Antibiotic-free care following calf disbudding
Four practical cattle-health studies featured at the World Buiatrics Congress 2026
NoBACZ Healthcare are delighted to have supported four posters at the 2026 World Buiatrics Congress in Istanbul, all exploring practical approaches to improving cattle health and welfare while reducing reliance on antibiotics. Covering calf navel care, disbudding wounds, udder cleft dermatitis and digital dermatitis, the projects demonstrate how careful monitoring and effective barrier technologies can support better outcomes under commercial farm conditions.
A poster presented by Dr Emily Collins-Wingate MRCVS and Lauren Eaton SQP-ACF from Cross Counties Farm Vets considered whether Ambugreen, our antibiotic free gel barrier, could replace the aerosolised oxytetracycline routinely applied after thermocautery disbudding. Forty calves at a UK calf-rearing unit received appropriate sedation, local anaesthesia and analgesia before the gel was applied to each disbudding site.
Seven days later, 93 % of the sites assessed were undergoing normal healing, including 57 % that showed notable re-epithelialisation, and none displayed evidence of abnormal healing or infection. Applying the gel alone avoided the use of approximately 300 ml of antibiotic aerosol; extrapolated across the farm’s activities, the authors estimated a potential annual reduction equivalent to 1.43 mg/PCU, or around 9 % of average antibiotic use on UK dairy farms.
The project provides encouraging field evidence that routine disbudding wounds can be managed without topical antibiotics, although longer-term and comparative studies will be needed to confirm the findings.
Are you a vet interested in conducting research using NoBACZ products?
Our research and evidence team are always interested to explore new applications of our products that will help maintain animal health and welfare. If you have an idea you think might be interesting, please get in touch.