Fig. 1

Study design showing the production stage and sampling time points for all 40 animals. Twenty dairy cattle received intramammary ceftiofur (IMM Antibiotic) and 20 matched dairy cattle receiving no IMM antibiotic treatment (Control). Cows were matched based on parity and monthly milk production at Day − 1, which corresponds to the last day of lactation and the day prior to IMM treatment. Matched cows were sampled simultaneously following treatment at weeks 1, 2, 3, 5, and 7 during the dry-off period and again as fresh cows at week 9. Cows remained healthy and were given the same diet. Figure created with BioRender