Veterinary College, Bengaluru

Monthly e-Bulletin

Newsletter Date : 31 Janvuary2015 Volume No: 4 Issue : 1

MadhukarDama* and Upendra H. A.#

* #
Assistant Professor; Director, Institute of Wildlife Veterinary Research, Doddaluvara, Kodagu.
Email: ( uppisri2003@yahoo.com )

It is said Veterinarian is the best doctor in the world. He cannot ask his patients what is the
matter he got to know. How true it is? Veterinarians service to the society is immeasurable, so also
contribution of Veterinary and Animal Husbandry sector to the national GDP. However, a lot of
improvement is required in the Veterinary services in India as compared to the western countries. But
veterinary profession is not getting its due importance and share even though more than 75 per cent of
rural population in India depend on their livestock and poultry to earn their two meals a day. Veterinary
education and Veterinary practice are rightly governed by Veterinary Council of India and this has
definitely improved the quality of veterinary education as well as veterinary practice in India.
Indian Veterinarians are facing certain hurdles and constrains in their practice and hence the
optimal service of Veterinarian is not available to livestock owner and farmers. Different and difficult
terrain in which a Veterinarian has to work makes him/her not to reach the site of action in time. This
results in loss of precious time and invaluable livestock wealth. Different state Governments as well as
Central Government are making sustained efforts to overcome this hurdle. Need of the hour is to provide
every Veterinarian and Veterinary hospital with a suitable transport facility adequately equipped and
stocked. A good and effective dedicated communication channel is to be established between veterinarian
and livestock owner/farmer. Veterinarians should also be made available On-line 24 x 7 so that
livestock owner should be able to get vital information regarding livestock health care. It is also very
necessary to educate livestock owners regarding difference between services provided by a well-informed
registered veterinarian and local non-veterinarian practitioner.
It is noticed that a non-veterinarian, who practices veterinary medicine in illegal way is a local
person and he has local network and hence takes advantages of livestock owners ignorance and
helplessness. Hence it is necessary that veterinarian should develop very good public relation with
livestock owners and be available all the time.
It is necessary presently to convince the livestock owners that quality veterinary service Comes at a

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cost. Central and state Governments have understood the financial problems faced by livestock owners and
have commissioned many innovative programs to lessen the financial burden of livestock owners.
Veterinarians have to further concentrated efforts to ensure that the benefits of such programs reach the
livestock owners in an effective manner.
Unlike human medicine, veterinary medicines are available across the counter in many medical
shops without a proper veterinary prescription from a registered veterinary practitioner and this has
prompted non-veterinarians to practice veterinary medicine which itself is against the law. Hence,
pharmaceutical companies, pharmacists and medical stores should insist on proper veterinary prescriptions
from a registered veterinary practitioner before dispensing the veterinary medicine. Otherwise, problems
such as drug resistance, drug reactions, treatment complications, spread of contagious diseases will
increase day by day. Veterinary medicines should be made available only to registered veterinary
practitioners.
Effective disease prevention and control program can only be based on documentation of prevalent
and emerging diseases in livestock. This job can be done properly only by a knowledgeable and
experienced veterinarian. So it becomes pertinent to educate the veterinarians in areas such as disease
epidemiology, disease forecasting, and disaster management. The new VCI syllabus includes these topics
in the curriculum of BVSC & AH degree program. However, these topics are quite new to veterinarians
who have graduated out before implementation of new VCI syllabus. It is now necessary to organize
programs aimed at sensitizing and orienting such veterinarians to these topics. Once such an exercise is
formulated and implemented at national level, veterinarians will be equipped to take additional
responsibilities in the areas of disease forecasting, disaster management and disease control program.
Setting up of a separate disease surveillance unit at Taluk level is need of the hour.
Drug withdrawal period following medication is another aspect which has not received enough
importance. Indiscriminate use of antimicrobial drugs, misuse and abuse of medicines in veterinary
practice has led to drug resistance problems in humans. Hence a strict and effective law should be
enforced regarding proper use of antimicrobial drugs in veterinary practice and following of drug
withdrawal period before milk, meat and egg is made available for human consumption. The role of
veterinarian in this regard is very vital and all the veterinarians should be sensitized regarding harmful
effects of misuse and abuse of medicines.
Biomedical waste management is another area of concern. Presently biomedical waste management
at veterinary hospital is getting its due importance. What about the medical waste generated while
treating animals at a farm or at the doorstep of a farmer? This aspect seems to be neglected and remains to
be a hidden bomb ready to explode anytime. Veterinarians should be sensitized regarding law governing
biomedical waste management.
Knowledge is power and it becomes stale if not updated on continuous basis. To add to the efforts
of veterinarians in building society, opportunities should created to help veterinarians specialize in a
particular area such as wild animal medicine, avian medicine, large animal medicine, porcine medicine,
feline medicine, canine medicine, equine medicine etc. Let not the numbers of years of practice determine
the specialization of a veterinarian. Rather, specialization should be based on the formal education,

