These study objectives were to evaluate the effects of: initial bodyweight, energy supplementation, distance and days traveled and hair coat shedding on performance and health. Crossbred heifers (n=120) were purchased as either lightweight (136 kg) or heavyweight (226 kg) calves. Factors affecting morbidity and growth were tested using Poisson or linear regression (PROC GLIMMIX), with a correlation structure defining clustering by pen. Incidence density was 53.7/103 calf-days and 19.0/103 calf-days for light and heavy initial BW, respectively. Lightweight calves were 2.8 times more likely to be treated for BRD (p=0.02) and each increase in hair shed score increased risk for BRD 1.6 times (p=0.04). Initial BW did not affect gain (P=0.573), but heifers receiving supplementation gained 5.84 kg more than heifers not receiving supplement (P=0.005). Cattle that received LOW HS (n=14) had higher total gain (P=.00016), and ADG (P=.00016) compared to cattle receiving shedding classification of MED to HIGH (n=106).
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:MSSTATE/oai:scholarsjunction.msstate.edu:td-3034 |
| Date | 11 December 2015 |
| Creators | Wilkins, William Corey |
| Publisher | Scholars Junction |
| Source Sets | Mississippi State University |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Source | Theses and Dissertations |
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