Polymelia in a broiler chicken

A polymelus monster was observed in a 7-week-old slaughterhouse chicken. The supernumerary limbs were smaller than the normal appendages but contained an equal number of digits.     

Treatment of right dorsal ulcerative colitis in a horse

Excessive administration of phenylbutazone was associated with development of right dorsal ulcerative colitis. The clinical signs of right dorsal colitis include chronic colic and weight loss. The laboratory abnormalities include panhypoproteinemia and a high WBC count in the abdominal fluid. Medical management of the chronic colic and protein-losing enteropathy associated with the ulcerative lesions in the right dorsal colon and surgical bypass of the right dorsal colon did not result in long-term resolution of clinical signs. Resection of the ulcerated right dorsal colon through a right lateral approach at the 16th rib resulted in resolution of intestinal protein loss and colic. The results of this case suggest that surgical resection of the ulcerated right dorsal colon may be the recommended treatment for right dorsal ulcerative colitis.     

Performance of crosses among Hereford, Angus and Simmental cattle with different levels of Simmental breeding: V. Calf production, milk production and reproduction of three- to eight-year-old dams

Measures of maternal productivity and reproduction of Hereford (HH), Angus-Hereford (AH), 25% Simmental-75% Hereford (1S3H), 50% Simmental-50% Hereford (1S1H) and 75% Simmental-25% Hereford (3S1H) dams were studied. Half of each dam breed group was bred to Tartentaise and half to Charolais sires to produce 706 calves at weaning from 930 exposures to breeding in a Montana range environment. Data were analyzed according to a model that included the fixed effects of year, dam breed group, dam age, calf sex, calf sire breed, plus appropriate two-way interactions, linear partial regression on calf birth date and random effects of sire within dam breed group (maternal grandsire of the calf) and sire within calf sire breed. Calf sex interacted with calf sire breed for several traits, but interactions were due to changes of magnitude of differences between sexes. There were no significant interactions of dam breed group with other main effects for calf growth traits, except for the interaction with calf sire breed for some calf growth traits. This interaction was due to a change in magnitude; it suggested that larger sire breeds should be matched to larger dam breeds with greater potential for milk production. The only significant interaction for traits that included reproduction of the dam was dam breed group X age of dam. Ranking of dam breed groups depended on age at measurement. Differences among dam breed groups were significant for most traits. Calf weaning weights for HH, AH, 1S3H, 1S1H and 3S1H dams were 211, 223, 227, 237 and 243 kg, respectively; calf weaning weights per cow exposed were 157, 163, 179, 189 and 169 kg; calf weaning weights per unit of dam weight were .40, .41, .43, .44 and .42, respectively. Thus, dam breed groups that weaned the largest calves were not necessarily the most productive under Montana range conditions.     

Right Dorsal Colitis

Moderate to severe ulcerative colitis of the right dorsal colon was diagnosed by necropsy or by exploratory celiotomy and biopsy in 13 horses with a primary clinical complaint of either colic, diarrhea, or weight loss. Clinical signs varied from acute fulminating diarrhea (possibly with fever), colic, dehydration, endotoxic shock and death, to a chronic condition manifested by mild intermittent colic up to several months in duration, and weight loss with or without mild diarrhea. In a large percentage of the horses, those affected had been hypovolemic and received nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAID) or had received inappropriately high doses of phenylbutazone before the onset of illness. Experimental treatment of two horses with high doses of a phenylbutazone oral paste preparation (6 gm once daily for 5 days) and limitation of their water intake to approximately one half of maintenance requirement (for 5 days) resulted in reproduction of ulcerative colitis involving only the right dorsal colon, which was apparent at necropsy examination 11 and 15 days after initiation of drug use. It was concluded that localized ulcerative lesions in the right dorsal colon may be a previously unreported manifestation of toxicity due to the administration of NSAID.     

