Jan2015

Pashubandha 2015 Volume No : 4 Issue : 01

MadhukarDama* and Upendra H. A.# *Assistant Professor; #Director, Institute of Wildlife Veterinary Research, Doddaluvara, Kodagu.

Email: ( [email protected] )

It is said “Veterinarian is the best doctor in the world. He cannot ask his patients what is the

matter – he got to know”. How true it is? Veterinarian’s service to the society is immeasurable, so also

contribution of Veterinary and Animal Husbandry sector to the national GDP. However, a lot of

improvement is required in the Veterinary services in India as compared to the western countries. But

veterinary profession is not getting its due importance and share even though more than 75 per cent of

rural population in India depend on their livestock and poultry to earn their two meals a day. Veterinary

education and Veterinary practice are rightly governed by Veterinary Council of India and this has

definitely improved the quality of veterinary education as well as veterinary practice in India.

Indian Veterinarians are facing certain hurdles and constrains in their practice and hence the

optimal service of Veterinarian is not available to livestock owner and farmers. Different and difficult

terrain in which a Veterinarian has to work makes him/her not to reach the site of action in time. This

results in loss of precious time and invaluable livestock wealth. Different state Governments as well as

Central Government are making sustained efforts to overcome this hurdle. Need of the hour is to provide

every Veterinarian and Veterinary hospital with a suitable transport facility adequately equipped and

stocked. A good and effective dedicated communication channel is to be established between veterinarian

and livestock owner/farmer. Veterinarians should also be made available “On-line” 24 x 7 so that

livestock owner should be able to get vital information regarding livestock health care. It is also very

necessary to educate livestock owners regarding difference between services provided by a well-informed

registered veterinarian and local non-veterinarian practitioner.

It is noticed that a non-veterinarian, who practices veterinary medicine in illegal way is a local

person and he has local network and hence takes advantages of livestock owner’s ignorance and

helplessness. Hence it is necessary that veterinarian should develop very good public relation with

livestock owners and be available all the time.

It is necessary presently to convince the livestock owners that quality veterinary service Comes at a

Newsletter Date : 31 Janvuary2015 Volume No: 4 Issue : 1

Veterinary College, Bengaluru Monthly e-Bulletin

mailto:[email protected]

cost. Central and state Governments have understood the financial problems faced by livestock owners and

have commissioned many innovative programs to lessen the financial burden of livestock owners.

Veterinarians have to further concentrated efforts to ensure that the benefits of such programs reach the

livestock owners in an effective manner.

Unlike human medicine, veterinary medicines are available across the counter in many medical

shops without a proper veterinary prescription from a registered veterinary practitioner and this has

prompted non-veterinarians to practice veterinary medicine which itself is against the law. Hence,

pharmaceutical companies, pharmacists and medical stores should insist on proper veterinary prescriptions

from a registered veterinary practitioner before dispensing the veterinary medicine. Otherwise, problems

such as drug resistance, drug reactions, treatment complications, spread of contagious diseases will

increase day by day. Veterinary medicines should be made available only to registered veterinary

practitioners.

Effective disease prevention and control program can only be based on documentation of prevalent

and emerging diseases in livestock. This job can be done properly only by a knowledgeable and

experienced veterinarian. So it becomes pertinent to educate the veterinarians in areas such as disease

epidemiology, disease forecasting, and disaster management. The new VCI syllabus includes these topics

in the curriculum of BVSC & AH degree program. However, these topics are quite new to veterinarians

who have graduated out before implementation of new VCI syllabus. It is now necessary to organize

programs aimed at sensitizing and orienting such veterinarians to these topics. Once such an exercise is

formulated and implemented at national level, veterinarians will be equipped to take additional

responsibilities in the areas of disease forecasting, disaster management and disease control program.

Setting up of a separate disease surveillance unit at Taluk level is need of the hour.

