Feeding behavior and activity levels are associated with recovery status in dairy calves treated with antimicrobials for Bovine Respiratory Disease

Abstract

Calves with Bovine Respiratory Disease (BRD) have different feeding behavior and activity levels prior to BRD diagnosis when compared to healthy calves, but it is unknown if calves who relapse from their initial BRD diagnosis are behaviorally different from calves who recover. Using precision technologies, we aimed to identify associations of feeding behavior and activity with recovery status in dairy calves (recovered or relapsed) over the 10 days after first antimicrobial treatment for BRD. Dairy calves were health scored daily for a BRD bout (using a standard respiratory scoring system and lung ultrasonography) and received antimicrobial therapy (enrofloxacin) on day 0 of initial BRD diagnosis; 10–14 days later, recovery status was scored as either recovered or relapsed (n = 19 each). Feeding behaviors and activity were monitored using automated feeders and pedometers. Over the 10 days post-treatment, recovered calves showed improvements in starter intake and were generally more active, while relapsed calves showed sickness behaviors, including depressed feed intake, and longer lying times. These results suggest there is a new potential for precision technology devices on farms in evaluating recovery status of dairy calves that are recently treated for BRD; there is opportunity to automatically identify relapsing calves before re-emergence of clinical disease.

Familiarity, age, weaning and health status impact social proximity networks in dairy calves

“…Eigenvector centrality represent the importance of the animal within the group 16 and as such it might require high levels of energy to maintain. Sick calves affected by bovine respiratory disease (BRD) have lower feed consumption 53 (energy intakes), hence by reducing their eigenvector centrality animals might be adopting a strategy to maintain their energy balance during periods of illness 54 . Lower association strength and eigenvector centrality during sickness have been shown in other species 36 .…”

Strategies for Bovine Respiratory Disease (BRD) Diagnosis and Prognosis: A Comprehensive Overview

“…Further research assessed the relationship between feeding behavior, activity levels, and recovery in dairy calves treated for BRD [116]. Over a 10-day observation period posttreatment, calves that recovered demonstrated increased starter feed intake and heightened activity compared to those that relapsed, which displayed reduced feeding and extended periods of lying down.…”

Determination of Behavioral Changes Associated with Bovine Respiratory Disease in Australian Feedlots

“…Although the day-to-day routines and life of dairy and beef cattle differ greatly, there are common behavioral measures that may be useful in the diagnosis of disease in both types of animals. Physical activity (distance traveled or steps taken/lying time), feeding and watering behaviors, and social behaviors have all been suggested as potential indicators of cattle health status in both dairy and beef cattle [8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18]. Furthermore, these behavioral variables have been directly linked to predicting BRD [8,9,11,[19][20][21].…”

“…Physical activity (distance traveled or steps taken/lying time), feeding and watering behaviors, and social behaviors have all been suggested as potential indicators of cattle health status in both dairy and beef cattle [8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18]. Furthermore, these behavioral variables have been directly linked to predicting BRD [8,9,11,[19][20][21]. Previous evaluations of behavioral monitoring have illustrated the ability to find BRD cases prior to visual observation with greater accuracy, which may influence treatment success [22][23][24][25].…”