Performance of crosses among Hereford, Angus and Simmental cattle with different levels of Simmental breeding. III. Heifer postweaning growth and early reproductive traits

Postweaning growth and early reproductive traits in heifers whose potential for milk production differed were studied during the years 1976 through 1979. Data were collected on 230 heifers raised by greater than or equal to 3-yr-old Hereford dams. Heifers were comprised of the following breed groups: Hereford (HH), Angus-Hereford (AH), 25% Simmental-75% Hereford (1S3H) and Simmental-Hereford (SH). Postweaning growth rate during a 140-d period was greatest for SH heifers (.75 kg/d), intermediate for AH and 1S3H groups (.70 and .68 kg/d, respectively) and slowest for HH heifers (.64 kg/d). At 1 yr of age, SH heifers were heavier, taller and had larger pelvic areas than all other groups (P less than .01). Least-squares means for yearling weight, hip height and pelvic area for HH, AH, 1S3H and SH heifers were 283, 303, 298 and 317 kg; 111, 112, 114 and 118 cm, and 132, 136, 139 and 148 cm2, respectively. Ninety-one percent of the heifers reached puberty by the end of the breeding period. Crossbred heifers reached puberty at younger ages and had higher pregnancy rates than HH heifers (P less than .01). Least-squares means for pubertal age, weight and height for HH, AH, 1S3H and SH breed groups were, respectively, 407, 371, 382 and 368 d; 300, 302, 305 and 313 kg, and 115, 114, 117 and 119 cm. Percentage of heifers reaching puberty by 14 mo of age was 64, 99, 85 and 94 for HH, AH, 1S3H and SH, respectively. Respective pregnancy rates were 59, 90, 77 and 86%, but were not significantly different among breed groups when only heifers reaching puberty by the end of the breeding period were studied. No differences among breed groups were found for date of pregnancy.     

Leaf respiration at different canopy positions in sweetgum (Liquidambar styraciflua) grown in ambient and elevated concentrations of carbon dioxide in the field

Trees exposed to elevated CO2 partial pressure ([CO2]) generally show increased rates of photosynthesis and growth, but effects on leaf respiration are more variable. The causes of this variable response are unresolved. We grew 12-year-old sweetgum trees (Liquidambar styraciflua L.) in a Free-Air CO2 Enrichment (FACE) facility in ambient [CO2] (37/44 Pa daytime/nighttime) and elevated [CO2] (57/65 Pa daytime/nighttime) in native soil at Oak Ridge National Environmental Research Park. Nighttime respiration (R(N)) was measured on leaves in the upper and lower canopy in the second (1999) and third (2000) growing seasons of CO2 fumigation. Leaf respiration in the light (R(L)) was estimated by the technique of Brooks and Farquhar (1985) in the upper canopy during the third growing season. There were no significant short-term effects of elevated [CO2] on R(N) or long-term effects on R(N) or R(L), when expressed on an area, mass or nitrogen (N) basis. Upper-canopy leaves had 54% higher R(N) (area basis) than lower-canopy leaves, but this relationship was unaffected by CO2 growth treatment. In August 2000, R(L) was about 40% of R(N) in the upper canopy. Elevated [CO(2)] significantly increased the number of leaf mitochondria (62%), leaf mass per unit area (LMA; 9%), and leaf starch (31%) compared with leaves in ambient [CO(2)]. Upper-canopy leaves had a significantly higher number of mitochondria (73%), N (53%), LMA (38%), sugar (117%) and starch (23%) than lower-canopy leaves. Growth in elevated [CO2] did not affect the relationships (i.e., intercept and slope) between R(N) and the measured leaf characteristics. Although no factor explained more than 45% of the variation in R(N), leaf N and LMA were the best predictors for R(N). Therefore, the response of RN to CO2 treatment and canopy position was largely dependent on the magnitude of the effect of elevated [CO2] or canopy position on these characteristics. Because elevated [CO2] had little or no effect on N or LMA, there was no effect on R(N). Canopy position had large effects on these leaf characteristics, however, such that upper-canopy leaves exhibited higher R(N) than lower-canopy leaves. We conclude that elevated [CO2] does not directly impact leaf respiration in sweetgum and that barring changes in leaf nitrogen or leaf chemical composition, long-term effects of elevated [CO2] on respiration in this species will be minimal.