Cattle Exam

Question 1

How would you prevent digital disease?

Answer 1

* Design of laneways with materials that are non-slip but not overly abrasive, no sharp rocks, edges, or materials

* congestion points such as sharp turns or narrowing should be eliminated

* areas around drinking troughs or in the milking yard, well maintained and good drainage

* Cows should not be hurried, no biting dogs

* Minimize the time spent on concrete

* Footbaths in 5% formalin 2 x per week especially in a herd with high incidence of interdigital disease, heel erosion and sole ulceration

* Foot trimming

* Do not select animals for breeding with poor hoof conformation

* Walking distances kept to a minimum

*

Question 2

A cow comes in with septic arthritis of the distal interphalangeal joint of its lateral claw. You decide to amputate the digit. How would you go about this?

Answer 2

* Relieve pain associated with septic arthritis of the DIP joint, severe tenosynovitis, osteomyelitis of the third phalanx

* Standing procedure using ring block in the mid cannon area of LA

* Tourniquet of rubber tubing placed around the limb just below the carpal or tarsal region–> lateral digital vein proximal to fetlock joint disinfected and 2% lignocaine solution injected (19G needle)

* Amputate at the level of the distal third of the proximal phalanx– area scrubbed with warm soapy water and iovone surgical scrub

* Interdigital skin incised with a scapel- incision continued around the lateral aspect of the claw to be amputated…. the distal end of the claw is removed by disarticulating the joint between the first and second phalanx. Embryotomy wire used to remove the distal end of the first phalanx. The out-pocking area of interdigital fat is trimmed with scissors. Wound is inspected for sucutaneous abscessation and necrosis and for evidence of infection of tendons or tenson sheaths– debrided if necessary.

* Antibiotic ointment is applied to the wound then heavy gauze pad and finally a pressure bandage using elastoplast. Changed in about 4 days and this second dressing removed in another 5 or 6 days.

** Penicillin/ streptomycin IM for 3 days following surgery

Question 3

You have a uterine torsion in a pregnant cow causing dystocia. You decide to do a c-section. Is uterine tosion an indication for a c-section?

Answer 3

Yes it is an indication but you would want to try to manually rotate the cow using a detorsion rod, chains, or rolling the cow first

Question 4

You do a vaginal exam of a cow and find a 7cm cyst on the ventral vagina. You diagnose it as cyst of Gartner’s canal. Are you worried about it causing infertility? (yes or no)

Answer 4

They don’t cause infertility and are mentioned here because they are quite common

Question 5

Uterine contractions are more effective with age. True or false.

Answer 5

False- less effective with age

Question 6

How long do you give a bull for serving capacity test?

Answer 6

Serving capacity- counting the number of successful services in a 20 minutes test, used for genetic evaluation.

Question 7

What are some of the infectious diseases apart from mastitis that can affect the udder?

Answer 7

Bovine herpes mammillitis, Pseudocowpox, Cowpox, Warts, Blackspot, Udder impetigo, Ringworm

Question 8

You have two samples of semen - one with 80% normal sperm and the other with 50% normal sperm from bull a and bull b respectively. Which one would you use for AI and which one for paddock mating?

Answer 8

SHould have 70% normal sperm for AI

50-70% normal sperm for paddock mating

Provided that:

• not more than 20% uncompensable
• not more than 30% of other individual abnormalities

Question 9

You want to abort a cow’s pregnancy. It is just under 4 months pregnant. Can you abort using an injection of prostaglandin?

Answer 9

Yes prostaglandin is effective from about day 5-7 up to about day 100-150 at which time the uterus can produce sufficient progesterone to maintain a pregnancy without the ovaries. It becomes effective againt in the last 2-3 weeks, particularly if given after a dose of corticosteroids.

** Normally your advice would be wait 7 days before treating with PG after bull escaped the fence

Question 10

Most cows need >1 joining. True or false.

Answer 10

50-70% conception rate, so not true

Question 11

Give an example of a condition that would make a bull fail the VBBSE.

Answer 11

* persistent frenulum

* unable to mount due to leg injury

* Posty leg

Question 12

Scrotal circumference in bulls is helpful because it reflects daily sperm output, indicates puberty and is heritable. But, it is not a repeatable trait. True or false.

Answer 12

False

Question 13

What are a few things you can do to help bulls get along before you put them in together with the cows?

Answer 13

Run bulls in groups for a couple of months before mating sot they can sort out a pecking order

Use bulls of similar age and size if possible

Question 14

What can you do to control Streptococcus uberis mastitis - it is an environmental pathogen.

