Effects of the administration of a bovine non-specific immune stimulant around transportation on health and performance of Jersey and Jerseycross heifer calves in the first 60 days of life
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.21423/aabppro20197253Keywords:
pre-weaned dairy calves, diarrhea, pneumonia, non-specific immune stimulant, transportationAbstract
Health and performance of pre-weaned dairy calves have great influence on adult life performance. Amongst the diseases that affect young dairy calves, diarrhea and pneumonia are the most prevalent and economically important. The main objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of a non-specific immune stimulant (IS; Amplimune, NovaVive, Inc., Canada), administered around transportation, on the health and performance of Jersey and Jersey-cross heifer calves during the first 60 days of life. We hypothesized that calves receiving IS would have decreased disease treatment hazard, lower weekly health scores (HS), decreased mortality, and superior performance.