Blood coagulation parameters in clinically normal intensively farmed red deer (Cervus elaphus) and fallow deer (Dama dama)

Reference ranges for five parameters of blood coagulation were established in clinically normal farmed fallow deer (Dama dama) and red deer (Cervus elaphus). Storage of plasma at -15 degrees C resulted in small increases in activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT) for both species, and in the one stage prothrombin time (OSPT) of fallow deer, between days 1 and 30. These times were then stable between days 30 and 60. The fibrinogen levels of fallow deer plasma showed a small apparent increase over 60 days. These storage artefacts were not of sufficient magnitude to preclude the use of such plasma for diagnostic purposes although they could limit its use in research. Levels of fibrin/fibrinogen degradation products (FDP) were not affected by storage at -15 degrees C. Rabbit brain thromboplastin appeared adequate for OSPT determination in both species. The activated clotting time (ACT) is recommended as a field test for screening the intrinsic and common pathways of blood coagulation in deer.     

Roaring in Clydesdales

An endoscopic survey was performed to assess arytenoid cartilage movement during quiet respiration in 48 Clydesdale horses. Physical characteristics which could influence the length of the recurrent laryngeal nerves were also recorded from these horses and the relationship of these characteristics to the presence of abnormal left arytenoid cartilage movements was assessed statistically. Some degree of abnormal arytenoid movement was observed in 50% of the animals over one year of age. No significant correlation between sex, age, estimated weight, height, or neck length could be found although affected animals were, on average, slightly taller, lighter and longer necked.     

Sources of variation and prospects for improvement of productive efficiency in the dairy cow: a review

In this review, "productive efficiency" in dairy cows is defined as the yield of milk obtained in ratio to the nutritional costs associated with maintenance, milk synthesis and loss of body condition during lactation. Improvements in efficiency could occur as a result of changes in digestion and nutrient absorption, maintenance requirement, utilization of metabolizable energy for production or nutrient partitioning. Digestibility can be greatly enhanced by appropriate dietary manipulation. Likewise, it may be possible to reduce maintenance requirements and improve the efficiency with which metabolizable energy is used for milk synthesis by manipulation of the pattern of nutrients presented to tissues. However, these factors apparently do not respond to selection for increased milk yield, and little variation is observed among cows. In contrast, individual cows differ substantially in feed intake and in the partitioning of nutrients among body tissues. Techniques associated with genetic engineering and the early prediction of genetic merit have the potential to improve productive efficiency by manipulation of these processes. However, changes in nutrient partitioning and feed intake during lactation are coordinated by a complex network of controls that accommodate the nutrient requirements of each tissue while maintaining homeostatic balance. Future improvements in productive efficiency will therefore depend on our ability to understand the manner in which these controls operate.     

Behaviour of roaster chickens towards an automatic weighing perch

1. Automatic weighing equipment was tested on a flock of 752 roaster chickens reared on litter to 10 weeks of age.

2. Mean body weights obtained automatically were lower than those obtained manually, mainly because of birds perching on the automatic weighing perch with part of their body in contact with the floor.

3. Birds observed on the weighing perch on one day of the week were 3–5 times more likely to use the perch again on the following 2 d than expected on the basis of random perch use by flock members. These birds were also more likely to be seen in the area immediately surrounding the perch than in similar areas elsewhere in the pen.     

Caprine beta-Mannosidosis in Kids from an Ontario Herd

Caprine β-mannosidosis, a fatal inherited deficiency of the lysosomal enzyme β-mannosidase, was diagnosed in neonatal female Nubian crossbred twin kids from a small herd near Guelph, Ontario. The kids had been tetraplegic since birth, with whole body tremors, abnormal nystagmus and an intention tremor of the head.     

Advances in immunoparasitology

A selective review of the advances in immunoparasitology is presented. It is selective simply because it is not feasible to embrace the whole field of parasitology within the compass of a single review paper, for if it were attempted, it would suffer undue abbreviation. Emphasis is placed on the advances in helminthology and especially the gastro-intestinal parasites of ruminants, an obvious selection because of the interests of the author. Reviews are always somewhat retrospective in outlook; to write a review at the present time is especially foolhardy since developments in biology are such that totally new concepts can arise almost overnight, as it were. This is a particularly healthy state, and the discipline of parasitology is caught up in the application and interpretation of molecular biological considerations. "Parasitism" is a field of increasing importance and challenge.     

Central and local actions of opioids upon reticulo-ruminal motility in sheep

The effects of opioids and naloxone on cyclical forestomach motility were determined in anaesthetized and conscious sheep. To assess central or peripheral opioid actions, differential routes of administration were used. Possible dynamic effects along the innervating vagovagal reflex arc were investigated electrophysiologically at the cervical level of the vagus nerve. Further, direct influences on the smooth muscle were evaluatedin vitro on isolated longitudinal reticular strips. Additionally, the effects of some spasmogenic agents were studied for comparative purposes. In anaesthetized sheep, opioids depressed in an identical manner both the amplitude of spontaneous cyclical contractions and contractions evoked by electrical stimulation of the distal end of the cut cervical vagus. In conscious sheep, low doses of normorphine and loperamide inhibited frequency and amplitude centrally (20 g/kg and 4 g/kg via carotid artery respectively), whereas locally higher dose levels (200 g/kg and 10 g/kg via coeliac artery respectively) affected only the amplitude of cyclical contractions. Furthermore the opioid peptides Leu-, Met-enkephalin and [D-Ala²-Met⁵]-enkephalinamide preferentially depressed the amplitude of cyclical motility most efficiently if administrated via the coeliac artery. These results indicate the presence both of a central opioid action depressing frequency and amplitude and of a local opioid action depressing only the amplitude of cyclical reticulo-ruminal motility. Opioids did not alter the resting discharge of afferent tension units and similarly failed to modulate tone of reticular stripsin vitro, suggesting that the opioids act locally on the intramural neuronal plexus, possibly by diminishing the output of excitatory transmitter. Whether substance P could play a role as a vagal excitatory transmitter besides the classically implicated acetylcholine has been discussed. The central opioid mechanism is probably not situated within the gastric centres but elsewhere in the brain. Naloxone ( 100 g/kg, jugular vein) stimulated the frequency of cyclical ruminal motility only in well-defined experimental conditions, probably via a central mechanism.