Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug therapy for neonatal calf diarrhea complex: Effects on calf performance

Todd, C. G.; Millman, S. T.; McKnight, D. R.; Duffield, T. F.; Leslie, K. E.

There was no difference in weaning weight for MELand PLA-treated calves (65.7 kg and 66.6 kg, respectively; P = 0.33). However, the Kaplan-Meier survival function estimates for time to weaning suggest that calves receiving MEL tended to wean earlier than PLAtreated calves (Figure 2 ). The median times to weaning for MEL-and PLA-treated calves were 41 and 47 d, respectively. The Wilcoxon test supports that there was a significant reduction in time to weaning for calves receiving MEL therapy (χ 2 = 6.26; P < 0.05). Cox proportional hazards regression analysis indicated that MEL treatment tended to reduce time to weaning by 65% compared with PLA-treated animals (hazard ratio Starter intake is stratified by week, and time is measured relative to satisfying the starter consumption criteria. The criteria for time to starter consumption indicated that calves had to consume a minimum of 100 g of starter ration for 2 consecutive days. 5 Water intake is adjusted for the effects of farm of origin, arrival BW, ambient maximum temperature, and ambient maximum relative humidity. The back-transformed mean, LCL, and UCL are presented. 6 Water intake and BW gain are stratified by week, and time is measured relative to onset of diarrhea. 7 BW gain is adjusted for the effects of farm of origin and age at treatment. = 1.65; P = 0.111). The log cumulative hazard plot for time to weaning verified the assumption of proportional hazards because the 2 curves were parallel.