Table 2.
Demographics of 225 beef calves by medication group
| Demographics | Placebo (n=114) |
Meloxicam (n=111) |
Total (n=225) |
|||
| Count | Percentage | Count | Percentage | Count | Percentage | |
| Parity of dam | ||||||
| Heifer | 74 | 66.7 | 77 | 71.3 | 151 | 68.9 |
| Cow | 37 | 33.3 | 31 | 28.7 | 68 | 31.1 |
| Sex of calf | ||||||
| Heifer | 42 | 36.8 | 33 | 30.8 | 75 | 33.9 |
| Bull | 72 | 63.2 | 74 | 69.2 | 146 | 66.1 |
| Twin | ||||||
| No | 108 | 97.3 | 105 | 97.2 | 213 | 97.3 |
| Yes | 3 | 2.7 | 3 | 2.8 | 6 | 2.7 |
| Calving difficulty | ||||||
| Easy assist | 50 | 44.6 | 58 | 54.2 | 108 | 49.3 |
| Difficult assist | 59 | 52.7 | 48 | 44.9 | 107 | 48.9 |
| Caesarean section | 3 | 2.7 | 1 | 0.9 | 4 | 1.8 |
| Presentation of calf | ||||||
| Anterior | 92 | 90.2 | 91 | 88.3 | 183 | 89.3 |
| Posterior | 10 | 9.8 | 12 | 11.7 | 22 | 10.7 |
| Meconium staining | ||||||
| No | 81 | 84.4 | 81 | 84.4 | 96 | 50.0 |
| Yes | 15 | 15.6 | 15 | 15.6 | 96 | 50.0 |
Calves were administered a dose of either subcutaneous meloxicam (Metacam, 20 mg/ml, 0.5 mg/kg bodyweight, Boehringer Ingelheim, Ingelheim, Germany) or placebo (0.025 ml/kg) at birth. All parameters are presented as counts and percentages.