Drug withdrawal period following medication is another aspect which has not received enough

importance. Indiscriminate use of antimicrobial drugs, misuse and abuse of medicines in veterinary

practice has led to drug resistance problems in humans. Hence a strict and effective law should be

enforced regarding proper use of antimicrobial drugs in veterinary practice and following of drug

withdrawal period before milk, meat and egg is made available for human consumption. The role of

veterinarian in this regard is very vital and all the veterinarians should be sensitized regarding harmful

effects of misuse and abuse of medicines.

Biomedical waste management is another area of concern. Presently biomedical waste management

at veterinary hospital is getting its due importance. What about the medical waste generated while

treating animals at a farm or at the doorstep of a farmer? This aspect seems to be neglected and remains to

be a hidden bomb ready to explode anytime. Veterinarians should be sensitized regarding law governing

biomedical waste management.

Knowledge is power and it becomes stale if not updated on continuous basis. To add to the efforts

of veterinarians in building society, opportunities should created to help veterinarians specialize in a

particular area such as wild animal medicine, avian medicine, large animal medicine, porcine medicine,

feline medicine, canine medicine, equine medicine etc. Let not the numbers of years of practice determine

the specialization of a veterinarian. Rather, specialization should be based on the formal education,

Pashubandha 2014 Volume No : 3 Issue : 01 Pashubandha 2015 Volume No : 4 Issue : 01

, training, orientation and hands-on experience. This problem can be addressed by starting diploma courses

in specialized fields. Further, Government should ensure that skill and knowledge acquired by the

veterinarians through such specialized diploma courses are utilized in a proper way.

Day to day administrative responsibilities imposed on veterinarian is increasing, thus coming in the

way of discharging his/her technical responsibilities. We are not advocating that veterinarians should stick

only to technical work and neglect administrative responsibilities. But a proper balance between these two

aspects should be achieved so that hard earned technical skill and expertize does not go waste.

Veterinary profession and practice will flourish further when we come out of our own self

constructed cocoons of age old practices. We need to open ourselves for changing working style,

understand the demands of the society, become more proactive and cultivate professional approach in

Veterinary practice.

Naveen, M., Ravi Raidurg., Mahesh, V. and Santhosh, K. M.

Department of Surgery and Radiology,Veterinary College, Vinoba Nagara, Shimoga-577204.

([email protected] )

Restraint is necessary for administration of drugs, premedication and sedation, infiltration of local

analgesic drugs and induction of general anaesthesia. It is also required for examination and minor

interferences carried out without sedation or anaesthesia. Most importantly, it helps in preventing the

movement of the animal during surgical intervention. Application of improper methods can cause serious

injury. Simple physical restraint and use of tranquilizer is usually sufficient for minor procedures. The

choice of a method of restraint depends on the species involved, site of the lesion, condition of the patient

and nature of the animal. A weak animal should not be subjected to rigorous method of restraint

The importance of restraint must not be neglected. It requires skill, knowledge and strength. Its

goal is to get the procedure done safely with minimal stress to the patient. Proper restraint of a ruminant is

mandatory for clinical examination and to carry out minor and major surgical procedures. Cattle are well

domesticated animal, easily scared and generally are not aggressive. However, they can cause injury in

several ways including horns (even if most calves are now dehorned shortly after birth to prevent injury to

other cattle and humans), kicking with the hind limbs, which are usually side kicking (unlike horses),

squeezing or stepping on people, especially when frightened. Dealing with dairy cattle and bullocks is

generally quite easy as they are handled from birth. Bulls, that are used for sports purposes in the villages,

on the other hand, are usually seldom handled and most of the time for medical treatment. This makes

handling these different. To make a cow move forward when standing directly behind it, tail twist

(grasping the tail at the base and twisting it) is usually effective and safe but more “persuasive” techniques

such as whipping with sticks or flat plastic paddles may be needed. In dairy cows and bullocks either a real

halter or a “homemade” rope halter can be applied.

Simple methods of restraint are sufficient for minor procedures like injections, examination of the

eye, ear and hoof or for minor surgery on the teat, udder etc. For simple procedures, an animal can be

restrained by holding the tail, application of a nose lead or by a manual control of the head.


