Routine Field Surgeries In Small Ruminants And Cattle

Question 1

Four reasons to remove horns

Answer 1

Danger to people and herd members
Prevent bruising - meat quality
Required for registration of dairy goats
Management in commercial operations

Question 2

Describe the nerve supply to the horns.

Answer 2

Cornual nerve - beneath temporal line
Infratrochlear nerve, above the rim of the orbit, toward the medial canthus

Question 3

What do you use to block nerve supply to the horns?

Answer 3

Block all four (two on each side) with total of 1 mL of 2% lidocaine
0.3 ml 8.4% bicarb and 1.7 mL sterile water (buffer)
25g needle

Question 4

When to disbud - bucks vs does

Answer 4

Buck kids: 3 days
Doe kids: 5-7 days
Nubians and Pygmies can be a little later

Question 5

Disbudding protocol should include a ____ prophylaxis.

Answer 5

Tetanus

Question 6

Four issues to consider when disbudding

Answer 6

• No frontal sinus at this age to protect the brain
• Cheap irons aren’t hot enough and can cook the brain before the horn bud is killed
• Hemorrhage and death; or just unable to drink the next day (tube feed, NSAIDs - flunixin, meloxicam)
• Bone damage is portal for infection (abx recommended routinely)

Question 7

Possible protocol for dehorning adults

Answer 7

Tranquilizer (3 mg xylazine/100# IV)
Local blocks - 2 mL 1% buffered lidocaine
Clip and scrub
Cut skin all the way around with scalpel
Saw off with obstetrical wire
Pull arteries, bandage for a few days
Meloxicam 2 mg/kg loading; 1 mg/kg/day

Tranq - block - clip - scrub - cut - saw - pull - Meloxicam

Question 8

What kind of band can be used for disbudding?

Answer 8

Elastrator band

Question 9

What is scurs?

Answer 9

Regrowth after disbudding; common in bucks OR if done too late

Question 10

Removal of small vs large vs huge scurs

Answer 10

Small - trim (if not knocked off in fights)
Large - saw off with OB wire at length where horn is still cool
Huge - dehorn again

Question 11

5 dehorning tools for calves

Answer 11

Caustic paste
Portasol (butane) and Express (butane/propane mix, larger tip)
Electric dehorner
Roberts gouge
Barnes - small and large

Question 12

Disbudding of calves must be done before what age?

Answer 12

3 weeks

Question 13

Roberts gouge dehorner can spread ____.

Answer 13

Bovine Leukemia Virus

Question 14

Protocol for dehorning cattle

Answer 14

Securely restrain
Xylazine 6-10 mg IM or IV
Flunixin meglumine 1.1 mg/kg
Lidocaine 2% - 15-20 mL per side and ring block around the horn

Question 15

Disbudding protocol for calves

Answer 15

Securely restrain the animal
3 tablets of meloxicam (45 mg/100lb) PO
4-6 mL of 2% Lidocaine on each horn bud with a 20 gauge 1” needle

Question 16

Three benefits of docking in sheep

Answer 16

• Avoids manure accumulation in the wool if sheep is on lush pasture or has diarrhea for another reason
• Avoids flystrike
• Easier for ram to breed

Question 17

This is a common problem with docking too short:

Answer 17

Rectal prolapse

Question 18

Why does the AABP oppose the routine tail docking of cattle?

Answer 18

Current scientific literature indicates that routine tail docking provides no benefit to the animal.

Question 19

Docking protocols should include ______ prophylaxis.

Answer 19

Tetanus

Question 20

The AASRP recommends that lambs’ tails be docked at the level of the ______ and at the _______ age practicable.

Answer 20

Distal end of the caudal tail fold
Earliest

Question 21

Reasons for castration

Answer 21

1. Easier and safety to handle - necessary for small ruminant pets; avoids buck odor
2. Avoids unwanted pregnancies - genetic selection
3. Less likely to fight, reducing bruising and injuries

Question 22

Castration protocol should include these three things:

Answer 22

Tetanus prophylaxis
Pain meds - meloxicam or flunixin
Local anesthesia - 2% Lidocaine

Question 23

When might primary repair of a nose ring tear not be warranted?
Why?
When would secondary repair be warranted?

Answer 23

If the tear is older than 6 hours and/or grossly contaminated and shows severe tissue trauma

Sutures will likely dehisce

After an initial 3-4 week granulation process

Question 24

Sedation and analgesia for a small vs large bull nose ring tear repair

Answer 24

Small bull sedation: 10 mg xylazine and 1 mL acepromazine IV

Large bull sedation: 20 mg xylazine and 1 mL acepromazine IV

Analgesia: infuse nose with lidocaine or use bilateral infraorbital lidocaine block (5-10 cc each site)

Question 25

What suture material and pattern would you use to repair a nose ring tear?

Answer 25

3 Supramid for closure of wound

2-3 horizontal mattress sutures with simple interrupted sutures between them as needed

Question 26

How long before replacement of the nose ring is recommended?
Should sutures be removed?

Answer 26

6 months
Do not remove sutures

Question 27

Post-op medications for nose ring tear repair

Answer 27

Broad-spectrum antimicrobial
Appropriate pain medication

Question 28

If a bull refuses to drink out of a small trough in the stalls following a nose ring tear repair, what can you do?

Answer 28

Offer water in a bucket