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, training,
orientation and hands-on experience. This problem can be addressed by starting diploma courses
in specialized fields. Further, Government should ensure that skill and knowledge acquired by the
veterinarians through such specialized diploma courses are utilized in a proper way.
Day to day administrative responsibilities imposed on veterinarian is increasing, thus coming in the
way of discharging his/her technical responsibilities. We are not advocating that veterinarians should stick
only to technical work and neglect administrative responsibilities. But a proper balance between these two
aspects should be achieved so that hard earned technical skill and expertize does not go waste.
Veterinary profession and practice will flourish further when we come out of our own self
constructed cocoons of age old practices. We need to open ourselves for changing working style,
understand the demands of the society, become more proactive and cultivate professional approach in
Veterinary practice.

Naveen, M., Ravi Raidurg., Mahesh, V. and Santhosh, K. M.

Department of Surgery and Radiology,Veterinary College, Vinoba Nagara, Shimoga-577204.
(raviraidurg@gmail.com )

Restraint is necessary for administration of drugs, premedication and sedation, infiltration of local
analgesic drugs and induction of general anaesthesia. It is also required for examination and minor
interferences carried out without sedation or anaesthesia. Most importantly, it helps in preventing the
movement of the animal during surgical intervention. Application of improper methods can cause serious
injury. Simple physical restraint and use of tranquilizer is usually sufficient for minor procedures. The
choice of a method of restraint depends on the species involved, site of the lesion, condition of the patient
and nature of the animal. A weak animal should not be subjected to rigorous method of restraint
The importance of restraint must not be neglected. It requires skill, knowledge and strength. Its
goal is to get the procedure done safely with minimal stress to the patient. Proper restraint of a ruminant is
mandatory for clinical examination and to carry out minor and major surgical procedures. Cattle are well
domesticated animal, easily scared and generally are not aggressive. However, they can cause injury in
several ways including horns (even if most calves are now dehorned shortly after birth to prevent injury to
other cattle and humans), kicking with the hind limbs, which are usually side kicking (unlike horses),
squeezing or stepping on people, especially when frightened. Dealing with dairy cattle and bullocks is
generally quite easy as they are handled from birth. Bulls, that are used for sports purposes in the villages,
on the other hand, are usually seldom handled and most of the time for medical treatment. This makes
handling these different. To make a cow move forward when standing directly behind it, tail twist
(grasping the tail at the base and twisting it) is usually effective and safe but more persuasive techniques
such as whipping with sticks or flat plastic paddles may be needed. In dairy cows and bullocks either a real
halter or a homemade rope halter can be applied.
Simple methods of restraint are sufficient for minor procedures like injections, examination of the
eye, ear and hoof or for minor surgery on the teat, udder etc. For simple procedures, an animal can be
restrained by holding the tail, application of a nose lead or by a manual control of the head.

