Behavior and body temperature alterations in piglets anesthetized for castration during a four-hour recovery phase

Abstract One way to eliminate pain during surgical castration is to provide general anesthesia by intramuscular injection. However, its disadvantage is the long recovery phase, during which anesthetized piglets have to be separated from the sow and managed appropriately. In this study, rectal temperatures, respiration rate, soiling and behavior changes were monitored in 119 piglets for 4 h after the intramuscularly administration of a ketamine-azaperone-mixture for general anesthesia and castration. The study aimed to identify the least distressing form of separation. For this, different types of separation containers, farm equipment and heat sources were used in 3 individual trials during separation of piglets. Over the course of the recovery period, body temperatures and behaviors of piglets underwent significant alterations. The temperature span was largest after 2 h in all trials (35.0–42.6 °C). Rectal temperatures were influenced by the kind of separation, heat provision, and age: Piglets separated in boxes were warmer than piglets separated in crate corners (P = 0.0016). Non-warmed piglets had lower temperatures than fully (P