Dairy Calf Behaviors After Caustic Paste Disbudding, 3 and 6 Weeks Post-Procedure

Behavioral data from 33 Jersey and Holstein female calves observed 3 and 6 weeks after caustic paste disbudding or a sham procedure. The dataset includes frequencies and durations for ten specific behaviors, such as ear flicks, head shakes, and lying patterns, measured from video recordings. It was published by Alycia M. Drwencke on figshare under a CC0 license in March 2026.

Use Cases

• Analyze long-term behavioral pain indicators in calves based on frequencies of ear flicks, head shakes, and tail flicks.
• Compare activity levels between disbudded and control calves based on transitions between lying and standing.
• Investigate the duration of pain-associated behaviors based on measures of grooming, ruminating, and non-nutritive oral manipulation.
• Model the efficacy of pain relief interventions for disbudding based on experimental conditions with and without local anesthetic.

Strengths

• Data is derived from a controlled experiment with 33 calves (18 treated, 15 control).
• Ten specific behaviors were measured, including both frequency and duration metrics.
• Observations were conducted at multiple time points (4 days, 3 weeks, and 6 weeks of age).

Limitations

• Row count and column-level documentation are unknown, requiring manual inspection after download.
• The dataset size is listed as 0.0 B, indicating a very limited scope.
• The analysis was limited to Baseline observations due to transient anesthetic effects, reducing the planned comparison.

Provenance

Source

figshare, authored by Alycia M. Drwencke.

Collection Method

Data collected from video recordings of calves in a controlled experimental setting.

Time Range

Observations conducted at 4 days, 3 weeks, and 6 weeks of age.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-22 06:37:43.

Geography

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