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 Different methods of physical restraint for cattle are as follows
1.Halter
Halters are used to control the head and to lead the animal. The halter can be put
with the help of the same rope by which the animal has been tied.( Fig. 1)
2. Manual restraining of the Head
( Fig. 1)
If a cattle nose leader is not available, restraint of the same kind may be applied
manually. The assistant grasps the nasal septum with the thumb and forefinger of
one hand and holds it firmly. With other hand he holds the horn or ear. As more
restraint is needed, he increases the pressure of his grip on the nose. This is not as
effective as a nose lead and it is quite difficult. But, it can be used in an emergency.
( Fig. 2) ( Fig. 2)

2. Nose lead
This is mainly used for restraining of the head. In heavy and aggressive cattle,
where manual restraining is difficult, nose leads can be used.( Fig. 3)
3. Tail elevation
( Fig. 3)
The tail restraint may be used by an assistant whenever it is necessary to distract
a cows attention from another part of her body on which work is being done. It
may be used while giving udder injections to a nervous cow. The assistant should
keep both hands close to the base of the tail or he may break it. He should stand to
one side of the cow to avoid being kicked.( Fig. 4)
( Fig. 4)
4. Technique for restraining of head and neck
The head can also be controlled by fixing a rope loop to a pole and then passing
the loop over the neck of the animal and anchoring the loop to the same pole. The
free end of the rope is pulled to control the head and neck of the animal.( Fig. 5)
5. Restraint of the cow for milking
( Fig. 5)
In this technique, hind limbs are tied above the hock by crossing of a one meter
long rope. This technique can also be used during udder examination and patellar
desmotomy.( Fig. 6)
6. Front leg hopple.
One end of the rope is tied to the pastern of the limb and rope is then passed
over the neck to the other side of the animal. It can tied to the opposite elbow or
pulled by an assistant to raise the forelimb. The forelimb can also be raised with the ( Fig. 6)
help of a hand. The operator stands as close as possible to the side of the limb,
facing the rear side of the animal. The limb is held at the pastern and raised by the
hand. In this way a front leg may be raised and held off the ground for examination
or treatment. This restraint can also be used to make a cow stand still and to keep
her from kicking with a hind leg.( Fig. 7)

( Fig. 7)

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7. Raising the Rear Leg Manually
The hind limb can also be raised by a rope or a hand. While raising the limb with
the hand, the operator stands near the hind limb as close to the animal as possible and
facing towards the tail. The pastern is held with a hand close to the animals body and
the limb is raised. The operator supports the limb on his thigh.
Fig. 8
In order to raise the hind limb with the rope, a nose lead is applied to pull the head
to the side opposite to the limb to be raised. One end of about nine meter long rope is
tied below the fetlock. The free end of the rope is passed through a hook placed at a
pole behind the animal. The end of the rope is brought around the limb above the
hock, passing from medial to lateral side and is backed around the standing part of the Fig. 9 (a)
rope to form a half hitch. The end of the rope is carried forward and pulled to lift the
foot off the ground. This technique can be used for examination of the hoof of the hind
limb and for hoof trimming. (Fig. 8)
8. Tail Rope
The purpose of this restraint is to keep the cow's tail out of the way when a placenta Fig. 9 (b)
is being removed, the udder is being treated and during other surgical procedures.
(Fig. 9a & 9b)
9. Restraining of the calf
Calf can be restrained as shown in the figure. A young calf can also be restrained in Fig. 10
a standing position by holding the ear at its base with one hand and the mandible by
the other hand. The operator stands close to the animal.(Fig. 10)
10. Restraint of the bull for castration.
Bull has to be casted either by a Burleys technique or rope squeeze method. The
Fig. 11
limbs are tied in such a manner that the right hind limb is pulled forward and the left
hind limb is tied to the forelimb.( Fig. 11)
11. Burleys technique.
This method of casting cattle, devised by Dr. D. R. Burley of Georgia, has many a
advantages over the other casting methods. First, it is not necessary in this method to
tie the rope around the horns or the neck. It is simply passed around the animal's body
which takes less time. Second, this restraint does not put pressure over the thorax and
thus does not interfere with the action of the heart and lungs. Third, it does not
b
endanger the genital organs of the bull or the mammary vessels of the cow. Finally,
with this restraint both rear legs may be tied with the ends of the casting rope. While
the cow is being held by a strong halter or by a nose lead a forty foot piece of rope is
placed over her back with its centre at the withers. The ends are carried between the
c
forelegs and crossed at the sternum. One end is carried up each side of the animal's
body and the two are crossed again over the back. Each end passes downward between
the rear legs going between the inner surface of the legs and under the udder or
scrotum, as the case may be.
d

