Pain is a complex sensory and emotional experience that significantly affects sheep welfare and farm productivity. Common causes of pain include diseases such as foot rot and mastitis, as well as routine husbandry procedures such as castration and tail docking. Despite the prevalence of pain and the understanding that certain conditions and procedures cause pain, its recognition and subsequent management remain challenging. A key barrier to pain management is the lack of ability and confidence in recognising pain in animals in both farmers and veterinary surgeons. Standard indicators such as heart rate, blood pressure, temperature or change in eating and drinking are not reliable indicators of pain in sheep. Recent research demonstrates that facial expression analysis offers a real-time and non-invasive method for pain assessment in sheep that is valid and reliable. The potential for facial expression to be automated shows promise as an early detection system of pain, improving welfare outcomes for thousands of sheep.
Reproductive management in cattle is an important part of farm animal veterinary practice. Solutions for reproductive management can vary by farm, and each method of reproductive control should be assessed on the basis of its unique benefits, drawbacks, efficacy and cost, among other factors. This article will review three different publications on the control of reproduction in cattle, spanning multiple strategies for productive control and various herd contexts.
Phyto-oestrogens are plant compounds that mimic the effects of oestrogen. They are mainly found in legumes, especially red and subterranean clover and lucerne. Levels vary with cultivar, season, growing stage and stress to the plant. Consumption of oestrogenic pasture or conserved forage has been shown to have negative effects on reproductive performance of sheep—in particular, a decrease in fecundity and an increase in barren rate. Prolonged exposure may lead to non-reversible changes to cervical structure and reproductive performance. However, positively, phyto-oestrogens increase the feed conversion efficiency of sheep. The many advantages of clover and lucerne should be exploited, but an understanding of phyto-oestrogenism is needed to avoid unwanted negative impacts on livestock reproductive performance.
Oral rehydration therapy is a useful approach to treating dehydration and hypovolaemia in young ruminants on farm and can be used by both keepers and vets as an early intervention. It has commonly been used as the first line therapy of diarrhoea. However, it may also be useful in many other conditions where the fluid balance in the animal is disturbed or at risk of becoming so. As it is a straightforward intervention that can be done early in a possible disease process, it can prevent the animal's condition from worsening. The use of the gut to deliver fluid to the animal allows the animal's own intestine and normal physiological mechanisms to self-regulate for key metabolites, thus it is a safe, cheap and effective intervention.
Introduction: Modern cattle practice extends well beyond the diagnosis and treatment of disease. Environmental sustainability, the control of endemic health problems and the maintenance of professional knowledge are all increasingly important components of veterinary work. This review discusses three articles which address these themes from different angles. The first examines methane emissions from grazing dairy systems, the second investigates possible mechanisms underlying resistance to digital dermatitis and the third explores factors influencing engagement with continuing education among dairy veterinary surgeons.
