Veterinarians' perspectives of pain, treatment, and diagnostics for bovine respiratory disease in preweaned dairy calves

Background

Bovine Respiratory Disease (BRD) is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in preweaned dairy calves. Early detection and therefore treatment are essential to minimize animal welfare concerns, particularly given that recent research also demonstrates that BRD is painful. Veterinarians are essential to ensuring calves with BRD receive appropriate treatment, but little to no research exists regarding veterinarians' perspectives about BRD detection and treatment in dairy calves. This is a critical step to determine education and outreach needs that can target BRD treatment to improve calf welfare. Thus, the objectives of the current study were to describe US veterinarians' current detection methods and treatment practices for BRD in preweaned dairy calves, understand veterinarians' rationale for treatment decisions, and identify gaps in knowledge regarding treatment and management of calf BRD.

Methods

An online survey was sent to two veterinarian-focused list-serves and newsletter. Final responses (n = 47) were analyzed using qualitative and quantitative analyses.

Results

On-farm necropsy was the diagnostic tool most considered "extremely important" (26, 55.3%). All veterinarians indicated that BRD was at least mildly painful. However, only 53% of veterinarians (n = 25) assess pain in preweaned calves with BRD in order to make treatment decisions. Furthermore, of the veterinarians that assessed pain, 40% (n = 10) reported that their knowledge of pain assessment and treatment was adequate, but most (n = 24) considered a calf's pain-level at least "moderately important" to make BRD treatment decisions. The most important ancillary therapy for antimicrobials were NSAIDs (21, 44.7%). The ancillary therapy most often considered "extremely important" for treating BRD was NSAIDs. Qualitative analysis identified the following as factors that influenced veterinarians' willingness to provide analgesia: the farm's willingness to administer drugs, clinical signs, perceived severity of pain, the need for anti-inflammatories, and the presence of fever and comorbidities.

Discussion

This study included a small sample size and an extremely low response rate; results should therefore be interpreted with caution. Despite this limitation, important gaps in knowledge were identified, including pain assessment and consideration when making treatment decisions, and diagnostic tools. Addressing these needs in future research and outreach efforts could help ensure appropriate and timely treatment of calf BRD, including pain mitigation.

Dairy producer perceptions of the Farmers Assuring Responsible Management (FARM) Animal Care Program

Dairy farms producing 98% of the US milk supply participate in the Farmers Assuring Responsible Management (FARM) Animal Care Program. Producers who sell milk to cooperatives or processors participating in FARM must follow program standards. The objectives of this study were to assess producer perceptions about the knowledge, experience, and value of FARM and to determine whether perceptions differ based on demographics. A concurrent triangulation design was implemented through collecting quantitative and qualitative data using a 30-question survey instrument. Quantitative questions aimed to address project objectives, and qualitative data were provided through 1 open-ended survey question that asked participants what they thought the main goal of the FARM program was. Participants offered additional feedback through providing text in comment boxes, writing on the back of the survey, or writing a separate letter and returning it with their survey. Quantitative data were analyzed using principal components analysis and modeling, and qualitative data were analyzed through thematic analysis. Dairy producers from cooperatives or processors that participate in the FARM program were recruited via electronic and postal mail. A total of 487 respondents from 40 states completed the survey. Of the survey participants, 414 (85.0%) answered the open-ended question and 190 (39.0%) provided additional qualitative feedback. Thematic analysis revealed 5 main themes: distrust of program, producers on the defense, anger, efficiency, and nostalgia. Of respondents, 73.6% reported being knowledgeable about the FARM Animal Care Program. Greater level of formal education and larger herd size were associated with greater producer knowledge. More dairy producer input in the revisions of FARM was identified as a need by 83.3% of respondents. Although 89.3% of respondents reported positive experiences with evaluations and relationships with evaluators, 45.6% did not think that the program had value overall. Respondent age was positively associated with perceived value of FARM. Respondent age was also significant in determining the reasons why FARM was considered to be important. Results indicate that to increase buy-in and positive perceptions from producers, future versions of FARM should solicit producer input during the development of program standards, target specific producer demographics for program promotion, and address perceived communication deficits and program inequalities. Findings from this study can be used to inform future versions of the program.

Dairy cow handling facilities and the perception of Beef Quality Assurance on Colorado dairies

A survey was conducted on Colorado dairies to assess attitudes and practices regarding Dairy Beef Quality Assurance (DBQA). The objectives were to (1) assess the need for a new handling facility that would allow all injections to be administered via DBQA standards; (2) establish if Colorado dairy producers are concerned with DBQA; and (3) assess differences in responses between dairy owners and herdsmen. Of the 95 dairies contacted, 20 (21%) agreed to participate, with a median herd size of 1,178. When asked to rank the following 7 traits--efficiency, animal safety, human safety, ease of animal handling, ease of operation, inject per Beef Quality Assurance (BQA) procedures, and cost--in order of priority when designing a new handling facility, human and animal safety were ranked highest in priority (first or second) by the majority of participants, with ease of animal handling and efficiency ranked next. Interestingly, the administration of injections per BQA standards was ranked sixth or seventh by most participants. Respondents estimated the average annual income from the sale of cull cows to be 4.6% of all dairy income, with 50% receiving at least one carcass discount or condemnation in the past 12 mo. Although almost all of the participating dairy farmers stated that the preferred injection site for medications was the neck region, a significant number admitted to using alternate injection sites. In contrast, no difference was found between responses regarding the preferred and actual location for intravenous injections. Although most participating producers are aware of BQA injection guidelines, they perceive efficiency as more important, which could result in injections being administered in locations not promoted by BQA. Dairy owners and herdsmen disagreed in whether or not workers had been injured in the animal handling area in the last 12 mo. Handling facilities that allow for an efficient and safe way to administer drugs according to BQA guidelines and educational opportunities that highlight the effect of improved DBQA on profitability could prove useful. Dairy producers play a key role in ensuring that dairy beef is safe and high quality, and just as they are committed to producing safe and nutritious milk for their customers, they should be committed to producing the best quality beef.

Using temperature-sensing reticular boluses to aid in the detection of production diseases in dairy cows

The objective of this study was to investigate associations between increases in reticular temperature (RT) in dairy cows and the diagnosis of metritis, mastitis, lameness, and pneumonia by dairy personnel. A prospective case-control study was conducted on a 2,175-cow dairy operation in Colorado from May 2010 to April 2011. Each cow received an orally administered temperature sensing reticular bolus after parturition and RT measurements were recorded 3 times per day as lactating cows exited the milking parlor. A cow was identified as having an increased RT when a deviation of 0.8°C above baseline (average of readings of previous 10d) was recorded by the TempTrack software (DVM Systems, LLC, Greeley, CO). During the same study period, dairy personnel without access to RT data recorded health events and classified them according to clinical signs observed. A total of 201 health events (cases) were included in the data analysis. Cows with clinical mastitis and pneumonia had significantly higher odds (6.7 and 7.5 times higher, respectively) of having an increased RT of 0.8°C above their baseline within 4d preceding diagnosis when compared with control cows. Specificity and sensitivity for an increase of 0.8°C above baseline RT within 4d of disease diagnosis was 76.85 and 66.97% for mastitis, and 69.23 and 76.92% for pneumonia, respectively. No significant difference in RT was found for cows diagnosed with lameness or metritis. Results of this study suggest that RT monitoring can be a useful tool in the early detection of mastitis and pneumonia in dairy cows.