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 When the ends of the rope are pulled, the cow will fall. The operator may control
the direction of the fall by pulling the casting ropes so that the animal is forced to
one side or the other. To tie the rear leg the operator keeps both ropes tout and slides
the uppermost one along the under surface of the rear leg to the fetlock. He flexes
the leg and makes a half hitch around the fetlock. The end is then carried around the e
leg above the hock, across the cannon bone, and back around the fetlock. The leg is
secured by several such "figure 8's".
To tie the front leg a short heavy cord or rope about six feet long is needed. One
end of it is fastened around the pastern with a clove hitch leaving a free end about
eight inches long. The front leg is flexed and the long end of the cord carried
f
forward and passed under the main casting rope descending from the withers. The
cord is passed around the flexed front leg several times and tied in a reefer's knot to
the short free end at the pastern. The animal is rolled over and the rear leg of the
other side is tied with the other end of the casting rope. With another six foot cord,
the other front leg is tied, and the animal is then completely restrained. g
( Fig. a, b, c, d )
12. Rope squeeze method
This is a standard method of casting a cow. The rope for this restraint may be
arranged on a cow while she is in the stanchion. She may then be led to the place
where it is desired that she lie down and tension applied to the end of the rope. h
Make a loop around the cow's neck using a bowline knot placed as indicated in the drawing. Throw the
end of the rope over her back to the opposite side. Reaching under the cow, pick it up and bring it around
her body and under the standing part of the rope near the bowline to form a half hitch just behind the
shoulder. By tossing the end over the cow's back again, make another half hitch just in from of the udder.
Pulling the rope will force the cow to lie down.( Fig. e, f, g, h )

Dr. Deepti B. R
Assistant professor
Dept. of Veterinary Medicine, Hebbal, Bengaluru. ( Deeptidr@gmail.com)

Milking herd of tomorrow starts with the calves born today. The economic significance of
neonatal disease can be considerable and the occurrence of disease in a calf can also subsequently affect
days to first calving intervals and long-time survival in the herd. Death also causes a loss of genetic
potential from the loss of the calf.
Calf mortality can be divided into the following 4 groups according to age at time of death:
Abortions or prenatal deaths (stillborn from 40 to 270 d of gestation)
Perinatal mortality (stillborn after 270 d of gestation or until 24 h after birth)

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 Neonatal mortality (death between 1 and 28 d of age)
Older calf mortality (death between 1 and 6 months of age)
Fetal disease and the postnatal septicemic, enteric and respiratory diseases are the most common causes
of loss. Calves are at highest risk for death in the first 2 weeks of life and especially in the first week.
Septicemic and enteric diseases are most common during this period, with respiratory disease being more
common after 2 weeks of age. Calf mortality during calving and within the first 24 h post-partum is mainly
related to dystocia.
Calf morbidity and mortality are influenced by many factors such as:
. Colostral feeding Production system
Housing Herd size
Calving assistance Season

The major contributing factor to dairy calf mortality is the care provided by the calf attendant. Body
condition score of the dam can influence calf mortality, with high condition scores having a higher risk for
dystocial mortality and low scores for infectious disease.
Seasonal influences may have an effect on dairy calf mortality rate and this can vary with the region.
Respiratory disorders seem to be the largest problem with high population density and inadequate
ventilation. They are also accentuated with high relative humidity at low environmental temperatures. Calf
mortality also tends to increase during cold, wet, and windy winter weather.
Common causes of calf diseases and deaths are:
Septicemia Trauma
Diarrhoea Congenital abnormalities
Nutritional deficiencies
Pneumonia
Dystocia
Joint problem Other infections (Roundworm infection,
Umbilical diseases especially in buffalo calves)

