The economic impacts of calving interventions and effects of a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug on behaviour and physiological parameters of beef cows and calves assisted at calving
Date
2023-05-12
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Abstract
Cows and calves that have a difficult calving often experience negative consequences in their health and productivity, leading to economic losses for the producer. Knowing the economic impact of a difficult calving could impact the decisions that producers, veterinarians, and researchers make regarding the management of cow-calf pairs. Therefore, the aims of this thesis were to estimate the cost, revenue, and profit of assisted cows and calves in the western Canadian context and to study the impact on behaviour and physiology of using a pain mitigation strategy in cows and calves assisted at calving. Chapter 2 estimated the cost, revenue, and profit of assisted and unassisted calvings by using historical records from western Canada cow-calf operations. Cow-calf pairs assisted at calving had a higher cost and therefore lower profit than unassisted pairs. This suggests that producers should consider preventative management strategies to decrease the impact of this event. Chapter 3 investigated the effects of the use of a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug administered to cows and calves assisted at calving on physiological and behavioural changes related with pain and cow-calf bonding. Calves that received meloxicam displayed more play behaviour and were more active during the first 24 hours after birth than calves that received placebo. No other differences between treated and untreated cattle were observed. Beef calves assisted at calving may benefit from pain mitigation strategies after an assisted calving to decrease pain and inflammation. With this information producers, veterinarians, and researchers can make informed, economic decisions to increase the health and productivity and improve the welfare of beef cows and calves.
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Keywords
beef cattle, assisted calving, economic model, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug, pain behaviour, cow-calf bonding
Citation
Lucio Rodriguez, C. (2023). The economic impacts of calving interventions and effects of a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug on behaviour and physiological parameters of beef cows and calves assisted at calving (Master's thesis, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada). Retrieved from https://prism.ucalgary.ca.