In the meloxicam study for disbudding, how many heifer calves were used?

In the meloxicam study for disbudding, how many heifer calves were used?

• A. 60 heifer calves
• B. 30 heifer calves
• C. 120 heifer calves
• D. 20 heifer calves

Answer: (A)

Understanding how many animals are included helps you judge how reliable the study’s findings on pain relief will be. In the meloxicam study for disbudding, sixty heifer calves were used. This size gives about thirty calves per treatment group, a common balance for a controlled analgesia trial. With this many animals, the study has enough power to detect meaningful differences in pain-related outcomes—such as behavior, vocalization, or stress indicators—between those treated with meloxicam and those not treated. If fewer animals were used, real effects might go unnoticed; using many more would raise cost without necessarily changing conclusions. So sixty is a practical, adequately powered choice for assessing analgesic efficacy in this scenario.

Understanding how many animals are included helps you judge how reliable the study’s findings on pain relief will be. In the meloxicam study for disbudding, sixty heifer calves were used. This size gives about thirty calves per treatment group, a common balance for a controlled analgesia trial. With this many animals, the study has enough power to detect meaningful differences in pain-related outcomes—such as behavior, vocalization, or stress indicators—between those treated with meloxicam and those not treated. If fewer animals were used, real effects might go unnoticed; using many more would raise cost without necessarily changing conclusions. So sixty is a practical, adequately powered choice for assessing analgesic efficacy in this scenario.