To determine the effects of castration of calves, with or without local anesthesia, on plasma cortisol, scrotal circumference, ADG, and ADFI, 56 Friesian bulls (5.5 mo of age; mean +/- SE BW = 173 +/- 2 kg) were randomly assigned to each of seven treatments: 1) control (CON); 2) s.c. injection of .1 mg of a human serum albumin-GnRH conjugate with DEAE-dextran adjuvant (HSA-GnRH); 3) burdizzo ca...

European legislation states that after stunning regular checks should be performed to guarantee animals are unconscious between the end of the stunning process and death. When animals are killed without prior stunning these checks should be performed before the animal is released from restraint. The validity of certain indicators used to assess unconsciousness under different stunning and slaug...

Failure of passive transfer of immunity (FPT) in dairy replacement calves has been linked to increased neonatal morbidity and mortality and long-term decreases in productivity. The purpose of this study was to estimate the prevalence of FPT in US dairy heifer calves in 2007 and to use nationally representative data to investigate associations of FPT with colostrum and calf management practices....

The cross-reactivity of mycobacterial antigens in immune-based diagnostic assays has been a major concern and a criticism of the current tests that are used for the detection of paratuberculosis. In the present study, Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis recombinant proteins were evaluated for antigenic specificity compared to a whole-cell sonicate preparation (MPS). Measures of cell-med...

Introduction Respiratory disorders are usually considered as a major health issue in cattle, particularly in young calves [1, 8, 13]. Among the great number of viruses and bacteria potentially involved, the Bovine Respiratory Syncytial Virus (BRSV) appears to be the most common and significant aetiological agent of respiratory disorders [8, 9, 13]. Oubreaks of BRSV infection mostly occur in non...

the objective of this study was to determine the effects of supplemented selenium (se) on plasma cortisol, red blood cell glutathione peroxidase activity (rbc gsh-px-1), concentration of immunoglobulin g (igg) and body weight in pneumonic suckling calves. ten holstein suckling male calves were randomly allocated to two groups and fed either unsupplemented milk (control) or with milk supplemente...

The influence of supplemental phenothiazine (P) on growth and physiological criteria was studied in parasite-controlled calves consuming endophyte (Acremonium coenophialum)-infected tall fescue (TF). In Exp. 1, nine Angus heifer calves (312 kg) were supplemented with 227 g corn-mineral (CM) mix twice daily and allowed ad libitum access to either high-endophyte (HE) G1-307 (greater than 90% infe...

the pharmacokinetic parameters of ceftazidime, a third generation cephalosporin, were investigated in six buffalo calves after single intravenous (iv) and intramuscular (im) administration at a dose rate of 10 mg/kg body weight. ceftazidime concentrations in plasma and urine were determined by microbiological assay. ceftazidime disposition was best fitted by a two-compartmental and a one-compar...

The present study was conducted to determine the optimum age of Holstein dairy calves for an effective inclusion of alfalfa hay (AH) in starter feed on performance, apparent digestibility and feeding behavior. A total of 40 Holstein dairy calves (20 female and 20 male) were used in a completely randomized design in which calves were randomly assigned to one of four different dietary treatments ...

Colostral antibodies to B. besnoiti were detected by immunofluorescence in four calves born to two Besnoitia-infected dams, with titres ranging from 1:64 to 1:1024. A specific antibody titre of 1:1024 was found in colostrum collected from one of the dams. Two of the newborn calves, when sampled immediately after birth, were serologically negative to B. besnoiti, but became positive on the next ...