Failure of transfer of colostral immunoglobulins is a major determinant of mortality due to infectious

causes. Adequate amount of immunoglobulins protect against septicaemia form of colibacillosis in farm
animals.
Calf diarrhea:
Calf diarrhoea/ scours during the first month of life are the most common cause of calf sickness and
death. Calves with diarrhoea are more likely to have failure of transfer of passive immunity or partial
failure of transfer of passive immunity. Several pathogens, including E. coli, rotavirus, coronavirus,
Salmonella, coccidia, and Cryptosporidia, cause calf diarrhoea.
The dehydration, acidosis and electrolyte imbalance are corrected by the parenteral and oral use of
simple or balanced electrolyte solutions (Normal saline, Ringers solution or lactate and dextrose normal
saline with or without sodium bicarbonate for parenteral use). Owners must be encouraged to provide oral
fluid and electrolyte therapy to diarrheic neonatal farm animals as soon as possible after the onset of
diarrhoea.

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 Administered antimicrobials should have both local (small intestinal) and systemic effects. Broad
spectrum beta-lactam, potentiated sulphonamides (trimethoprim- sulfadiazine) and fluoroquinolone
antimicrobials may be used for at least 3 days:
Amoxicillin trihydrate (10 mg/kg every 12 h)
Amoxicillin trihydrate-clavulanate potassium (12.5 mg combined drug/kg every 12 h)
Potentiated sulfonamides (25 mg/kg intravenously or intramuscularly every 12 h).
In calves with diarrhoea and no systemic illness (normal appetite for milk or milk replacer, no fever), it
is recommended that the clinician monitors the health of the calf, and does not administer oral
antimicrobials.
Whether or not diarrheic newborn animals should be deprived of milk during the period of diarrhoea is
controversial.
Steps to reduce calf mortality:
Calving problems can result when cows are thin or fat, heifers are undersized or oversized. So
maintaining adequate body condition score is important. The nutrition of the pregnant cows, and
particularly the first-calf heifers, must be monitored through gestation to insure an adequate body
condition and sufficient resources to provide an adequate supply of good-quality colostrum.
Before calving, the cow should be moved to an individual pen that has been cleaned and disinfected and
has a deep bed of clean dry straw. Cows should be moved to the maternity pen a week or several days
before their expected calving date.
Cows should also be attended to during calving. Monitoring the birth process ensures that cows and
their unborn calves receive assistance if it is required. Heifers frequently require assistance at calving.
The new born calf should have its naval dipped in an iodine solution (2%) to prevent any infection
entering.
First feeding: calves should be fed 10% to 12% of their body weight with colostrum. Each calf should
receive bovine colostrum as soon as possible after it is born and in any case within the first six hours of
life. The practice of washing udders after calving and before calves nurse or colostrum is milked and
assisting the calf with its first feeding is associated with decreased calf mortality.
The calf can be left with the cow for at least 2 days. This contact will improve the absorption of
immunoglobulin. However, there is a trend in large dairy herds, to remove the calf immediately after
birth, place it in a calf pen and force-feed it colostrum. This practice may prevent spread of infectious
disease from mature cattle to calves.
Calves may be individually housed till 2 months of age to reduce risk of infections. Clean bedding
should be provided at all times. They should be regularly fed and inspected.
The best cure for scours is prevention. Calves should be fed correctly and housed in a clean
environment. Soiled bedding should be regularly removed. Vaccines are available in some countries for
the cow in last trimester of pregnancy. The antibodies produced by the dam protect the calf by ingestion
of colostrum.