Answer 14

Clean and dry teats before milking

Detect and treat infections early

Treat aggressively with intramammary and parenteral antibiotics

Reduce exposure during an outbreak e.g. calving pads cleaned regularly

Stripping teats prior to milking

Milking machine maintenance

Pre-dipping cows before milking

Long acting dry cow preparation may reduce incidence of new infections at the end of the next dry period

Question 15

Your client has some bulls he wants to start joining. But, in the past few days, they were both systemically unwell, and are now fine. How long would you suggest he rest them before he breeds them? These bulls are also virgins, how much extra time to you give them to learn?

Answer 15

Virgin bulls- extra 10 days and school them

Don’t use a sick or injured bull for at least 70 days

Question 16

What 5 factors can a milking machine contribute to mastitis?

Answer 16

1. Acting as a fomite
2. Impaired teat condition (damaged liners, poor fitting liners, high teat end vacuum and pulsation failure)
3. Increased bacterial colonisation of the teat canal (maintenance and replacement of liners)
4. Impact forces caused by liner slips– if it slips off the teat the pressure difference between the teat end and the cluster causes air to enter the cluster at speeds up to 60 km/h
5. Leaving residual milk- under milking may increase mastitis levels by reducing the amount of flushing of the canal

Question 17

You feel a 10 cent sized cotyledon on bovine rectal palpation. How old is the foetus?

Answer 17

16 weeks

Question 18

Pick 2 examples of conditions more common in old cows and hence reasons its better to have a younger herd.

Answer 18

high heifer retention rate enabling cows to be sold at 8 years old having reared their 6th calf.

* Grass tetany

* Cancers

Question 19

Name 5 clinical pathology tests you can do for mastitis

Answer 19

1. Milk culture- C & S
2. Individual Cow Cell Count
3. Bulk Milk Cell Count
4. Rapid Mastitis Test- a reagent mixed with a sample of milk– form a gel if mastitic (useful to decide which quarter to culture from high ICCC cows)
5. Conductivity- increase in sodium and chloride ions in mastitic milk
6. ELISA
7. NAGASE test- measures the level of cell associated enzyme N-acetyle-beta- D- glucosaminidase in milk. A high level of this enzyme indicates a high cell count. Automated test. Good predictor of infected quarter.

Question 20

What are the 5 components of a VBBSE?

Answer 20

1. Scrotum
2. General physical examination
3. Crush side semen evaluation
4. Serving ability testing
5. Semen morphology testing

Question 21

Your colleague asks for your advice on which antibiotics to use for a mastitis case. He has strip milked from affected cows and has images of what the milk looked like on a black background. He was thinking, based on gross appearance, he would choose oxytet. What are your thoughts/comments?

Answer 21

Need a milk culture to be sure as common pathogens respond in a variety of ways to antibiotics

* strep agalactiae is sensitive to most antibiotics- high cure rate

* Staph aureus difficult to treat because of microabscesses inaccessible to antibiotics

* Strep uberis vary depending on the strain- need to treat fast and with sensitive antibiotics

* E.coli- antibiotics only indicated when cow is systemically ill or the udder is so swollen it is not possible to strip milk

** Oxytet has a 7 day withholding period following last treatment

Question 22

How would you treat hydrops allantois?

Answer 22

• Hydrallantois

– Most common, Round and tense

– Occurs rapidly

– Placentomes and calf not palpable

– Calf small, often apparently normal

– Refills quickly if drained

– Abortion or maternal death

• Hydrallantois Treatment

– Salvage for slaughter as it risks the viability of the fetus and the cow. As hydroallantois is a placental disease, recurrence is likely. Even if the fetus is brought to term, the dam should be culled. If dz is severe enough to cause recumbency or rupture of the prepubic tendon, euthanasia should be immediately pursued. In dairy cattle, if the pregnancy is terminated (corticosteroids), it is unlikely the cow will have a productive milk cycle and thus it may not be economical to keep her through the next lactation. BUT if the cow is within 2-3 weeks of pregnancy and the fetus is considered valuable it is feasible to take the pregnancy to full term… elective c-section and induction of parturtion (dex or PGF2 alpha)

** Prognosis for future fertility of the dam is better for hydamnion because it is a defect of the fetus vs. hydroallantois which is a result of uterine abnormality (both conditions may result in RFM and metritis especially if parturition was induced… prophylactic antiobiotics might be warranted).

Question 23

A caudal epidural provides surgical analgesia. True or false?

Answer 23

False

Question 24

What are the 2 variables that dairy farmers get a premium for?

