Download April 2016 - Strathbogie Veterinary Centre

STRATHBOGIE VETERINARY CENTRE LTD
VETERINARY SURGEONS
39 Gordon Street, Huntly, Aberdeenshire, AB54 8EQ,
Telephone: 01466 792627 Fax: 01466 794962
“SERVING TOWN AND COUNTRY”
Newsletter April 2016
Congenital abnormalities in calves and lambs
What follows is a short overview of the most common deformities that can affect calves and lambs
at birth. Some of them can be treated successfully and at economic prices, and a few are down to
husbandry, or genetics. There are many more beyond the scope of this article, particularly ones that
are recognised within certain breeds.
Atresia coli and atresia ani (no bum hole):
This syndrome is fairly common in lambs and an be easy to fix, saving a lambs life. Both calves and
lambs can be healthy for the first few days after birth but often develop huge bellies. Then they
become depressed, as the faeces build up causing tension on the intestines. Atresia coli, is where
the condition extends up most of the colon. In some cases there may be a properly formed anus,
but it is blind-ending and no faeces ever comes through; these have a poor prognosis.
Cleft Palate: harelip, overshot and undershot jaw. (prognathia, and brachygnathia)
Calves and lambs with a cleft palate will reflux milk through the nostrils and tend not to be able to
suck milk properly. Unless the defect is very small they are likely to die, even despite tubing and
extra care. Lambs and calves with overshot and undershot jaws can survive, depending on the
severity of the defect. They require a high level of concentrates to maintain growth rate as they
cannot always manage grass and straw based feeds so easily.
Eyes:
Entropion:
Ingrowing eyelids are common in lambs and can be corrected by putting clips on the eyelids, or
injecting penicillin into them to keep the lashes out of the eyes.
Blindness:
There are a series of viral, bacterial, and genetic reasons the eyes don’t develop properly. BVDV
infection of the dam can produce a calf born blind, with cataracts. Also the sheep version: Border
disease, can do the same.
Hypovitaminosis A, occurs occasionally, where there is not enough fresh grass, or silage in the diet.
It can also occur where the silage is old or the minerals are not stored properly or not available to all
cows (for instance top dressing with minerals where there is not enough feed space can leave some
cows without any). In severe cases where it is ongoing for many months it can affect the adult cows,
but calves in utero seem to be affected more easily, and born with poorly developed eyes.
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STRATHBOGIE VETERINARY CENTRE LTD
VETERINARY SURGEONS
39 Gordon Street, Huntly, Aberdeenshire, AB54 8EQ,
Telephone: 01466 792627 Fax: 01466 794962
“SERVING TOWN AND COUNTRY”
Congenital Heart problems:
There are a range of these: the most common is Ventricular septal Defect or VSD), where there is a
hole in the middle of the heart, between the ventricles. These are often not overtly obvious unless a
vet listens to their heart, but the calf may by lethargic, with poor appetite and growth.
Joint laxity and Dwarfism: (Long bone disease):
This is a skeletal problem seen in beef herds worldwide. It tends to result in clusters of calves born
with severe shortening of the long bones of the legs, tendon laxity, incorrectly shaped joints and
occasionally brachygnathia (undershot jaw). There are some reports of manganese deficiency
causing this, possibly to do with poor rumen availability. It is associated almost exlusively with
spring calving beef herds fed a silage-based diet without any other supplementation through the
winter. There is no treatment although some calves can be born alive and may be able to walk, but
they tend to remain stunted. The condition can usually be prevented by making at least 20% of the
diet, something other than silage, through months 3 – 6 of pregnancy, as this is when damage is
most likely to occur.
Arthrogryposis: (fixed joints):
The most common recent cause of this is Schmallenburg disease, affecting the dams in utero,
however there are a range of other genetic, toxic and infectious causes.
Naval Abnormalities..
Umbilical herniation:
Hernias are pretty common, especially in sheep but also cattle. We see a few of these every year
and they can be fixed. However, the success rate depends on the severity of the hernia and the
speed at which the problem is dealt with. Minor ones may sort themselves out, and don’t
necessarily need surgery where there is only fat or omentum in the hernia, but where there are guts
out, something will need to be done.
Patent urachus:
Patent urachus is where the tubular connection between the bladder and the umbilicus never closes
after birth. This tube is important to the calf in utero as it is the route by which waste products are
removed from the calf (or lamb). The problem can happen in males and females and the
uncomplicated version results in small quantities of urine dribbling constantly from the urachus
leading to urine scalding of that area. Some of these will resolve with time, with no ill effects,
however they don’t always sort themselves out properly and you can be left with a weakening of the
bladder wall and the risk of urine leakage into either the abdomen, or sometimes a space in the wall
of the abdomen. Obviously infection / peritonitis will follow this and the calf invariably dies. It can
be combined with blockage or poor formation of the calf, or lambs’ urethra as described below.
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STRATHBOGIE VETERINARY CENTRE LTD
VETERINARY SURGEONS
39 Gordon Street, Huntly, Aberdeenshire, AB54 8EQ,
Telephone: 01466 792627 Fax: 01466 794962
“SERVING TOWN AND COUNTRY”
Freemartins, Pseudohermaphroditism, (Hypospadia), reproductive abnormalities:
It is fairly well known that in cattle, where there is a set of twins of each gender the female will
nearly always be infertile and have varying degrees of an underdeveloped vagina and uterus. This is
not the case in sheep. In lambs you occasionally get underdevelopment of a male urethra, leaving
him peeing from a space between his testicles. Where there are no other abnormalities these
animals can be fattened but will be more prone to fly-strike because around that area the skin
becomes saturated with urine.
Retained testicles / cryptorchidism / Rigg:
This is a fairly common condition where one or both testicles don’t descend completely into the
scrotal sac. Attention should be paid because if you can’t ring them, the animal will be highly likely
to be fertile and you can be left with heifers in calf far too young. Many of these can still be open
castrated by a vet. The younger the animal is, (beyond a couple of weeks) the safer this will be so
please don’t put it off. Where the testicle hasn’t even descended through the abdominal wall not
much can be done so the animal would be better fattened as a bull.
Schistosoma reflexa:
This is where the calf, or lamb hasn’t developed properly, and all its feet point in one direction, with
the guts sticking out the other. Due to the shape it is completely unflexible and impossible to calve,
they usually require embryotomy or caesarians. They are often still alive too.
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