STRESS IN LAMBS (OVIS-ARIES) DURING A ROUTINE MANAGEMENT PROCEDURE - EVALUATION OF ACUTE AND CHRONIC RESPONSES

These experiments were performed to evaluate the acute and chronic str ess responses of lambs during a common, yet invasive management proced ure, tail docking (tail amputation). Tail docking had no effect on the average daily weight gain of lambs. Tail docking had a significant ac ute endocrine effect; cortisol levels were consistently higher in the docked animals (17.1 +/- 1.6 ng/ml) versus the control animals (7.4 +/ - 0.8 ng/ml). Chronically, cortisol levels were highest shortly after docking and returned to basal levels by 3 days after docking. These da ta indicate that tail docking elicits an immediate, but not sustained, stress response.