Cattle lab practical Flashcards
what are seeders used for?
y-shaped tool that is placed in the vagina to administer progesterone
wait 5 days before removing and then watch for 24-72 hours to see if the heifer/cow goes into heat —> if she does choose a bull’s semen to administer
how is the semen prepped for administration into a female after being removed from the nitrogen tank?
canes in the nitrogen tank holds the straws
warm the straw with a warming device for 30 secs-1 min after removing from the tank
use an applicator to administer the semen and make sure to squirt some in both uterine horns
OB chains and handles
used for dystocia
the handles (which are connected to chains) go around the calf’s legs to try and pull it out during a contraction
if that doesn’t work you can use an OB puller
how do we trigger breathing in a newborn calf?
use straw to trigger sneezing which causes them to start breathing
what do we do if a calf isn’t nursing after birth?
fed colostrum through an esophageal calf feeder
put a little milk on the cow’s teats and some in the calf’s mouth afterwards so the calf can taste the milk and then find the proper milk source
tuberculosis testing
administer 0.1cc of tuberculin in the caudal tail fold
read after 72 hours —> if the spot is larger than a pea the animal has tuberculosis
don’t administer tuberculin on thursdays since vets don’t usually come out on sundays
how do we obtain a sterile milk sample?
wear gloves and scrub like we would for surgery starting at the far teats to the near teats
then milk the cow for sample from near to far (can touch near teats if needed to reach far ones without worrying about breaking sterility)
bulk tanks
holds milk and allows us to test SCC
SCC levels for tank should be < 750,000 cells/mL
how is milk measured?
in pounds
1 gallon milk ~ 8 lbs
colostrometer
hydrometer that measures specific gravity and converts it to Ig concentration
it tells us the quality of the colostrum
how do you use a colostrometer?
fill the colostrometer almost to the top with room temperature colostrum and place the hydrometer in the milk, the hydrometer will bob around and once it comes to a stop the area (green, yellow, or red) will indicate the quality of the colostrum
works like a traffic light: green is best quality
on other side of hydrometer you can read the specific measurement of Ig concentration in mg/mL
ear tagging
don’t do too close to the head or tip of the ear: tag in the middle
watch you don’t tag into a vein
tattooing
put letters/numbers into the tattooer which punctures little holes into the ear, smear tattoo ink over it so the ink fills the holes
benefits of colostrum
acts as a laxative, fights infection, stimulates growth
what type of breeders are sheep and goats?
seasonally polyestrus
what happens during calf processing?
vaccinating, castrating, dehorning
how long is the dry period of a female cow?
2 months
sheep scientific name
ovis aires
ovine
goat scientific name
capra hircus
caprine
what are the 3 parts of the teat?
teat cistern, sphincter muscle, streak canal
how do you treat a prolapsed uterus?
- numb with lidocaine at 1st or 2nd coccygeal vertebrae
- clean the uterus with saline
- use table sugar to shrink the uterus to fit back in
- suture closed with umbilical tape
what are the chances of a prolapsed uterus reoccurring?
very low, so animal is not culled when this happens
where is the rumen located in relation to the paralumbar fossa?
rumen is right behind the paralumbar fossa
what vein do we draw blood from in a cow?
coccygeal vein
runs through the groove between vertebrae in the tail
how do we measure the stomach tube length?
tube goes from mouth to rumen
landmark for rumen: last rib
passing a stomach tube
- apply lube to the stomach tube
- hold frick speculum in mouth
- pass stomach tube through frick speculum into rumen while blowing into the tube
removing a stomach tube
blow into the tube while removing it from the animal so it doesn’t aspirate
how can you tell you are in the rumen when passing a stomach tube?
you will smell the gas
where do you administer cattle vaccines?
behind the ear
that area isn’t used for meat
colostrometer measurements (green, yellow, red)
green: > 50 mg/mL
yellow: 20-50 mg/mL
red: < 20 mg/mL
