Recipient Organization
IOWA STATE UNIVERSITY
S. AND 16TH ELWOOD
AMES,IA 50011
Performing Department
VDPAM
Non Technical Summary
Animal welfare continues to be a priority for consumers, retailers and producers, with refinements to husbandry practices including handling and pain management. One unexplored area, particularly for beef cattle, is the care of compromised and non-performing (chronic) cattle. Calves placed in the hospital/chronic pen may experience challenges associated with changes in diet, disease exposure, mixing with new cattle and finding resources in unfamiliar environments. The overarching goal of this project is to investigate animal welfare and production outcomes of calves that are pulled from feedlot pens into chronic or hospital pens.In the absence of evidence-based protocols and guidance resources, we hypothesize that specificcattle welfare risks may be associated with hospital/chronic pens, such as stress associated with frequent mixing when individual cattle are moved into or out of pens, prolonged or recurrent disease exposure, undefined humane endpoints for euthanasia and handling of non-ambulatory cattle. Data can help determine likelihood of successful recovery when calves are placed in hospital/chronic pens. Our approach involves monitoring behavior and outcomes of chronic cattle to develop usable decision tools for the industry.At the conclusion of this project we expect to 1) characterize behavior of cattle in hospital/chronic pens, 2) determine animal-based outcomes associated with chronic cattle, 3) determine realistic benchmarks to improve welfare of compromised cattle, 4) develop guidelines and decision aid resources for compromised cattle. These outcomes will provide feedlot producers and veterinarians with evidence to inform husbandry protocols and to better determine the appropriate clinical decision for cattle in chronic pens.
Animal Health Component
50%
Research Effort Categories
Basic
50%
Applied
50%
Developmental
(N/A)
Goals / Objectives
Animal welfare continues to be a priority for consumers, retailers and producers, with refinements to husbandry practices including handling and pain management. One unexplored area, particularly for beef cattle, is the care of compromised and non-performing (chronic) cattle. Calves placed in the hospital/chronic pen may experience challenges associated with changes in diet, disease exposure, mixing with new cattle and finding resources in unfamiliar environments. The overarching goal of this project is to investigate animal welfare and production outcomes of calves that are pulled from feedlot pens into chronic or hospital pens.In the absence of evidence-based protocols and guidance resources, we hypothesize that specific cattle welfare risks may be associated with hospital/chronic pens, such as stress associated with frequent mixing when individual cattle are moved into or out of pens, prolonged or recurrent disease exposure, undefined humane endpoints for euthanasia and handling of non-ambulatory cattle. Data can help determine likelihood of successful recovery when calves are placed in hospital/chronic pens. Our approach involves monitoring behavior and outcomes of chronic cattle to develop usable decision tools for the industry.At the conclusion of this project we expect to 1) characterize behavior of cattle in hospital/chronic pens, 2) determine animal-based outcomes associated with chronic cattle, 3) determine realistic benchmarks to improve welfare of compromised cattle, 4) develop guidelines and decision aid resources for compromised cattle. These outcomes will provide feedlot producers and veterinarians with evidence to inform husbandry protocols and to better determine the appropriate clinical decision for cattle in chronic pens.
Project Methods
Objective 1: Retrospectively evaluate feedlot records of cattle placed in hospital/chronic pens in North American feedlotsExperimental design: Feedlot records over a 7-year period will be obtained via collaboration with 2-3 large veterinary herd health management practices overseeing a minimum of 17 feedlots (>7,000 head capacity/ lot). Regression analysis will be performed to describe the characteristics, management and outcomes of cattle placed in hospital/chronic pens. For all cattle placed in chronic and hospital pens, the following information will be recorded: date of entry into pen, location prior to entry (e.g. home pen, hospital pen, transport), date of exit from pen, location after exit (e.g. home pen, chronic pen, transport).(1a) Animal characteristics: Primary diagnosis reported at entry and exit will be broadly categorized as: musculoskeletal, respiratory, digestive, thin/poor doer, and other. When available, the following characteristics will be collected: animal ID, breed (beef or dairy), sex (steer or heifer), type of animal (fall placed calves, winter placed, yearling), source (ranch or auction), body weight (BW) at the time of diagnosis and exit from the pen, classified into one of three categories (130-325 kg, 326-499, or >500 kg), ADG, and days on feed (DOF).(1b) Disposition outcomes and economic loss: Disposition outcomes will be categorized as: recovered/returned to home pen, died, euthanized, harvested, railed, moved to chronic/hospital pen. Duration of time spent in the hospital/chronic pen will be calculated using dates of entry/exit. Costs associated with weight loss, DOF, drug costs, labor and death will be calculated for each disposition outcome and primary diagnosis compared to an average market price of healthy cattle within the same feedlot.(1c) Environmental and management factors: Type of pen (hospital, chronic or specialty), and medical treatments will be recorded and include: date of treatment, drug administered, dose, or other therapy. Dates of entry and exit will be used to identify season, categorized as spring (March 20th - June 20th), summer (June 21st - September 21st), fall (September 22nd - December 21st), or winter (December 22nd - March 19th).Objective 2: Prospectively evaluate the welfare of cattle placed in hospital/chronic pens in North American feedlots(2a) Where are the strengths and weaknesses in the care of cattle housed in hospital/chronic pens? Animal welfare assessments specific to care of compromised cattle will be performed at a minimum of 20 collaborating feed yards in the Midwest United States and Alberta, Canada. Site visits will be scheduled to capture periods of high and low pen occupancy and variations in seasonal conditions. A hospital/chronic pen assessment tool will be created. Observations will include animal-based measures and resource-based measures and management measures. Data will be collected specific to hospital/chronic pen design, protocols, timely euthanasia and caretaker training. Health records will be collected prospectively for 24 months.(2b) How are cattle housed in hospital/chronic pens utilizing the resources provided? Behavior observations of cattle housed in hospital/chronic pens will be performed on two collaborating feedlots in Iowa. Feedlots will be representative of typical outdoor earthen floor lots. Cattle will be individually marked using hair dye to aid identification in video recordings, and triaxial accelerometers will be attached to the hind leg of sentinel calves in each pen for collection of daily time budget data. This will allow us to correlate behavioral responses to the medical and performance records, track changes in behavior over time and compare detailed behavioral time budgets associated with the primary diagnosis.Objective 3 (Extension): To create extension tools for management of compromised cattle to train beef industry(3a) Identifying and caring for compromised beef cattleThe Caring for Compromised Cattle handbook will be updated to include information on identifying early stages of compromised cattle, benchmark parameters to evaluate, a decision aid to assist caretakers in determining disposition of chronic cattle, and guidelines on how compromised cattle can be cared for.(3b) Create a decision aid informed by the study results that impacts animal-based outcomes relevant to treatment and timely euthanasia decision making. The decision aid will help eliminate bias and allow for an objective and more consistent decision-making process.(3c) Design and maintenance of hospital/chronic pens to meet needs of this population. Information determined from the intensive behavior observations will be fundamental to producing recommendations on the design and maintenance of hospital/chronic pens beyond the general recommendations on pen and bunk space currently available.