on dairy calves. It is a method of removing horns in calves up to 6-8 weeks old before the horn buds attach to the skull. In the dairy industry there are two primary methods: (a) use of a hot iron (cautery disbudding) “placed against the horn bud and rotated for sufficient time to destroy the horn bud germinal tissue,” or (b) application of a caustic chemical paste such as potassium hydroxide rubbed onto the horn bud, usually used on calves within 2 or 3 weeks of birth.[2-4] Most dairy operations use the hot iron method.[5]

Dehorning is the amputation of horns using any of a variety of tools, including saws, wire, guillotine shears, and scoops.[6] This method is far less common since most dairy calves are disbudded at an early age.[7]

Although there are no regulatory requirements, pain control is considered the standard of care when disbudding or dehorning dairy calves, according to the American Association of Bovine Practitioners (AABP) and the Farmers Assuring Responsible Management (FARM) Animal Care program (98% of U.S. dairy farms participating).[8]

 

  1. Temple Grandin (ed.) (2021) Painful Husbandry Procedures in Livestock and Poultry. In Improving animal welfare: a practical approach, 3rd ed., CAB International, Boston, MA, p. 199.
  2. USDA (2018) Dairy 2014: Health and Management Practices on U.S. Dairy Operations, Report 3, p. 62-66.
  3. Temple Grandin (ed.) (2021), pp. 199-203.
  4. Univ. of Wisconsin-Madison Extension (November 10, 2020) Disbudding and dehorning considerations Factsheet. https://animalwelfare.cals.wisc.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/243/2020/11/07-Disbudding-and-dehorning-considerations.pdf
  5. USDA (2018) Dairy 2014, p. 64.
  6. Temple Grandin (ed.) (2021), pp. 203-204.
  7. USDA (2018) Dairy 2014, p. 66.
  8. Sandra Stuttgen & Jennifer Van Os, (2020) Disbudding and dehorning considerations, Univ of Wisconsin-Madison Ext., Department of Animal & Dairy Sciences. https://animalwelfare.cals.wisc.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/243/2020/11/07-Disbudding-and-dehorning-considerations.pdf

The great majority of female dairy cows are disbudded or dehorned. Though we don’t have a recent credible statistic, the figure is probably upwards of 90%.[1] Commercial dairy operations do not want to risk the injuries that can stem from horned cows in close quarters.

According to the 2014 USDA Dairy NAHMS report, ~94% of surveyed dairy producers disbudded heifer (female) calves, and the producers that did not, likely sold their very young calves to an operation that would subsequently disbud or dehorn them.[2] A significant percentage of bull (male) dairy calves have their horns removed, including those raised for beef or veal.[3]

Unlike beef cattle, most dairy cattle are not genetically altered to grow without horns.[4,5]

 

  1. Shivley, C.B. et al., (2019). Management of preweaned bull calves on dairy operations in the United States. Journal of Dairy Science, 102(5), 4489–4497. [“Dehorning is routinely performed on dairy calves.” at p. 4489. “Of the 42 operations, 21.4% dehorned bull calves and 90.5% dehorned heifer calves.” at p. 4492]
  2. USDA (2018) Dairy 2014: Health and Management Practices on U.S. Dairy Operations, Report 3, p. 63.
  3. Shivley, C. B. et al., (2019), p. 4494.
  4. Thompson, N. M. et al., (2017). Economic considerations of breeding for polled dairy cows versus dehorning in the United States. Journal of dairy science, 100(6), 4941-4952, p. 4942. [“… intense selection for production attributes in the dairy industry has suppressed polledness (lack of horns) in the population, making polled sires rare and often inferior in terms of production relative to their horned counterparts.”]
  5. Temple Grandin (ed.) (2021) Painful Husbandry Procedures in Livestock and Poultry. In Improving animal welfare: a practical approach, 3rd ed., CAB International, Boston, MA, p. 201. [“At present, the common dairy breeds, Friesian and Jersey, are horned.”]

