Date of Graduation

5-2025

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelor of Science in Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences

Degree Level

Undergraduate

Department

Animal Science

Advisor/Mentor

Weimer, Shawna

Committee Member

Kegley, Beth

Second Committee Member

Powell, Jeremy

Abstract

Stocker cattle purchased at auction can be susceptible to disease due to the stressors associated with the auction process. These cattle are labeled “high-risk” due to their compromised immune system during transportation, handling, and vaccination processes. The objective of this study was to determine the efficacy of a maternal bovine appeasing substance, FerAppease, on growth performance and behavior of stocker cattle. Male beef calves (n=80) were purchased at auction and transported to the University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture Savoy Research Complex Beef Stocker Unit. Steers and bulls were of varying age, breed, and temperament. Upon arrival to the facility (day 0), bulls (n = 48) were castrated by banding and cattle were assigned to 8 pens (n = 10 calves/pen; 6 bulls and 4 steers/pen). On day 0, cattle in 4 pens were treated with FerAppease (FA) on the nuchal skin (n = 40) and cattle in the other 4 pens were not treated and served as controls (CON, n = 40). All cattle received commercial clostridial and respiratory vaccines and were treated with an anthelmintic. Cattle were offered bermudagrass hay for ad libitum intake and were fed a grain supplement (1.8 kg/day) to meet or exceed nutrient requirements. During the trial, 1 calf was removed on day 3 for a total of 79 calves (n = 33 steers and 46 bulls). To measure growth performance, body weight (BW) was recorded on days 0, 3, 14, 28, 41, and 42 of the study and used to calculate average daily gain (ADG). Days 41 and 42 BW were averaged to calculate final BW. To measure behavior, exit chute velocity (ECV) was measured with an electric timing system and recorded on days 3, 14, 28, 41, and 42. Accelerometers were attached to the left pastern of 16 calves (n=1 steer and 1 bull per pen) for 8 days, and the mean number of bouts and time spent lying with leg out, lying on the sternum, and standing were analyzed. A patch of hair above the tail was collected from 40 calves (n=5 calves/pen) on days 0 and 42, and cortisol was measured using radioimmunoassay. To measure inflammation, blood was drawn from 5 calves/pen (n = 3) bulls and 2 steers/pen) on days 0, 3, 28 and 42 and haptoglobin was measured in blood serum. Serum haptoglobin was log-transformed to improve normality and model fit. Linear mixed effects models in R were used to analyze data for the effects of treatment and day, with pen as a random effect. The Cox Hazard Ratio determined the probability of antibiotic treatment for BRD. There was no treatment effect on any of the measures collected. However, CON bulls were at greater (P = 0.05) risk of BRD morbidity by the end of the trial (63%) compared to other groups (41% FA bulls, 6% CON steers, and 30% FA steers). Overall, the results from this study indicate that there could have been some effect of the treatment through a reduction in morbidity.

Keywords

FerAppease; Maternal Bovine Appeasing Substance; Stocker Cattle; Animal Welfare; Bovine Respiratory Disease

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