BODYWEIGHT CHANGE DURING RESPIRATORY-DISEASE TREATMENT AS A TREATMENTSUCCESS INDICATOR IN FEEDLOT CATTLE

A study in a Nebraska feedlot of treatment response of multiple-source , Southeast-origin cattle that were pulled for respiratory disease, sh owed that bodyweight change during treatment is a useful treatment suc cess indicator. Sick carves that gained greater than 5% bodyweight whi le in the hospital had a repull proportion of only 3% compared to 12% for calves that gained 0 to 5% bodyweight and 34% for calves that lost bodyweight. Sick cattle gaining more than 5% of their bodyweight were II times less likely to be repulled than cattle losing bodyweight.