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 Dr. Sudha G
Assistant Professor, Dept. of Veterinary Gynecology and Obstetrics, Veterinary College,
Hebbal, Bengaluru. ( dineshtumkur@gmail.com)
Some Important points to remember in the sheep breeding
The Ewe
Sheep are seasonal breeders and ewes are stimulated to cycle by the declining daylight pattern in
Autumn. Female sheep reach puberty at about 6 months old, depending on breed and live weight.
Only about 20% of farmers mate their ewe lambs. There is no problem getting these hoggets to come on
heat if they have been well fed, and are a minimum of 35-40kg by 6-7 months old.
Ewes come on heat every 17 days (14-20 range) and will be on heat for about 4-8 hours.
Signs of oestrus in the ewe are not very obvious compared to cattle:
The ewe will seek out a ram
She will sniff him and chase after him
She will crouch and urinate when a ram sniffs her side or genital area
She will fan her tail when the ram sniffs her
When the ram is preparing to mount, she will turn her head to look at him
Ewes do not mount other ewes as in cattle.
Pregnancy in the ewe is five months.
The Ram
Rams reach puberty by about 6 months of age, but beware of younger ram lambs that miss docking as
they could easily be fertile by Autumn.
Rams are most active in the autumn and are stimulated by declining daylight. They show a kind of
"rut", but nothing as well developed as in goats or deer.
They start to smell very strongly like a Billy goat approaching mating and the bare skin around their
eyes, and on their underside around front legs and crutch turns pink.
This smell comes from the grease in the wool and contains a pheromone that stimulates the ewes to ov-
ulate.
Rams with high libido may not be fertile. So fertility can be checked by a semen test using
electro-ejaculation, or by changing rams after each cycle to lessen the risk of a ram being a dud.
Counting the number of mounts on a restrained ewe over time can also indicate libido,
Its wise to use an older experienced ram on young ewes and a young ram on older experience ewes.
As rams are reared in homosexual groups, they may take time to learn how to mate correctly. Take time
to watch new rams working to make sure they are serving correctly and ejaculating. In a good
ejaculation the ram will thrust forward with all four feet off the ground.
Courting behaviour is made up of a lot of " sniff hunting" ewes. Rams approach ewe often from side,
pawing her side with head low, rattling tongue with low bleating.
Mating ratios of 1 ram to 40-50 ewes seems to be normal. Ram lambs that are large enough (30-40kg)

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are given 30 ewes. But a good fit ram will easily mate 100 ewes.
Having a surplus of rams in the flock may be a good insurance against infertility but they will spend
more time fighting and establishing dominance than mating. Fighting also leads to injury which rarely
recovers before the end of mating, so an expensive ram is often a write off.
In large mobs where many rams are used, the dominant rams do most of the mating, chasing the less
dominant away. Practice makes perfect, so these dominant rams, getting more practice, do the job
quicker and so get more work.
The subordinate ram may get a service when the dominant one has moved away to find more fresh
ewes, or ewes that have come to him and are waiting. But its just his luck if by its his turn, the ewe is
starting to go off heat and wont stand.
Rams can be racists in mixed-breed groups they show a preference to mate ewes of their own breed.

The "ram effect"

Its an old practice to use the sight and smell of the ram to stimulate ewes to cycle. Its recognised as
"the ram effect".
To exploit it ewes are first isolated from sight, sound and smell of all rams for at least 2-3 weeks before
joining.
Then both sexes are put in adjoining paddocks to view and smell each other through the fence.
After about 4 days the gate is opened between them and the party starts.
This practice is sometimes done using teaser (vasectomised) rams that are actually put in with the ewes
for close contact and serving.
Teasers seem to lose their libido over time and young entire rams seem to have more stimulating power
through the fence. The little bit of extra frustration seems to help.

monthly e-Bulletin
Published and circulated by Veterinary College, Hebbal, Bengaluru.

Editor: Associate Editior:

Dean, Veterinary College, Hebbal, Bengaluru Head, Dept. of Vety.& Animal Husbandry Extension Education
Dr. S. Yathiraj (Ex-Officio) Dr. K. Satyanarayan (Ex-Officio)

Contact :
Dept of Veterinary and Animal Husbandry Extension Education
Veterinary College, Hebbal Bangalore
email: pashubandhavch@gmail.com
Blog: pashubandhavch.blogspot.in

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