Sheep/Goat Flashcards
The image shows a 4 month old Suffolk lamb with severe carpus valgus. What is the name commonly given to this hereditary condition in Suffolks?
Spider leg
What do you want the urine UG to be of a goat with a hx of urolithasis?
The correct answer is maintaining urine specific gravity <1.020. An important principle in management of any patient with urolithiasis is to maintain dilute urine so that solutes do not concentrate to the degree that they form precipitates that lead to stone formation. Struvite stones (magnesium ammonium phosphate) tend to form in alkaline urine so ideal urine pH for struvite stone formers is usually around 6.5. Other principles of management are to decrease urea in the urine, often done by moderate protein restriction and to decrease the minerals involved (magnesium and phosphate). Finally, a key element in struvite stone formation is the presence of a urinary tract infection, particularly with urease-producing microbes, most notably staphylococcus and proteus. Monitoring, preventing, and treating UTIs is an important aspect of management of these patients.
How many permanent teeth do goats have?
The correct answer is 32.
A nine-month old La Mancha goat was noticed to be losing weight over the last week. The owner brought the goat in from pasture and fed the goat 2 pounds of grain mix twice daily along with free choice of hay and alfalfa. Last night, the goat was seen staggering and bumping into things. Vaccinations are current and no other goats appear to be affected. On physical exam, the goat was found to be blind, with an intact pupillary light reflex. The goat was also opisthotonic, hypertonic, hyperreflexic, and tetraplegic. Where is the lesion?
The correct answer is cerebrum. The history and clinical signs described are compatible with grain overload, which will result in polioencephalomalacia. This disease will cause destruction of the gray matter in the cerebrum.
A 7-year old doe presents with abscessation of the supramammary lymph nodes. What is the most likely diagnosis?
The correct answer is Corynebacterium pseudotuberculosis. This is a description of caseous lymphadenitis. Infection of supramammary lymph nodes in sheep and goats is of economic importance due the fact that caseous lymphadenitis can cause weight loss in the individual, can become a herd problem, and could also be a potential public health concern.
White foci of necrosis on cotyledons with abortion storms
Toxoplasma
A 3-year old female goat is displaying signs of decreased activity with right sided ptosis and drooling. On examination, you notice a decreased palpebral reflex on the right side. The goat has a temperature of 104F (40 C). What is the most important and appropriate therapy for the goat’s suspected condition?
The key to answering this question is the unilateral nature of the clinical signs which are most typical of Listeriosis in goats in contrast to other common neurologic conditions such as Polioencephalomalacia (thiamine or Vitamin B1 deficiency). This infection is most common in goats fed silage (although that information was not provided in this question).
Thiamine administration would not be inappropriate but is not the most critical therapy for Listeriosis.
The signs in this goat are not suggestive of white muscle disease which is caused by selenium deficiency. They are also not suggestive of lungworms or roundworms which might be treated with levamisole.
You are called by a sheep rancher in the western USA who has lost 60 mature sheep in the last 2 days. He describes the signs he has observed: they act depressed, the few he has caught had a fever of between 104 (40 C) and 106F (41.1 C), they have respiratory distress and congested mucous membranes, and many developed convulsions shortly before death occurred. Some had bloody discharges coming from the nose and rectum after death. He cut open one animal and the spleen was large and looked like blackberry jam. There were hemorrhages on many of the organs. You tell him not to cut any more open and to bury the others. What do you do next?
These signs are classic for anthrax. The diagnosis should be confirmed by examining a blood sample for Bacillus anthracis. Humans should use care to avoid exposure of this potentially zoonotic infection. The disease is reportable, and you must notify state officials immediately.
A 4 month old lamb in a pasture in California during the rainy season has icteric mucous membranes and sclera (see image), and is anemic, febrile, and lethargic. Several lambs in the same pasture have died in the last few days. Postmortem exam reveals extensive icterus and many scattered petechial hemorrhages. You suspect leptospirosis. Which of the following tests is most likely to be both sensitive and specific in helping make a postmortem diagnosis of acute leptospirosis?
