Effect of castration regimen on health, performance, and inflammation in beef cattle

Abstract

Castration is a common management procedure for bull calves, and it is routinely performed without analgesia. In the US, there is no approved medication for analgesia in cattle. However, meloxicam is an NSAID that is FDA-approved and prescribed for pain relief in other species, such as companion animals, but its use in food producing animals is extra-label. The study objective was to determine the effects of castration method (surgical vs banding) at feedlot arrival and efficacy of meloxicam administered concurrent to castration compared to a negative control (calves castrated near birth).