Different methods of physical restraint for cattle are as follows

1.Halter

Halters are used to control the head and to lead the animal. The halter can be put

with the help of the same rope by which the animal has been tied.( Fig. 1)

2. Manual restraining of the Head

If a cattle nose leader is not available, restraint of the same kind may be applied

manually. The assistant grasps the nasal septum with the thumb and forefinger of

one hand and holds it firmly. With other hand he holds the horn or ear. As more

restraint is needed, he increases the pressure of his grip on the nose. This is not as

effective as a nose lead and it is quite difficult. But, it can be used in an emergency.

( Fig. 2)

2. Nose lead

This is mainly used for restraining of the head. In heavy and aggressive cattle,

where manual restraining is difficult, nose leads can be used.( Fig. 3)

3. Tail elevation

The tail restraint may be used by an assistant whenever it is necessary to distract

a cow’s attention from another part of her body on which work is being done. It

may be used while giving udder injections to a nervous cow. The assistant should

keep both hands close to the base of the tail or he may break it. He should stand to

one side of the cow to avoid being kicked.( Fig. 4)

4. Technique for restraining of head and neck

The head can also be controlled by fixing a rope loop to a pole and then passing

the loop over the neck of the animal and anchoring the loop to the same pole. The

free end of the rope is pulled to control the head and neck of the animal.( Fig. 5)

5. Restraint of the cow for milking

In this technique, hind limbs are tied above the hock by crossing of a one meter

long rope. This technique can also be used during udder examination and patellar

desmotomy.( Fig. 6)

6. Front leg hopple.

One end of the rope is tied to the pastern of the limb and rope is then passed

over the neck to the other side of the animal. It can tied to the opposite elbow or

pulled by an assistant to raise the forelimb. The forelimb can also be raised with the

help of a hand. The operator stands as close as possible to the side of the limb,

facing the rear side of the animal. The limb is held at the pastern and raised by the

hand. In this way a front leg may be raised and held off the ground for examination

or treatment. This restraint can also be used to make a cow stand still and to keep

her from kicking with a hind leg.( Fig. 7)

Pashubandha 2014 Volume No : 3 Issue : 01 Pashubandha 2015 Volume No :4 Issue : 01

( Fig. 1)

( Fig. 2)

( Fig. 3)

( Fig. 4)

( Fig. 5)

( Fig. 6)

( Fig. 7)

7. Raising the Rear Leg Manually

The hind limb can also be raised by a rope or a hand. While raising the limb with

the hand, the operator stands near the hind limb as close to the animal as possible and

facing towards the tail. The pastern is held with a hand close to the animal’s body and

the limb is raised. The operator supports the limb on his thigh.

In order to raise the hind limb with the rope, a nose lead is applied to pull the head

to the side opposite to the limb to be raised. One end of about nine meter long rope is

tied below the fetlock. The free end of the rope is passed through a hook placed at a

pole behind the animal. The end of the rope is brought around the limb above the

hock, passing from medial to lateral side and is backed around the standing part of the

rope to form a half hitch. The end of the rope is carried forward and pulled to lift the

foot off the ground. This technique can be used for examination of the hoof of the hind

limb and for hoof trimming. (Fig. 8)

8. Tail Rope

The purpose of this restraint is to keep the cow's tail out of the way when a placenta

is being removed, the udder is being treated and during other surgical procedures.

(Fig. 9a & 9b)

9. Restraining of the calf

Calf can be restrained as shown in the figure. A young calf can also be restrained in

a standing position by holding the ear at its base with one hand and the mandible by

the other hand. The operator stands close to the animal.(Fig. 10)

10. Restraint of the bull for castration.

Bull has to be casted either by a Burleys technique or rope squeeze method. The

limbs are tied in such a manner that the right hind limb is pulled forward and the left

hind limb is tied to the forelimb.( Fig. 11)

11. Burleys technique.

This method of casting cattle, devised by Dr. D. R. Burley of Georgia, has many

advantages over the other casting methods. First, it is not necessary in this method to

tie the rope around the horns or the neck. It is simply passed around the animal's body

which takes less time. Second, this restraint does not put pressure over the thorax and

thus does not interfere with the action of the heart and lungs. Third, it does not

endanger the genital organs of the bull or the mammary vessels of the cow. Finally,

with this restraint both rear legs may be tied with the ends of the casting rope. While

the cow is being held by a strong halter or by a nose lead a forty foot piece of rope is

placed over her back with its centre at the withers. The ends are carried between the

forelegs and crossed at the sternum. One end is carried up each side of the animal's

body and the two are crossed again over the back. Each end passes downward between

the rear legs going between the inner surface of the legs and under the udder or

scrotum, as the case may be.