It depends on the method used. According to the USDA Dairy 2014 report, on average, operations used hot-iron disbudding on heifer calves when they were 7.1 weeks of age. The caustic paste method was used when calves averaged 2.3 weeks of age.[1]

A separate survey of over 200 Wisconsin dairy producers found that hot-iron disbudding was commonly performed at 4-8 weeks of age (41% of operators) or 1-4 weeks of age (33%). Of those operations that applied caustic paste, most applied it on the day the calf was born.[2]

The Farmers Assuring Responsible Management (FARM v. 4.0) program requires that disbudding be performed before 8 weeks of age and that caustic paste be applied within the first “few days of life.” According to the National Milk Producers Federation which oversees the program, more than 98% of the U.S. milk supply comes from participating farms.[3]

 

  1. USDA (2018) Dairy 2014: Health and Management Practices on U.S. Dairy Operations, Report 3, p. 66.
  2. Saraceni, J. et al., (2021). Disbudding and dehorning practices for preweaned dairy calves by farmers in Wisconsin, USA. Journal of Dairy Science, 104(11), 11995–12008. 
  3. Farmers Assuring Responsible Management (FARM) (2020) National Milk Producers Federation, Animal Care Reference Manual Version 4 2020-2022, p. 5, and 68. 

It is not uncommon for heifers to be born with supernumerary teats. Most of these “extra” teats are not capable of producing milk. It is routine for dairy cows to undergo “extra teat removal.” The industry rationale is that the proximity of an extra teat to a fully functioning teat can prevent milking machines from forming a proper seal, and they increase the likelihood of mastitis.[1,2]

The amputation is performed by cutting off the teat with a knife or scissors.[3] One veterinary site suggests that if the procedure is done on heifers before breeding (around 15 months of age), no anesthesia is required. On an older cow, sutures might be required.[4]

The USDA Dairy 2014 survey reported that about 11% of operations gave heifer calves analgesics or used anesthesia when removing extra teats. In large dairy operations (500 or more cows) about 5% gave calves pain relief.[5]

 

  1. USDA (2018) Dairy 2014: Health and Management Practices on U.S. Dairy Operations, Report 3, p. 71.
  2. Dr. Colleen Lewis (December 14, 2016) Supernumerary Teas in Cattle and Goats, Heritage Animal Health, https://heritageanimalhealth.com/en/blog/post/supernumerary-teats-in-cattle-and-goats  
  3. Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service, Removing ‘Extra’ Teats, OSU Cooperative Extension Service, Div. of Agricultural Science and Natural Resources, No. 153.
    https://4h.okstate.edu/projects/animal-science-companion-animals/site-files/docs/dairy-files/removing-extra-teats.pdf
  4. Bovine Veterinarian (Jan. 3, 2023) 6 Common Teat Surgeries. https://www.bovinevetonline.com/news/veterinary-education/6-common-teat-surgeries 
  5. USDA (2018) Dairy 2014, p. 73.

We don’t have a current estimate for this. As of 2014, about 47% of dairy operations routinely performed this amputation. Of these, ~56% of operations had large herds (over 500).[1] 

 

  1. USDA (2018) Dairy 2014: Health and Management Practices on U.S. Dairy Operations, Report 3, p. 73.

The USDA recommends that extra teats should be amputated as soon as possible after birth.[1]

Overall, 44% of operations that routinely remove extra teats do so when the calves are less than 12 weeks old. Over 90% performed the amputation prior to 30 weeks of age.[2]

 

  1. USDA (2018) Dairy 2014: Health and Management Practices on U.S. Dairy Operations, Report 3, p. 72.
  2. USDA (2018) Dairy 2014, p. 72.