Lepto in lambs is unusual in that hemolytic anemia often occurs acutely, which is not the case in other species. Various tests are used to diagnose lepto, but immunoperoxidase staining of renal tissues may be the most sensitive and specific when deaths are acute. The renal lesions consist of interstitial nephritis and tubular nephrosis. It is VERY difficult to culture lepto from tissues or urine. The animals died acutely, so serum antibody titers are unlikely to be raised. Darkfield microscopy has low sensitivity in clinical cases.
What is the estrous cycle length of a goat?
The correct answer is 21 days.
After introducing a group of new sheep to his flock, a farmer calls you out because many of his sheep have developed severe lameness. You examine the animals and find a malodorous exudate and partial separation of the horn of the hoof from the skin. You stain the exudate and find gram negative barbell shaped rods. What is the agent responsible ?
Dichelobacter nodosus is the cause of infectious footrot in sheep. Lesions are typically as described in this case and often occur after introduction of a new animal or moving to an infected pasture. If you were unable to determine the answer from the description of the lesions, of the answer choices, Dichelobacter is the only gram negative bacteria.
Several young goats under one year of age in a herd of 50 goats have scabby lesions around their mouths and noses, as shown in the photo. They also have low-grade fever and appear reluctant to eat hay, so they are falling behind the group. The owner is concerned because this condition appears to be spreading. You examine three affected kids and find that under the scabs is what appears to be proliferative granulation tissue. You advise the owner that the diagnosis is ________?
Contagious ecthyma- Also known as orf or soremouth, this parapoxvirus disease is common in lambs and kids. Humans can also be affected. Rarely fatal, it nonetheless can make affected kids or lambs end up smaller than their age mates. Lesions occasionally also occur on the teats of the dams. The scabs dry up in 2 to 4 weeks and fall off, with the virus overwintering in the scabs on the ground until more susceptible animals appear next year.
An owner wants to eventually breed his newborn lamb and wants to know when she will reach puberty. What is your answer?
Ewes and does reach puberty at 5-7 months. Cows reach puberty at about 13-15 months but may become pregnant earlier and should be separated from bulls well before a year of age.
The age of puberty in sheep is dependent on breed, when the animal was born, genetics, size, and nutrition. Finns and Romanovs are earlier, meat breeds next, and many wool breeds reach puberty latest. Thus the range can be 5 to 12 months. Your answer will thus have to be crafted for the particular situation, but the owner needs to be aware that it may happen as early as 5 months.
A goat herd is diagnosed with having Mycoplasma mycoides ssp. mycoides (caprine or large colony type). What should you tell the owner to do?
The correct answer is to culture milk from all does and cull positive culture animals and affected kids. There is no effective therapy for Mycoplasma mycoides ssp. mycoides that can assure that some animals, even treated kids, do not remain carriers after treatment. Thus treatment is controversial and depends on the circumstances, herd size and owner`s wishes. Keeping the kids in the face of an outbreak is not recommended because they may become carriers. Isolating for six months may not solve the problem because there may be carriers.If the owner wishes, then kids can be treated, then isolated and raised on known mycoplasma free milk or milk replacer.
Mycoplasma mycoides small colony type is the cause of contagious bovine pleuropneumonia and is a reportable agent in the United States as it no longer exists in the USA (eradicated in 1892).
Which type of urolith (shown in the image below) occurs most commonly in sheep grazing lush clover pastures?
The clover or alfalfa pasture contains high levels of calcium and often high levels of oxalates. In the gut, oxalate avidly binds calcium and makes it unavailable for absorption. With gradual introduction of oxalate-rich diets, ruminal bacteria efficiently metabolize oxalate to bicarbonate. Thus, microbial metabolism of oxalate in the rumen may increase the availability of dietary calcium. These factors may combine to increase urinary calcium excretion and alkalinize the urine, thereby promoting calcium carbonate calculogenesis.
Silicate stones are the result of high intakes of silica in mature range grasses, combined with other factors such as dehydration. Struvites (magnesium ammonium phosphate) tend to be found in feedlot animals receiving large amounts of grain which contains high levels of phosphorus.
Calcium oxalate crystals are often present in ruminant urine and may be incorporated in small amounts into other types of stones.
