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This data provides some insight into the epidemiology of Neospora seropositivity in Ontario dairy herds. In addition, it appears that cows infected with Neospora caninum based on serology have an increased risk for retained placenta at calving., American Association of Bovine Practitioners Proceedings of the Annual Conference, 1999

Neospora caninum is a protozoan parasite that is an important cause of abortion in cattle. To determine the economic impact of N. caninum on the dairy industry it is necessary to consider both the direct effect of infection, such as abortion, and potential indirect effects such as altered milk production, reproductive performance and culling. One study involving a large California dairy herd showed that seropositive first lactation cows are at greater risk of being culled than seronegative first lactation cows. However, it is unclear whether this increased risk of culling applies to all parity groups and all dairy herds with seropositive animals. The objective of the present study was to determine if N. caninum serological status in Ontario Holsteins is associated with time until culling and risk of being culled., American Association of Bovine Practitioners Proceedings of the Annual Conference, 2001

When sampling cows to monitoring NEB in the peripartum, there is twice the probability of detecting animals with values ~0.4 mmol/L if they are sampled one hour before the first feed offer., American Association of Bovine Practitioners Proceedings of the Annual Conference, 2006

There is growing concern about the level of antimicrobial use and antimicrobial resistance in food producing animals. An area of opportunity to reduce antimicrobial use could be in the treatment of young calves during the first week following arrival at calf rearing facilities. Group metaphylaxis is common due to the unknown age and history of calves that undergo several stressful events prior to arrival, such as transportation, co-mingling and variable periods of fasting. It may be possible to reduce antimicrobial use at this stage in the production cycle without sacrificing animal health and welfare if the calves at highest risk of morbidity and mortality could be identified and treated in a highly selective manner. Recent studies have identified indicators of future risk for morbidity and mortality that can be measured at arrival such as biomarkers and physical exam factors. Bovine haematology, when used in conjunction with clinical examination findings, could be used to improve disease diagnosis. The objective of this study was to assess the utility of leukocyte differential cell counts taken at the time of arrival at a calf rearing facility and 72 hours post arrival for determining mortality risk during the production cycle., American Association of Bovine Practitioners Proceedings of the Annual Conference, 2019

Dairy producers disbudding calves with caustic paste are less likely to provide pain control than those using cautery. Little research has been conducted on pain control for this method and no studies have speifically examined calves under a week of age although producers will commonly apply this product at this time. The objective of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of local anesthesia and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) analgesia in very young dairy calves disbudded with caustic paste., American Association of Bovine Practitioners Proceedings of the Annual Conference, 2019

Disbudding is a common management procedure performed on dairy farms and, when done without pain mitigation, is viewed as a key welfare issue. Use of pain control has increased in recent years, but full adoption of anesthesia and analgesia by veterinarians or dairy producers has not been achieved. Part of the gap between primary research and application in the dairy industry may be driven by the lack of a consistent set of recommendations from primary research papers. Likewise, narrative reviews typically do not include evidence-based methods to identify, assess, and synthesize results; as a result, conclusions may suffer from bias. Conversely, properly conducted systematic reviews offer a more robust and transparent methodology to identify, evaluate, and summarize evidence on a given topic. Meta-analysis also allow for synthesis of overall effects as well as identification and exploration of causes of heterogeneity among studies, possibly identifying sources of variability that may be further examined or used to guide inferences of the robustness of the observed effects across different study designs or settings. The objective of this systematic review was to examine the effects of these pain control practices for the most common method of disbudding (cautery) on outcomes associated with disbudding pain in calves., American Association of Bovine Practitioners Proceedings of the Annual Conference, 2018

Care and management of dairy heifer calves early in life has substantial short- and long-term impacts, from affecting calf morbidity and mortality rates to future milk production. In the past decade, substantial changes have occurred in the way dairy heifer calves are managed. Animal welfare standards have also changed globally. While there is some evidence that the use of pain control for disbudding has increased in the province of Ontario in recent years, no national data have been collected regarding this practice. Other early life heifer calf management practices, as well as morbidity and mortality rates, have not been described at the Canadian national level. In this regard, the objectives of this study, part of phase I of the 2015 Canadian National Dairy Study, were to examine heifer calf health, adoption of rearing practices, and explore factors associated with different rearing strategies on Canadian dairy farms., American Association of Bovine Practitioners Proceedings of the Annual Conference, 2018

