FIELD ASSESSMENT OF LAMB BEHAVIOR AFTER XYLAZINE HYDROCHLORIDE EPIDURAL INJECTION FOR CASTRATION USING RUBBER RINGS

Sacrococcygeal epidural xylazine injection at 0.015 or 0.03 mg/kg, dil uted with sterile water to 0.5 ml, produced a prolonged duration of mi ld to moderate pelvic limb ataxia without obvious analgesia, as define d by observed behavioral responses, after rubber ring castration of 6- week-old lambs. While it was possible to perform a large number of epi dural injections safely in a short period under field operating condit ions, there were no obvious animal welfare benefits. In addition pelvi c limb ataxia was still present 8 hours after epidural injection which rendered herding of the sheep to other pastures more difficult. No lo ng-term sequelae to epidural injection, such as spinal meningitis or a bscess formation, were recognized during the 4-month follow-up study.