Answer 24

protein and fat content of milk

Question 25

List 2 non-infectious causes of mastitis

Answer 25

Physical or chemical damage to the mammary gland. A cow may be kicked in the mammary gland resulting in inflammation. Rough handling milk.

Question 26

WHY ARE TEATS PRONE TO CRACKS?

Answer 26

Epidermal layer is firmly attached to underlying dermis, it is extremely sensitive and has no sebaceous glands, hair follicles or sweat galnds. Therefore they are susceptible to drying and cracking.

Question 27

A cow has herpes mammillitis. Are you concerned about contract the dz and explain how you would avoid getting it?

Answer 27

* Insects may act as vectors, virus must be deposited deep in skin

* Not a known zoonosis

Question 28

Describe how you would approach a teat laceration in a cow

Answer 28

UDDER

* suitably restrained, sedated and locally anaesthetized

* Tie off any bleeding vessels, clean and debride the wound and close the wount with suture material

TEAT

* well restrained, sedate with Xylazine IV, leg rope the cow OR recumbency with higher dose of Xylazine

* Anaesthetized with a ring block of lignocaine around the base of the teat

* If teat canal is damaged– sutured using fine suture material (3-4/0) absorbable suture material in a simple continuous pattern so the mucosa is totally sealed

* Leakage of milk will prevent the wound from healing

* Subcutaneous layer should be closed separately from teh cutaneous layer with a continuous absorbable suture.. cutaneous layer closed with non-absorbable material in a pattern such as the vertical mattress stitch

* do not let the farmer milk the cow until the wound has healed 7 to 10 days– cow needs to be milked by hand

* treat with intramammary antibiotics for three days following surgery

Question 29

To dilate a teat you would sedate the cow, apply a tail jack and a leg rope. What are the indications for teat dilation, and identify the risks. Do you give ab to this cow?

Answer 29

Indications

* allow milk flow following black spot infection

* allow milk flow from slow milking cows

* remove teat peas

* attempt break down fibrous tissue resulting from trauma or infection

Risks

* extremely prone to mastitis

Yes intramammary antibioitcs for three days following dilation

Question 30

What is hands down the most effective way to manage Leptospirosis in a cattle herd?

Is the Lepto vacc curative? How do some of these vaccs work?

You dx a case of lepto. How do you approach case?

Answer 30

If leptospirosis has been diagnosed all heifers and cows should receive an annual vaccination in conjunction with 5 in 1. Lepto vaccination should still be considered as part of the routine vaccination program to minimise the risk of leptospirosis and from an occupational health and safety perspective

Vaccine is not curative, but it is preventative depending on which serovar is present.

* Stimulates production of protective antibodies in cattle– 2 weeks before antibodies are sufficient for some level of protection. Maximum protection is not achieved until the second booster dose 4-6 weeks after the first and then annual boosters. Calves 4-6 months of age. Can help minimize urine shedding, prevent infection.

Question 31

List the 5 stations of a cattle exam and what you look for at each. What is a common thing you look for in EVERY station?

Answer 31

Before you start:

* History and observations/ safety check

Station 1: The Tail End

* Collect Urine: ketones (ketosis), protein (if off feed might indicate kidney problem), blood, glucose (renal failure)

* Temperature 38.5-39.2C normal

* Pulse character and rate (60-80 BPM)

* Check vulva MM- pink and healthy (chocolate- nitrite poisoning, brick red- cyanide, jaundice- haemolysis or liver problems, pallor- low PCV)

* Resp rate and nature

* Condition score 1-8 in dair, 1-5 in beef

* Abdominal size and contour- distension?

* Assess skin and hair- dehydration? Hair loss? Lesions?

* General conformation

Station 2: The left side

* Palpate, auscultate the heart- look for thrill, rate, character, rhythm, other sounds– 4th/5th ICS medial to the elbow, 60-80 normal, > 150 poor prognosis

* Observe jugular groove- heart problems if distended

* Auscultate lung fields- rate, character, abnormal sounds– 20-30 mature dairy, 12-30 mature beef

* Contour of abdomen, palpate rumen, percuss and auscultate body wall, percuss and ballott lower flank, check LNs– prefemoral and prescapular

Station 3: The right side of the cow

* repeat of left side

* heart, lung fields, contour of abdomen

* Liver, LNs- prefemoral and prescapular

Station 4: Head and neck

* Check brisket (oedema?), jugular veins, prescapular LNs

* Symmetry of head– droopy lips? swellings?

