Effects of Multivalent BRD Vaccine Treatment and Temperament on Performance and Feeding Behavior Responses to a BVDV1b Challenge in Beef Steers

Abstract

This study examined the effects of multivalent respiratory vaccine treatment (VT) and animal temperament classification on feeding behavior traits, feed intake and animal performance in response to a bovine viral diarrhea virus (BVDV) challenge. Nellore–Angus crossbred steers (n = 360; initial body weight (BW) 330 ± 48 kg) were assigned to one of three vaccine treatments: non-vaccinated (NON), modified live (MLV) and killed (KV) regarding respiratory viral pathogens, and inoculated intranasally with the same BVDV1b strain. Cattle temperament categories were based on exit velocity. Overt clinical signs of respiratory disease were not observed, yet the frequency and duration of bunk visit events as well as traditional performance traits decreased (p < 0.01) following BVDV challenge and then rebounded in compensatory fashion. The reduction in dry matter intake (DMI) was less (p < 0.05) for MLV-vaccinated steers, and MLV-vaccinated steers had longer (p < 0.01) durations of bunk visit and meal events and slower (p < 0.01) eating rates compared with KV- and non-vaccinated steers following BVDV challenge. Greater differences in most feeding behavior traits due to VT existed within calm vs. excitable steers. Respiratory vaccination can reduce the sub-clinical feeding behavior and performance effects of BVDV in cattle, and the same impacts may not occur across all temperament categories.