Student Case Presentation
Effect of parenteral antioxidant supplementation at birth on health and growth outcomes of pre-weaned dairy calves in a multi-herd study
| Date/Time: |
9/11/2025 1:45 pm
|
| Presenter: |
Abigail Reid |
| Veterinary School: |
COR |
Abstract:
Within the first few weeks of life, dairy calves experience significant oxidative stress, which can impact lymphocyte functioning with implications for vaccine efficacy and generalized health status. The aim of this study was to determine the impact of parenteral antioxidant supplementation at birth on both health and growth outcomes in a multi-herd study. We hypothesized that calves receiving parenteral antioxidant supplementation at birth will demonstrate greater average daily gain (ADG) and experience reduced health events compared to those not receiving supplementation. Female dairy calves (n = 756) with adequate passive transfer of immunity were enrolled from four different farms and randomly assigned to one of four treatment groups: Multimin90 (Multimin North America Inc.), Bo-Se (Merck Animal Health), Vitamins E-AD (VetOne), Saline (ICU Medical). At birth, calves received their respective treatment and an intranasal vaccine against respiratory pathogens. Weekly measurements included body weight, hip height, and health data such as clinical respiratory exam, thoracic ultrasound, and fecal observation. RStudio was used to build a linear mixed model with repeated measures for growth measurements, and survival analysis was performed on time to first disease event using a Cox proportional hazards model. While there were expected increases in growth parameters (body weight, hip height) during the weaning period, there were no statistically significant differences between treatment groups across growth and health (total respiratory score, temperature). Similarly, there were no significant differences observed between treatment groups regarding disease hazard ratio during the trial period. Results suggest there was no effect of one-time antioxidant supplementation at birth on growth parameters and health events throughout the pre-weaning period. However, the benefit of antioxidants is well known at the cellular level, and so antioxidant supplementation at birth may still be advantageous within different management situations.