Fig. 8

Fig. 9 (a)

Fig. 9 (b)

Fig. 10

Fig. 11

a

b

d

c

When the ends of the rope are pulled, the cow will fall. The operator may control

the direction of the fall by pulling the casting ropes so that the animal is forced to

one side or the other. To tie the rear leg the operator keeps both ropes tout and slides

the uppermost one along the under surface of the rear leg to the fetlock. He flexes

the leg and makes a half hitch around the fetlock. The end is then carried around the

leg above the hock, across the cannon bone, and back around the fetlock. The leg is

secured by several such "figure 8's".

To tie the front leg a short heavy cord or rope about six feet long is needed. One

end of it is fastened around the pastern with a clove hitch leaving a free end about

eight inches long. The front leg is flexed and the long end of the cord carried

forward and passed under the main casting rope descending from the withers. The

cord is passed around the flexed front leg several times and tied in a reefer's knot to

the short free end at the pastern. The animal is rolled over and the rear leg of the

other side is tied with the other end of the casting rope. With another six foot cord,

the other front leg is tied, and the animal is then completely restrained.

( Fig. a, b, c, d )

12. Rope squeeze method

This is a standard method of casting a cow. The rope for this restraint may be

arranged on a cow while she is in the stanchion. She may then be led to the place

where it is desired that she lie down and tension applied to the end of the rope.

Make a loop around the cow's neck using a bowline knot placed as indicated in the drawing. Throw the

end of the rope over her back to the opposite side. Reaching under the cow, pick it up and bring it around

her body and under the standing part of the rope near the bowline to form a half hitch just behind the

shoulder. By tossing the end over the cow's back again, make another half hitch just in from of the udder.

Pulling the rope will force the cow to lie down.( Fig. e, f, g, h )

Dr. Deepti B. R

Assistant professor

Dept. of Veterinary Medicine, Hebbal, Bengaluru. ( [email protected])

“Milking herd of tomorrow starts with the calves born today”. The economic significance of

neonatal disease can be considerable and the occurrence of disease in a calf can also subsequently affect

days to first calving intervals and long-time survival in the herd. Death also causes a loss of genetic

potential from the loss of the calf.

Calf mortality can be divided into the following 4 groups according to age at time of death:

Abortions or prenatal deaths (stillborn from 40 to 270 d of gestation)

Perinatal mortality (stillborn after 270 d of gestation or until 24 h after birth)


e

f

g

h

Neonatal mortality (death between 1 and 28 d of age)

Older calf mortality (death between 1 and 6 months of age)

Fetal disease and the postnatal septicemic, enteric and respiratory diseases are the most common causes

of loss. Calves are at highest risk for death in the first 2 weeks of life and especially in the first week.

Septicemic and enteric diseases are most common during this period, with respiratory disease being more

common after 2 weeks of age. Calf mortality during calving and within the first 24 h post-partum is mainly

related to dystocia.

Calf morbidity and mortality are influenced by many factors such as:

.

The major contributing factor to dairy calf mortality is the care provided by the calf attendant. Body

condition score of the dam can influence calf mortality, with high condition scores having a higher risk for

dystocial mortality and low scores for infectious disease.

Seasonal influences may have an effect on dairy calf mortality rate and this can vary with the region.

Respiratory disorders seem to be the largest problem with high population density and inadequate

ventilation. They are also accentuated with high relative humidity at low environmental temperatures. Calf

mortality also tends to increase during cold, wet, and windy winter weather.

