Routine Field Surgeries In Small Ruminants And Cattle Flashcards
Four reasons to remove horns
Danger to people and herd members
Prevent bruising - meat quality
Required for registration of dairy goats
Management in commercial operations
Describe the nerve supply to the horns.
Cornual nerve - beneath temporal line
Infratrochlear nerve, above the rim of the orbit, toward the medial canthus
What do you use to block nerve supply to the horns?
Block all four (two on each side) with total of 1 mL of 2% lidocaine
0.3 ml 8.4% bicarb and 1.7 mL sterile water (buffer)
25g needle
When to disbud - bucks vs does
Buck kids: 3 days
Doe kids: 5-7 days
Nubians and Pygmies can be a little later
Disbudding protocol should include a ____ prophylaxis.
Tetanus
Four issues to consider when disbudding
- No frontal sinus at this age to protect the brain
- Cheap irons aren’t hot enough and can cook the brain before the horn bud is killed
- Hemorrhage and death; or just unable to drink the next day (tube feed, NSAIDs - flunixin, meloxicam)
- Bone damage is portal for infection (abx recommended routinely)
Possible protocol for dehorning adults
Tranquilizer (3 mg xylazine/100# IV)
Local blocks - 2 mL 1% buffered lidocaine
Clip and scrub
Cut skin all the way around with scalpel
Saw off with obstetrical wire
Pull arteries, bandage for a few days
Meloxicam 2 mg/kg loading; 1 mg/kg/day
Tranq - block - clip - scrub - cut - saw - pull - Meloxicam
What kind of band can be used for disbudding?
Elastrator band
What is scurs?
Regrowth after disbudding; common in bucks OR if done too late
Removal of small vs large vs huge scurs
Small - trim (if not knocked off in fights)
Large - saw off with OB wire at length where horn is still cool
Huge - dehorn again
5 dehorning tools for calves
Caustic paste
Portasol (butane) and Express (butane/propane mix, larger tip)
Electric dehorner
Roberts gouge
Barnes - small and large
Disbudding of calves must be done before what age?
3 weeks
Roberts gouge dehorner can spread ____.
Bovine Leukemia Virus
Protocol for dehorning cattle
Securely restrain
Xylazine 6-10 mg IM or IV
Flunixin meglumine 1.1 mg/kg
Lidocaine 2% - 15-20 mL per side and ring block around the horn
Disbudding protocol for calves
Securely restrain the animal
3 tablets of meloxicam (45 mg/100lb) PO
4-6 mL of 2% Lidocaine on each horn bud with a 20 gauge 1” needle
Three benefits of docking in sheep
- Avoids manure accumulation in the wool if sheep is on lush pasture or has diarrhea for another reason
- Avoids flystrike
- Easier for ram to breed
This is a common problem with docking too short:
Rectal prolapse
Why does the AABP oppose the routine tail docking of cattle?
Current scientific literature indicates that routine tail docking provides no benefit to the animal.
Docking protocols should include ______ prophylaxis.
Tetanus
The AASRP recommends that lambs’ tails be docked at the level of the ______ and at the _______ age practicable.
Distal end of the caudal tail fold
Earliest
Reasons for castration
- Easier and safety to handle - necessary for small ruminant pets; avoids buck odor
- Avoids unwanted pregnancies - genetic selection
- Less likely to fight, reducing bruising and injuries
Castration protocol should include these three things:
Tetanus prophylaxis
Pain meds - meloxicam or flunixin
Local anesthesia - 2% Lidocaine
When might primary repair of a nose ring tear not be warranted?
Why?
When would secondary repair be warranted?
If the tear is older than 6 hours and/or grossly contaminated and shows severe tissue trauma
Sutures will likely dehisce
After an initial 3-4 week granulation process
Sedation and analgesia for a small vs large bull nose ring tear repair
Small bull sedation: 10 mg xylazine and 1 mL acepromazine IV
Large bull sedation: 20 mg xylazine and 1 mL acepromazine IV
Analgesia: infuse nose with lidocaine or use bilateral infraorbital lidocaine block (5-10 cc each site)
What suture material and pattern would you use to repair a nose ring tear?
3 Supramid for closure of wound
2-3 horizontal mattress sutures with simple interrupted sutures between them as needed
How long before replacement of the nose ring is recommended?
Should sutures be removed?
6 months
Do not remove sutures
Post-op medications for nose ring tear repair
Broad-spectrum antimicrobial
Appropriate pain medication
If a bull refuses to drink out of a small trough in the stalls following a nose ring tear repair, what can you do?
Offer water in a bucket