Tail docking is the amputation of 1/3 to 2/3 of the cow’s tail. The most common method is the use of a tight rubber ring applied to the tail to cut off blood supply.[1,2] “Docking has no beneficial effect on milk quality, udder cleanliness, or on the incidence of mastitis or leptospirosis” but is done to make access to the cow’s udder easier during milking.[3] 

 

  1. American Veterinary Medical Assoc. (2014) Welfare Implications of Tail Docking of Cattle: Literature Review. https://www.avma.org/resources-tools/literature-reviews/welfare-implications-tail-docking-cattle
  2. USDA (2018) Dairy 2014: Health and Management Practices on U.S. Dairy Operations, Report 3, p. 76. [97% of operations that docked tails used the band method.]
  3. Temple Grandin (ed.) (2021) Painful Husbandry Procedures in Livestock and Poultry. In Improving animal welfare: a practical approach, 3rd ed., CAB International, Boston, MA, p. 213.

As of 2013, about one third of cows in the U.S. had docked tails.[1] However, the practice has declined significantly since the National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF) called for the discontinuation of routine tail docking by January 1, 2017.[2] This ban does not have the force of government regulation, though a few states have banned the practice.[3]

Since “More than 98% of the U.S. milk supply comes from [NMPF] participating farms,” it is likely that most dairy operations have already or will soon stop the procedure.[4]

 

  1. USDA (2018) Dairy 2014: Health and Management Practices on U.S. Dairy Operations, Report 3, p. 74.
  2. National Dairy FARM Program (2020) Animal Care: Reference Manual Version 4 2020-2022, National Milk Producers Federation, p. 48. 
  3. USDA Economic Research Service (2022) State Policies for Farm Animal Welfare in Production Practices of U.S. Livestock and Poultry Industries: An Overview, Bulletin No. 245, p. 17.
  4. National Dairy FARM Program (2020), p. 5.

According to the USDA, “Dairy bull calves are commonly castrated because as steers they are generally less aggressive, smaller in stature, and produce superior meat.”[1] Dairy bull calves are typically raised for meat, most for beef and some for veal.[2]

It is difficult to track the movements and estimate the regularity of procedures done on dairy bull calves because they are often transported multiple times from dairy farm to auction house to calf-raising operation and finally to feedlot operation.[3-5] Male dairy calves leave the dairy farm usually within about one week of age.[6]

 

  1. USDA (2018) Dairy 2014: Health and Management Practices on U.S. Dairy Operations, Report 3, p. 77.
  2. Shivley, C.B. et al., (2019). Management of preweaned bull calves on dairy operations in the United States. Journal of Dairy Science, 102(5), 4489–4497, p. 4494.
  3. Shivley, C.B. et al., (2019), p. 4494.
  4. Western Institute for Food Safety and Security at Univ. of California – Davis and the U.S. FDA (2016) Food Animal Production Manual, p. 20. http://www.wifss.ucdavis.edu/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Food_Animal_Production_Complete_Manual.pdf
  5. Machado, V. S. & Ballou, M. A. (2022). Overview of common practices in calf raising facilities. Translational Animal Science, 6(1), p. 2. https://doi.org/10.1093/tas/txab234 [most bulls calves are raised in off-site calf raising facilities]
  6. Shivley, C.B. et al.,(2019), p. 4496. [“Most operations sold bull calves, and the calves left the operation within about 1 w of age.”]

Dairy cow identification is considered by producers to be critically important for economic purposes as well as for compliance with federal identification requirements.[1] Cows are identified in multiple ways with ear tags, branding, tattoos, electronic chips, leg bands and collars. They are identified by herd as well as by individual. Most cows have multiple types of identification permanently affixed, including official government-approved tags.[2]

In April 2024, the USDA finalized a rule that requires electronic ID (RIFD tags) to be used on dairy and beef cattle crossing state lines.[3]

 

  1. 88 Fed Reg 3320 (January 19, 2023) USDA APHIS, Use of Electronic Identification Eartags as Official Identification in Cattle and Bison, Proposed Rule. [“Eartags are an essential component for animal health officials to identify and track the movement of animals that are diseased or exposed to disease.”]
  2. USDA (2018) Dairy 2014: Health and Management Practices on U.S. Dairy Operations, Report 1, pp. 29-37.
  3. USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (April 26, 2024) APHIS Bolsters Animal Disease Traceability in the United States. https://www.aphis.usda.gov/news/agency-announcements/aphis-bolsters-animal-disease-traceability-united-states

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