Farm trips

This week we've had two trips to the university farm which is 45 mins away by coach and means getting up early as we leave at 7:15! The weather has been great, sunny and pushing 16oC so it's nice to get outside in the fresh air and practical stuff is always fun.

On Tuesday we were blood sampling and vaccinating cattle against trichophytosis which is an infectious skin disease commonly known as ringworm. The cows were vaccinated two and four weeks ago so the bloods we took will be titre tested to see how effective the vaccination course has been.

Today we were working with small ruminants (sheep and goats) doing much the same.
First we had to collect blood samples to test for Brucella, then we did the California Milk Test to look for mastitis and hoof trimming for those which needed it. Finally we did intradermal tuberculin tests for TB.

One of the ewes had a wound on her leg which looked like a blunt trauma, maybe from a gate or hayrack. We cleaned and flushed it with Betadine and saw that there was a yellow fibrinous mass deep inside so we debrided it to encourage wound healing and flushed again.

One of the Professors came over and said he was "very impressed" with my hoof trimming and asked if I have sheep at home; I was secretly chuffed that all those years of lambing paid off!
I kind of take it for granted having worked with sheep for quite a few years on work experience and during my undergrad but other people who are focussed on working with small animals have never really had the opportunity. Teachers here will often assume basic knowledge and won't re-cap procedures or handling techniques which we might have talked about in a lecture 2 years ago unless asked, so people can miss out.

One of the girls was criticising they way we tip the sheep (making them sit on their bums) but they're easily restrained in one movement and they don't struggle once sat so while there will be some degree of stress from any restraint, there is no pain and it gets the job done quickly and efficiently.
Goats aren't as easy to tip as they're more athletic and stressy than sheep but can still be done, you just tip them further onto their back like we've done above - being careful of horns! We were able to blood sample, examine udders, CMT and hoof trim in less than 5 minutes and the goat didn't struggle.

Rectalling ruminants with retained placentas

We had a trip to the school farm today for rectalling of post-parturient cows with retained placenta or metritis. There are several reasons why animals can retain the foetal membranes after birth so they must be watched closely to ensure it is cleared.

The uterus is normally sterile but during or after calving, environmental microorganisms can enter and cause infection, especially as the cervix is still open for a few days during involution when it's all shrinking back down.
Metritis is an inflammation of the uterus which occurs directly after calving. Endometritis is a common condition which occurs 21 days or more after calving. The main problem with this is that it will reduce fertility and delay the next conception, increasing the calving interval, decreasing the milk yield and costing the farmer more money.

First we rectalled the cows to feel for the uterine horns, which when inflammed was very obvious in that it was full of pus. We were able to massage the uterus to remove the mucopurulent vaginal discharge.

Then we went per vaginam and treated (or prevented) the infection by placing a broad spectrum antibiotic bolus directly into the uterus or cervix.

RIP Stella

The decision was made to euthanise Stella today as she was showing no improvements.

Professor Mudron, head of the Ruminants clinic, looked at her blood results from last year which showed high white blood cells which indicated a chronic systemic infection and said that if she was not able to stand that the prognosis would be poor.
Pathological Anatomy are going to perform a necropsy and several tests to ascertain a diagnosis.

RIP Stella...

Stella Update

Stella the cow is still down in sternal recumbancy with paralysis of her right hind limb. She is being kept comfortable on deep straw, turned regularly and milked twice a day.
Her IV catheter has been taken out but she is still being given Menbutone and Novasul as well as Dexamethasone, an antiinflammatory steroid.
When she is lifted for milking she is able to stand supported in the sling and has sensation in the leg but is unable to bear weight on it so when the lift tension is loosened she soon drops back down.

They've hobbled her hind legs together with a thick belt about 2 feet apart so that if she tries to stand she doesn't do the splits and cause even more damage.
Some students in my class commented that it was cruel keeping her legs hobbled together and wanted to take it off but it is more to stop her injuring herself and she didn't seem to notice it was on.

Good news is that she was ruminating today when we went down to see her so I guess the rumen fluid transplant helped!
There were no vets down there to speak to so we're not really sure what was going on and what her prognosis is...

Stella the Cow

Stella, one of the cows we use in Clinical Diagnostics, slipped over in the department earlier today and couldn't get back up. They thought she had slipped so took her some food and water but her appetite was low and still wasn't able to stand. She had a calf just over a month ago.

One of the vets gave her 40% glucose and Ca intravenously but it was pretty obvious that she wouldn't be able to stand so they put her on a trolley and moved her back to her stable. She was in sternal recumbency with her right hind leg out stretched unable to move it.

Rumen fluid samples were taken which showed she had 0 ruminal protozoa; these help digest food in the rumen. Students in my class collected rumen fluid from a healthy cow using PVC piping and gave Stella a rumen fluid transplant - something I'd never seen or heard of before.
She was given lots of fresh grass, hay and concentrates as well as access to fresh water.

Prof. Mudron the head of Ruminants clinic came and did a neurological exam and she couldn't feel anything in the leg with no response to superficial (pin prick test) or deep (with forceps) pain sensation tests. He was really worried it was damage to the femoral nerve with complete paralysis and a poor prognosis. Videos were taken so he could check progress over the next few days.

An IV catheter was placed into her left ear for 10 litres of isotonic solution NaCl+ with glucose as well as Novasul (containing metamizole, a spasmolytic and analgesic/pain relief) and Menbutone (to aid digestion) injections. 
The way the vet showed us the IV catheter was so clever. They attach a retractable dog lead to the bottle of saline and clip the end to the cows halter, the IV line is taped to the lead so that when the cow moves the line moves with her and she cannot pull it out.

An hour later and after the hoist was removed, she remained standing so Mudron repeated the reflex tests and sensation had returned to the leg as she was responding to the pin prick test which showed the femoral nerve pathways to the brain were still intact.

She is bedded down on lots of straw and will be turned several times throughout the day and lifted with a sling to be milked to keep her comfortable and reduce the risk of mastitis.

Blood samples were taken to look for markers in the blood indicating muscle damage to try and get an idea of what was going on; she has low serum protein, high Leukocytes (white blood cells) and low PCV.

If she can't stand up by herself in the next few days prognosis is poor for muscular and neurological damage.