Common causes of calf diseases and deaths are:

Failure of transfer of colostral immunoglobulins is a major determinant of mortality due to infectious

causes. Adequate amount of immunoglobulins protect against septicaemia form of colibacillosis in farm

animals.

Calf diarrhea:

Calf diarrhoea/ scours during the first month of life are the most common cause of calf sickness and

death. Calves with diarrhoea are more likely to have failure of transfer of passive immunity or partial

failure of transfer of passive immunity. Several pathogens, including E. coli, rotavirus, coronavirus,

Salmonella, coccidia, and Cryptosporidia, cause calf diarrhoea.

The dehydration, acidosis and electrolyte imbalance are corrected by the parenteral and oral use of

simple or balanced electrolyte solutions (Normal saline, Ringer’s solution or lactate and dextrose normal

saline with or without sodium bicarbonate for parenteral use). Owners must be encouraged to provide oral

fluid and electrolyte therapy to diarrheic neonatal farm animals as soon as possible after the onset of

diarrhoea.


Colostral feeding

Housing

Calving assistance

Production system

Herd size

Season

Septicemia

Diarrhoea

Pneumonia

Joint problem

Umbilical diseases

Trauma

Congenital abnormalities

Nutritional deficiencies

Dystocia

Other infections (Roundworm infection,

especially in buffalo calves)

Administered antimicrobials should have both local (small intestinal) and systemic effects. Broad

spectrum beta-lactam, potentiated sulphonamides (trimethoprim- sulfadiazine) and fluoroquinolone

antimicrobials may be used for at least 3 days:

Amoxicillin trihydrate (10 mg/kg every 12 h)

Amoxicillin trihydrate-clavulanate potassium (12.5 mg combined drug/kg every 12 h)

Potentiated sulfonamides (25 mg/kg intravenously or intramuscularly every 12 h).

In calves with diarrhoea and no systemic illness (normal appetite for milk or milk replacer, no fever), it

is recommended that the clinician monitors the health of the calf, and does not administer oral

antimicrobials.

Whether or not diarrheic newborn animals should be deprived of milk during the period of diarrhoea is

controversial.

Steps to reduce calf mortality:

Calving problems can result when cows are thin or fat, heifers are undersized or oversized. So

maintaining adequate body condition score is important. The nutrition of the pregnant cows, and

particularly the first-calf heifers, must be monitored through gestation to insure an adequate body

condition and sufficient resources to provide an adequate supply of good-quality colostrum.

Before calving, the cow should be moved to an individual pen that has been cleaned and disinfected and

has a deep bed of clean dry straw. Cows should be moved to the maternity pen a week or several days

before their expected calving date.

Cows should also be attended to during calving. Monitoring the birth process ensures that cows and

their unborn calves receive assistance if it is required. Heifers frequently require assistance at calving.

The new born calf should have its naval dipped in an iodine solution (2%) to prevent any infection

entering.

First feeding: calves should be fed 10% to 12% of their body weight with colostrum. Each calf should

receive bovine colostrum as soon as possible after it is born and in any case within the first six hours of

life. The practice of washing udders after calving and before calves nurse or colostrum is milked and

assisting the calf with its first feeding is associated with decreased calf mortality.

The calf can be left with the cow for at least 2 days. This contact will improve the absorption of

immunoglobulin. However, there is a trend in large dairy herds, to remove the calf immediately after

birth, place it in a calf pen and force-feed it colostrum. This practice may prevent spread of infectious

disease from mature cattle to calves.

Calves may be individually housed till 2 months of age to reduce risk of infections. Clean bedding

should be provided at all times. They should be regularly fed and inspected.

The best cure for scours is “prevention”. Calves should be fed correctly and housed in a clean

environment. Soiled bedding should be regularly removed. Vaccines are available in some countries for

the cow in last trimester of pregnancy. The antibodies produced by the dam protect the calf by ingestion

of colostrum.


Dr. Sudha G

Assistant Professor, Dept. of Veterinary Gynecology and Obstetrics, Veterinary College,

Hebbal, Bengaluru. ( [email protected]) Some Important points to remember in the sheep breeding

The Ewe

Sheep are seasonal breeders and ewes are stimulated to cycle by the declining daylight pattern in

Autumn. Female sheep reach puberty at about 6 months old, depending on breed and live weight.

