Small Ruminant Cases

Question 1

methods of pregnancy diagnosis (4)

Answer 1

-ram marker harness; to determine if return to estrus

-udder palpation; last few weeks of gestation

-abdominal ballottment; after 110-120 days gestation

-biopryn ELISA; 30 days post breeding

Question 2

goat specific method of pregnancy diagnosis (2)

Answer 2

Digital palpation of cervix
- After 30 days gestation can no longer feel

Estrone sulfate in serum, urine or milk
- After 50 days gestation

Question 3

when should you use ultrasound to count for fetuses? and what do you need to do to prep for it

Answer 3

• 42 days after male removed (50 to 90 days of pregnancy)
• Hold off feed overnight
• Dry wool
• Handling facilities
• Curvilinear probe

Question 4

why is it important to know how many fetuses there are

Answer 4

Feeding ewes on the basis of litter size (+ body condition, parity)

Question 5

length of cycle for sheep vs goat

Answer 5

sheep = 17d
goat = 21d

Question 6

benchmarks of success in different types of breeding

Answer 6

unsynchronized in season
-preg rate to first cycle; 70-80%
-preg rate over breeding period; 95-100%

synchronized
-preg rate in season; 60-70%
-preg rate during anolvulatory season; 50-70%

Question 7

caprine false pregnancy; how common, presentation, diagnosis and treatment

Answer 7

• Common – up to 10% of herd

Presentation
- Anestrus
- Enlarged abdomen
- May be no breeding history

Diagnosis
- U/S – no placentomes or fetus

Treatment
- PG – single or double treatment

Question 8

intersex in goats; what causes it, % of doelings, % of bucklings

Answer 8

• Polled X Polled breeding

25% of doelings are PP doelings:
- May be true hermaphrodites
- May be pseudohermaphrodites
- Range from phenotypic females with or without masculinized sex organs to phenotypic males

25% of bucklings are PP bucklings
- Often sterile with sperm
granulomas

Question 9

intersex in ewe lambs occurs _% of time in mixed sex pregnancy

Answer 9

5%

Question 10

caprine cystic ovarian disease; what does it present as, treatment and how common

Answer 10

-Presents as anestrus / persistent estrus / irregular cycles

Treatment
- HCG (500 iu) or GNRH (100 to 250iu)
- PGF2α 9 days later

Irregular cycles are also common in
goats
-Shortened or lengthened / split heats
-Worse at beginning & end of season
-Teaser doe or buck will improve

Question 11

can goat and sheep breeding happen?

Answer 11

it can but live births are very rare. most abort <60 days with occasional negative outcome for the doe

Question 12

how to induce abortion in sheep vs goats, what do we have to wait for

Answer 12

-Wait 11 days from the event to make sure active corpus luteum

Sheep
- < 50 d gestation PGF2α
- > 50 d gestation, PGF2α + dexamethasone (once a day for 2 to 3 days)

Goat
-PGF2α at any stage of gestation

Question 13

induction of parturitionl; when to do, how to do in sheep vs goats

Answer 13

-When breeding dates are certain – post 142d gestation
-Concentrate lambing / kidding for labour, facilities

Sheep:
-Dexamethasone i.m.
-Will lamb 24 h to 72 h later.
-PGF2α will not work as pregnancy not CL dependent

Goat:
-Dexamethasone i.m.
-Results variable 7 to 10 d
-PGF2α will work as well as pregnancy is CL dependent

Question 14

when should a BSE be done on a ram and what are the components?

Answer 14

BSE should be done
-Pre-breeding at least annually
-If suspect a problem
-Prepurchase

Components
-Physical examination of the animal
-Examination of the scrotum and contents
-Examination of the prepuce and penis
-Semen collection and inspection

Question 15

what to look at during the BSE related to feet, legs, teeth and eyes

Answer 15

Feet; Straight and clean and no footrot or deformity

Legs
-No signs of malformations
-No chorioptic mange
-Soundly moves out

Teeth; No over or under bite or loss of premolars

Eyes; Clear, no evidence of entropion or pinkeye

Question 16

scrotal circumference benchmark for >70kg vs >110kg ram

Answer 16

> 70kg = >30 cm
110kg = >36cm

Question 17

what to look at with the testes specifically during the ram BSE

Answer 17

-Freely moveable from the scrotum
-Uniform in size
-Firm to touch but not hard or lumpy
-Orchitis = swelling, hard, draining tracts (Actinobacillus seminus)
-May be hypoplasia secondary to injury or infection

Question 18

what to look at with the epididymis specifically during the ram BSE

Answer 18

-Tail easily palpable but soft, uniform
-Head also palpable, feels softer and smaller
-Hard lumps or increased size indicates inflammation – epididymitis

Question 19

what can cause epididymitis in rams

Answer 19

brucella ovis

Question 20

what to look at with the scrotum specifically during the ram BSE

Answer 20

-Chorioptes bovis (sheep / goat strain) is commonly found on fetlocks and pasterns as well as scrotum (Heats testicles and causes subfertility of rams and bucks)

-Scrotal swelling – hernia or hematoma

Question 21

semen collection techniques (2)

Answer 21

electroejaculator (sheep only)

artificial vagina (sheep and goats)

Question 22

what can happen when rams mount each other in group housing

Answer 22

Can cause ascending orchitis / epididymitis

Question 23

a buck with poor libido is ____

Answer 23

unusual

Question 24

criteria for teaser bucks and rams (3)

Answer 24

• Vasectomy
• Epididectomy
• Not too big