* Check eyes– blindness, discharge, hypopion, conjunctiva, ulcers, cancer, engorgement of scleral vessels in toxaemia, sunken eyes in shock/ dehydration

* Muzzle, nostrils- discharge?

* Mouth- jaw tone, ulcers/ erosions

* Palpate and visualize tongue and mucosa– woody tongue, vesicles, tongue paralysis (botulism)

* Palpate submandibular tissue and parotid LNs

Station 5: The Tail End Revisited

* Examine udder, teats, milk– heat, pain swelling, teat lesions, ulcers, abnormal milk

* Vaginal exam– difficult if not recently calved– prsent of discharge, odour

* rectal exam: faeces, rumen, abdominal contents, reproductive system

* Assess limbs and feet- gait, symmetry

Question 32

Explain how you would correct a dislocated hip of a cow who has dislocated it within the past 12 hours?

Answer 32

Heavily sedated with Xyalzine (1/2 ml per 45 kg body weight
Placed in lateral recumbency with affected limb uppermost

Tractionapplied to the limb using a block and tackle attached to a post, tractor, or car or using a foetal extractor

Direction of pull can be changed– limb is rotated

Rotation should consist of inward rotation of the stifle and outward rotation of the hock if cranio-dorsal hip dislocation

** When reduced, animal is pulled to the sitting position and left undisturbed

Question 33

How would you treat a cow with a dislocated hip, standing for 25 hours?

Answer 33

* Surgical reduction may be attempted in longer- standing cases

* Alternatively, the animal may be left untreated to allow a false hip joint to develop but only if the animal is capable of walking

Question 34

Once restrained, how would you go about examining a cow’s foot?

Answer 34

Sedate with Xylazine and tie up the foot with rope– if painful then further regional nerve block

* Examine the weak structures of the horn

1. The white line (junction of wall and sole)
2. The abaxial groove (junction of the bulb and abaxial wall)
3. Junction of sole and bulb horn
4. Axial groove (junction of the bulb, the sole and axial wall)
5. Para-articular goove (just proximal to the axial groove and is close to the distal interphalangeal joint)

** Look for most common conditions e.g. interdigital necrobacillosis (footrot), interdigital dermatitis (scald), digital dermatitis (hairy heelwart), excess hoof wear, bruised sole, septic traumatic pododermatitive, abscess, etc.

* Use hoof testers, sharp double edged hoof knife, multi-joint hoof cutters, angle grinder with coarse cutting disc

Question 35

The OvSynch Program

Answer 35

GnRH on day 1– either causes ovulation and a new follicular wave or there is a new follicular wave anyway

PG 7 days later: Luteolysis: CLs should have had time to form

GnRH 48 hours later– causes ovulation sooner

AI all cows 12-24 hours later

Question 36

ANTIBIOTICS USED IN CATTLE

Question 37

C- section indications and step by step

Answer 37

* C- section indications

• Live, viable calf but foeto-pelvic disproportion
• valuable calf
• elective pre-parturient
• foetal monsters
• dead, emphysematous calf
• uterine torsion

* Caudal epidural to reduce amount of straining

* Standing (left or right paralumbar fossa and lateral oblique approach)

• Left flank incision, rumen can be used to prevent exposure of the intestines– but rumen can affect exposure to surgical field as well
• wound dehiscence is more manageable in the flank
• Sedation should be avoided if possible
• Flank incision anaesthesia– paravertebral anaesthesia T13, L1, L2, L3 is common- each site at the transverse process is infused with 20 ml of 2-3% lignocaine

* pre-operative antibiosis with procaine penicillin and dihydrostreptomycin

* Tocolytic (anti-contraction med) agents such as isoxsuprine lactate– beta2 adrenoceptor stimulant clenbuterol, hydrochloride administered IM or slow IV injection widely used can help with manipulation and exteriorisation of the uterus during surgery

*Prepare skin with surgical scrub

* Incision starting 10-15 cm ventral to the transverse processes of the lumbar vertebrae midway between the last rib and the tuber coxae and extending approx 30-40 cm long…. cutaneous, external abdominal oblique, internal abdominal oblique

* Exteriorise the uterus, uterine wall incised over the calf’s leg using a scalpel or scissors

* Manually rupture membranes

* suturing the uterus– ligate any vessel bleeding– absorbable material– start at the cervical end– continuous inverting patterns (Cushing)

* Hartman’s solution to lavage the abdomen

* oxytocin to hasten uterine involution and expulsion of the placenta

* Peritoneum is repaired and transverse abdominal muscle one layer…. external ab oblique in the second layer

* Simple continuous suture pattern is used starting ventral