Only about 20% of farmers mate their ewe lambs. There is no problem getting these hoggets to come on

heat if they have been well fed, and are a minimum of 35-40kg by 6-7 months old.

Ewes come on heat every 17 days (14-20 range) and will be on heat for about 4-8 hours.

Signs of oestrus in the ewe are not very obvious compared to cattle:

The ewe will seek out a ram

She will sniff him and chase after him

She will crouch and urinate when a ram sniffs her side or genital area

She will fan her tail when the ram sniffs her

When the ram is preparing to mount, she will turn her head to look at him

Ewes do not mount other ewes as in cattle.

Pregnancy in the ewe is five months.

The Ram

Rams reach puberty by about 6 months of age, but beware of younger ram lambs that miss docking as

they could easily be fertile by Autumn.

Rams are most active in the autumn and are stimulated by declining daylight. They show a kind of

"rut", but nothing as well developed as in goats or deer.

They start to smell very strongly like a Billy goat approaching mating and the bare skin around their

eyes, and on their underside around front legs and crutch turns pink.

This smell comes from the grease in the wool and contains a pheromone that stimulates the ewes to ov-

ulate.

Rams with high libido may not be fertile. So fertility can be checked by a semen test using

electro-ejaculation, or by changing rams after each cycle to lessen the risk of a ram being a dud.

Counting the number of mounts on a restrained ewe over time can also indicate libido,

It’s wise to use an older experienced ram on young ewes and a young ram on older experience ewes.

As rams are reared in homosexual groups, they may take time to learn how to mate correctly. Take time

to watch new rams working to make sure they are serving correctly and ejaculating. In a good

ejaculation the ram will thrust forward with all four feet off the ground.

Courting behaviour is made up of a lot of " sniff hunting" ewes. Rams approach ewe often from side,

pawing her side with head low, rattling tongue with low bleating.

Mating ratios of 1 ram to 40-50 ewes seems to be normal. Ram lambs that are large enough (30-40kg)


Contact :

Dept of Veterinary and Animal Husbandry Extension Education

Veterinary College, Hebbal Bangalore

email: [email protected]

Blog: pashubandhavch.blogspot.in

monthly e-Bulletin

Published and circulated by Veterinary College, Hebbal, Bengaluru.

Editor: Associate Editior:

Dean, Veterinary College, Hebbal, Bengaluru Head, Dept. of Vety.& Animal Husbandry Extension Education

Dr. S. Yathiraj (Ex-Officio) Dr. K. Satyanarayan (Ex-Officio)

PELVIC

are given 30 ewes. But a good fit ram will easily mate 100 ewes.

Having a surplus of rams in the flock may be a good insurance against infertility but they will spend

more time fighting and establishing dominance than mating. Fighting also leads to injury which rarely

recovers before the end of mating, so an expensive ram is often a write off.

In large mobs where many rams are used, the dominant rams do most of the mating, chasing the less

dominant away. Practice makes perfect, so these dominant rams, getting more practice, do the job

quicker and so get more work.

The subordinate ram may get a service when the dominant one has moved away to find more fresh

ewes, or ewes that have come to him and are waiting. But it’s just his luck if by it’s his turn, the ewe is

starting to go off heat and won’t stand.

Rams can be racists – in mixed-breed groups they show a preference to mate ewes of their own breed.

The "ram effect"

It’s an old practice to use the sight and smell of the ram to stimulate ewes to cycle. It’s recognised as

"the ram effect".

To exploit it ewes are first isolated from sight, sound and smell of all rams for at least 2-3 weeks before

joining.

Then both sexes are put in adjoining paddocks to view and smell each other through the fence.

After about 4 days the gate is opened between them and the party starts.

This practice is sometimes done using teaser (vasectomised) rams that are actually put in with the ewes

for close contact and serving.

Teasers seem to lose their libido over time and young entire rams seem to have more stimulating power

through the fence. The little bit of extra frustration seems to help.


Jan2015

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