The veal and dairy beef industries experience high levels of morbidity and mortality during the growing period impacting calf welfare and economic sustainability. A large proportion of calves arrive into these industries with identifiable health abnormalities and, in consequence, calves are at highest risk of mortality in their first few weeks after arrival. A conventional method for addressing this high-risk period is the use of group antimicrobial therapy during their first week in the facility. However, in light of growing concerns for the development of bacterial antimicrobial resistance (AMR), targeted strategies for antimicrobial use (AMU) in this high-risk period are being investigated. Selective antimicrobial treatment of only those calves identified as high risk can be used to reduce overall AMU and therefore reduce the selective pressures that confer AMR. The objective of this study was to compare morbidity and mortality for calves in the first 2 weeks at a dairy beef facility between groups receiving conventional group antimicrobial therapy (CT) and those receiving selective antimicrobial therapy (ST) at arrival., American Association of Bovine Practitioners Proceedings of the Annual Conference, 2018

The objective of this retrospective case-control study was to determine if recorded on-arrival information from a large white veal farm could be used as predictors of mortality. If associations between on-arrival data and mortality existed, it was hoped this information could be used to better classify, group, and treat calves on arrival, and to gain insight into the characteristics of highest- and lowest-risk calves., American Association of Bovine Practitioners Proceedings of the Annual Conference, 2016

Colostrum feeding is an integral component of neonatal calf care with many effects on calf health and productivity, yet failure of passive transfer remains common on many dairy farms. A sufficient quantity and quality colostrum must be fed quickly to the newborn calf while minimizing bacterial contamination. Colostrum with a total bacteria count (TBC) >100,000 cfu/ml may impair IgG absorption and contribute to disease. Adenosine triphosphate ATP bioluminescence swabs offer a potential rapid calf-side alternative to traditional bacterial culture. The reagents in the swabs produce a light-generating reaction when in contact with bacterial ade¬ nosine triphosphate, which is quantified in relative light units (RLU) with a luminometer. The objective of this study was to validate the HygienaTM AquaSnap (AS), SuperSnap(SS), PRO-Clean (PC) and MicroSnap (MS) swabs as well as visual hygiene assessment for detection of elevated bacterial counts in or on colostrum-feeding equipment., American Association of Bovine Practitioners Proceedings of the Annual Conference, 2017

The veal industry continues to have significant calf losses during the growing period representing a serious challenge to animal welfare and economic sustainability. As the majority of the mortality occurs in the first 21 days following arrival to veal farms, on arrival health status may be an important predictor of calf mortality. The objectives of this prospective case-control study were to describe the health status of male calves arriving at a veal farm and determine the risk factors associated with mortality in the first 21 days following arrival., American Association of Bovine Practitioners Proceedings of the Annual Conference, 2017

Caustic paste disbudding is becoming more common-place in North America. A large body of work has examined pain control for cautery disbudding and surgical dehorning, but fewer studies have evaluated pain control for caustic paste disbudding, and results conflict regarding benefits of local anesthesia. In humans, the pain associated with a caustic, chemical burn can differ in nature, duration, and intensity compared to a thermal burn. The objective of this clinical trial was to evaluate the effects of either a lidocaine cornual nerve block or a topical anesthetic incorporated into caustic paste on the acute pain of caustic paste disbudding., American Association of Bovine Practitioners Proceedings of the Annual Conference, 2017

The use of pain control for disbudding and dehorning is important from both an animal- and industry-centered perspective. Best practices include the use of local anesthetic, commonly given as a cornual nerve block, and a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID). Approximately 40% of Canadian dairy producers do not use local anesthesia, perhaps in part due to lack of knowledge regarding cornual nerve block technique. Although this skill is typically learned in person from a veterinarian, alternative or adjunct methods may be useful for hard to reach producers. The objective of this trial was to determine if there were differences in the efficacy of online training, hands-on training, and a combined approach for teaching producers to successfully administer a cornual nerve block and disbud a calf less than 12 weeks of age., American Association of Bovine Practitioners Proceedings of the Annual Conference, 2017

A large-scale observational study was conducted to estimate the within-herd prevalence and cow-level risk factors for ketosis in dairy cattle in herds that participate in a dairy herd improvement association (DHIA) program in Ontario, Canada., American Association of Bovine Practitioners Proceedings of the Annual Conference, 2016

Although disbudding or dehorning dairy heifers is necessary for the safety of humans and other cattle, it has been identified as a key animal welfare issue when done without appropriate analgesia. Three-quarters of all disbudding or dehorning is done by dairy producers or on-farm staff, while the remainder is done by a veterinarian or veterinary technician. Reported use of pain control for these procedures by dairy producers ranges from 15 to 60%. Cautery disbudding is the most commonly used method; best practices include administration of a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) as well as local anesthetic given as a cornual nerve block (CNB). While NSAID administration is uncomplicated, CNB application requires technical training, which may limit use. Teaching methods have traditionally focused on one-on-one training with a veterinarian, although online disbudding training videos exist. To our knowledge, neither method has been studied for efficacy. Our objective was to determine if an online, interactive module could teach naive participants cautery disbudding technique, including CNB, as compared to hands-on training., American Association of Bovine Practitioners Proceedings of the Annual Conference, 2016