Browsing by Author "Karakus, Murat"

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Can Infrared Thermography Be Used To Predict Ear Tags Infections in Lambs
(Univ Agricultural Sciences & veterinary Medicine Bucharest, 2015) Karakus, Ferda; Duzgun, Adem; Karakus, Murat; Aslan, Logman
Ear tagging is one of the common husbandry procedures that cause not only pain and stress but also tissue reaction and infection. Reliable and non-invasive tools are needed to determine the stress and/or pain resulting from routine husbandry procedures commonly performed in farms. Thermal imaging is a non-invasive diagnostic method used in veterinary medicine. The aim of the study was to determine the usability of infrared thermography in prediction of infections caused by electronic and visual ear tags in lambs. We hypothesized that reactive temperature increase within the first hour in the ear tissue in response to the ear tags would trigger the formation of infection. The study was carried out on Akkaraman lambs (n = 60) reared under rural farm conditions. All lambs at two weeks of age were identified with an electronic ear tag (FDX-B, Allflex) on the left ear and an official plastic ear tag on the right ear. Before tagging, infrared images of the ear region were collected at a consistent distance from the left ear of the animal using an infrared camera (FLIR E50) in the barn. Tag insertion was performed by two practitioners at the same time. An hour after tagging, the thermal measurements of both ears were carried out again with infrared camera. The ears of lambs were individually checked in the week after tagging. The status of ear lesions was monitored until healing (about 8 weeks). Before tagging, the average thermal temperature of the left ear was measured as 16.68 degrees C. Electronic ear tags caused more problems than official ear tags. Infected ear rate in electronic and official ear tags was 80% and 50% respectively. Significant temperature differences existed between infected and non-infected ears (P < 0.05). All ear tags that caused further increase in reactive temperature resulted in an inflammatory reaction. As a result, early detection of inflammation is very crucial in terms of implementation of treatment and animal welfare. Ear lesions caused by ear tags in lambs can be early identified using infrared thermography. The preliminary findings of this study should be supported in subsequent studies.
The Use of Infrared Thermography for Welfare Assessment During the Application of Ear Tags To Lambs
(Copernicus Gesellschaft Mbh, 2017) Karakus, Murat; Karakus, Ferda
The aim of this study was to determine the effect of metal-tipped, plastic-tipped, and electronic ear tags on the likelihood of infection using infrared thermography and to evaluate the effect on welfare by examining the behavioral responses of the lambs. Ninety lambs with an average age of 6 months were used in this study. Before the application of the ear tags, infrared images of the right and left ears of the lambs were taken with the thermal camera and the infrared temperatures were recorded. Measurements were repeated on days 1, 4, 10, and 30 after the ear tag application. The mean of infrared ear temperatures on days 0, 1, 4, 10, and 30 were found to be 14.60, 23.20, 23.77, 20.36, and 17.61 degrees C for the metal-tipped ear tag group; 15.69, 21.50, 20.42, 18.00, and 16.39 degrees C for the plastic-tipped ear tag group; and 15.17, 29.47, 27.49, 25.93, and 20.61 degrees C for the electronic ear tag group. The infrared temperatures on days 1, 4, and 10 in the control and experimental groups were significantly different from each other (P < 0.001). The plastic-tipped ear tags caused fewer problems and are preferred to the traditional ear tags with metal tips. The electronic ear tags caused more inflammatory reactions compared to metal-or plastic-tipped ear tags. The infrared thermography method may be used as a useful tool in the early detection of the inflammatory reactions and infections caused by the application of ear tags.