To Dock or Not to Dock....

At a herd check this week, I was asked to remove a tail that was severely infected. By the looks of it, this heifer must have had the tail stepped on by another heifer in the pen, or got it stuck in something causing injury, which led to a nasty infection.  Removing the tail is a pretty simple procedure so I thought I would use this case as a platform to discuss a bit more of a controversial topic; tail docking.

The spinal cord as it tapers down to the tail. 4 is the site where an epidural is given.

So let’s start with the heifer from herd check. The heifer was sedated and given an epidural so she had no feeling in her tail. The tail actually is made up of the caudal vertebrae, and cows have anywhere from 18-20 of these vertebrae in the tail.  The spinal cord does not actually go down into the tail, but rather stops at, or just before the sacrum, or the “tail head.” There are nerves that do come off the end of the spinal cord and continue down the length of the tail, as well as a vein and artery that run down the center of the tail.

Once the epidural had taken effect, I had to locate the space between two vertebrae, far enough up the tail to be away from the site of injury and infection. The tail was clipped and scrubbed. I then made a “V” shaped incision on the skin of the tail, both top side and bottom side, so that I had a “flap” left to cover the nub when I was done. I then again found my intervertebral space and cut through that space with the scalpel.  As I mentioned earlier there is a vein and artery that run on the underside of the tail. When I was at the point of incising through these two vessels, I had to use a clamp to stop the bleeding. Because the vein and artery are tiny enough, and access to them is limited based on the surgery site and position, I left the clamp on them while I started suturing the skin closed.  The flaps of skin closed nicely and the vein and artery had stopped bleeding by the time I removed the clamp. The sutures dissolve, so she does not have to have me mess with her again. She was put on a course of antibiotics to cover any of the infection that may have ascended further up the tail than I was aware of.  

The tail injury.  Removed at point where hand is currently.

Making the incision.

Cutting between the vertebrae.

The tail after the injured portion has been removed, prior to suturing closed.

Suturing closed.

The final product.

So, was what I did inhumane??? Well, no, I don’t think so in this case. She had a severe injury, the flies were making a meal of the wound, and it was a painful injury. She may have a shorter tail now, but she is much better off than she would have been had I not removed it.

What about farms that dock tails as a routine procedure?  In lambs and kids (goat kids, not humans) tails are docked to prevent fly strike. In piglets, tails are docked to prevent tail chewing and cannibalism. Why do we dock tails in cows? Same as in lambs, kids and piglets, it’s a management decision. 

There is one train of thought that docked tails keep cows cleaner when they are housed in a freestall OR tie stall barn.  It is thought that cows that have tails, lay those tails in the alleyway or in the gutter, get them covered in manure and urine, and as they are swatting flies, cover themselves in that manure and urine, starting a vicious circle of fly annoyance and uncleanliness. It is also believed that cows with tails make their udder dirty therefore risking unclean teats, milk, and mastitis. You may also hear of farmers complaining of being hit in the face with the tails as they are milking cows. So, these farmers dock the tails.

The other school of thought is that the tails serve a purpose (fly control, social signals, etc.) and that they should “keep what the good Lord gave them” as an old farmer I know, likes to say. Well, these farmers don’t dock tails. 

What does science say? Well several studies have been done and have shown that there is absolutely NO DIFFERENCE whether a cow has a tail or does not have a tail, on her overall cleanliness.  Cows are dirty if their environment is dirty. Cows are clean when their environment is clean. Easy as that. If a cow is an "alley layer" as we call those that refuse to use the stalls, it's not going to matter if she has a tail or not, she will be filthy. However, the majority of cows prefer to be clean and dry and will make an effort to find a place to rest that is clean and dry. Again, a clean environment = clean cows.

Wisconsin Tail Docking Study 

University of British Columbia Tail Docking Study 

As a veterinarian, my stance is this: if you have adequate fly control for animals, then I see no issue in docking tails. I have been hit in the face with a dirty tail, and it isn't pleasant. My mom almost lost her sight in one eye after getting swatted in the face with a dirty tail. I can see both sides of the story, but have caveats with each. Again, it's my stance, not that of all veterinarians, but that's the luxury of this being my blog.... :-)

When tail docking is done as young calves (<1-2wks old), it has been shown that there is no increase in cortisol levels (stress hormone) of calves that are docked.  If tail docking isn’t done until they are older, then I do feel it is appropriate to give them pain control prior to tail docking.
 Behavioral and Physiological Effects of Tail Docking
AVMA Stance on Tail Docking 

If you are not going to provide good fly control, (fans, fly spray, dust bags) then leave the tails alone. If cows are bothered by flies and have no fly control, you are actually decreasing daily production by 10-30%. Think of how annoyed you are when you have flies bugging you.  Cows are usually dealing with many more flies and are therefore not eating, not resting and not making milk. Provide adequate fly control or leave the tails alone.