Clinical

Diagnostic testing in small ruminant medicine

The field of diagnostics, like many others, is fast evolving and many exciting new technologies have arisen in the last few years, which will help to overcome some of the challenges within small...

Trace elements in sheep: history taking

When presented with a clinical scenario, a standard clinical history needs to be taken. This should include the following:.

Lameness in housed goats

Understanding and researching lameness requires accurate measurement of lameness status. In addition to its value for research, measuring the number of lame goats on a farm is useful for identifying...

Newborn calf welfare: effects of birth assistance, colostrum feeding and cow–calf separation

The welfare of calves during the birth process has not been researched but a number of studies have investigated the welfare of newborn calves in the immediate post-birth period, often relating...

Why be interested in Neospora caninum on farm?

Neospora infection in cattle can occur through vertical transmission (cow to calf) or horizontal transmission (Figure 1). Spread from cow to cow is not possible and this protozoan parasite requires a...

Economics of heifer rearing on dairy farms

Research from 101 farms across Great Britain reported that the cost of rearing a heifer from birth to first calving varied significantly between farms, from £505.10 to £2147.50 per heifer reared...

Understanding the UK goat sector in 2023

Underpinning all other areas of goat keeping within the UK are the true pedigree herds, and the British Goat Society and its various breed societies hold the pedigree and stud books and sell pedigree...

Colostrum quality and composition

The process of colostrogenesis can be defined as the secretion of colostrum components from polarised epithelial cells located within the alveoli of the mammary gland (Cristea and Polyak, 2018;...

Neospora in UK cattle

The main clinical presentation in Neospora-positive cattle is abortion from 5–7 months of gestation and can occur as early as 4 months (McAllister, 2016). Seropositive cows are three to thirteen times...

Iron-deficiency anaemia in calves and lambs

Most of the iron in the body is stored in haemoglobin (60–70%), while iron can also be found in haemosiderin (spleen, liver) and myoglobin. Some is transported in blood, bound to transferrin. Apart...

How to: ovine clinical examination

Personal protective equipment is required; typically consisting of disinfectable wellington boots (with the option of steel toe capped variants available), waterproof trousers and top (the author...

Use of NSAIDs in the management of lameness in dairy cattle

Several randomised controlled trials have investigated the efficacy of NSAIDs as part of different treatment regimens using a range of outcome measures. A systematic literature review has recently...