Farm Animal Medicine and Surgery. Graham R Duncanson

      This should have a threader, a long length of embryotomy wire, a pair of small wire cutters and a set of two handles for the wire.

      Vaginal speculum

      These can be disposable and used with a head torch or a small hand torch. The small duckbilled type affords the very best visibility for ewes, does, sows and SACs. The large duckbilled type affords the best visibility for cows.

      A dedicated box for Caesarean section

      This should contain:

      • Sterile instruments, including several 4 inch non-cutting and cutting curved suturing needles, one pair of needle holders, one pair of ‘Gillies’, one pair of rat-toothed dressing forceps, one pair of flat-ended dressing forceps, one scalpel blade holder, one large pair of straight scissors, four large pairs of artery forceps, two small pairs of artery forceps, and two pairs of uterus-holding forceps.

      • Scalpel blades which must fit the scalpel blade holder in the sterile instrument pack.

      • Polyglactin suture material.

      • Monofilament nylon suture material.

      • A sterile tray cloth.

      • Two sterile calving ropes.

      • A navel clip.

      • Hair clippers (or razors).

      • A sterile scrubbing brush.

      • Two packets of large sterile swabs.

      • A sterile embryotomy knife or a disposable embryotomy knife.

      • Disposable syringes (10, 20 and 30 ml).

      • Disposable needles (4 cm × 18 G).

      • Pieces of cotton wool in a bag for cleaning the skin.

      • Bottle of surgical spirit.

      • Bottle of chlorhexidine.

      • 1 × 25 ml oxytocin injection containing 10 IU/ml.

      • 1 × 100 ml water for injection.

      • 1 × 50 ml solution of clenbuterol hydrochloride containing 30 micro-grams/ml.

      • 3 × 5 mega crystalline penicillin.

      • 3 × 100 ml local anaesthetic.

      • 100 ml aqueous suspension of a mixture of procaine penicillin and dihydro-streptomycin.

      • Dopram drops.

      • 50 ml solution of clenbuterol hydrochloride containing 30 micrograms/ml.

      • A 100 ml bottle of an injectable nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) licensed for ruminants.

      • An antibiotic aerosol.

      • A 5 m length of rope to be tied around the right hind leg and brought under the cow’s body so that it can be pulled if the cow is appearing to go down. This will make sure the cow falls with her left flank uppermost.

      Other reproductive equipment

      • a Burdizzo, for castration

      • a McLean’s teat knife

      Equipment for Post-mortem (PM)

      These articles are not normally carried by an ambulatory clinician:

      • large plastic bucket with disinfectant, warm water, soap and towel

      • butcher’s knife and flaying knife

      • scalpel and blades that fit

      • rat-toothed forceps (15 cm)

      • fine forceps (15 cm)

      • blunt-nosed straight scissors (20 cm)

      • bowel scissors

      • bone cutters, saw and hedge loppers

      Sampling materials

      These include the following:

      • plastic trays (50 × 30 × 5 cm)

      • plastic bags or various sizes

      • sterile universal bottles

      • plastic jars (1 l)

      • bottles of formalin (kept separate)

      • pots containing 50% glycerol for virus isolation

      • swabs (plain, transport media and specialized for respiratory pathogens)

      • red Vacutainers® for collecting blood, aqueous humour, body fluids

      • Pasteur pipettes and rubber sucker

      • clipboard

      • PM report form, lab submission form

      Specialist Equipment

      The pieces of equipment listed below are included for completeness. It would be very useful to have the use these items, although within the scope of this book a full description would not be worthwhile. Throughout the text a feasible alternative will be suggested wherever possible to save on financial investment. The list is as follows:

      • blood analyser

      • centrifuge

      • gaseous anaesthetic machine

      • operating table

      • refractometer

      • ultrasound scanner

      • X-ray machine

      2

      Veterinary Medicines

      Introduction

      In the UK, veterinary medicines are licensed for use in a particular species. They may only be used in a different species if there is no licensed product for that species available. There are very few medicines licensed for goats and no medicines licensed for camelids, although all products licensed for sheep and cattle can be used in goats and camelids (excepting those that contain the antibiotic tilmicosin). Only products required for emergency veterinary cases (i.e. no mastitis prevention antibiotics, no vaccines and no products for disease prevention) are included in the drug lists below, which are arranged first by animal species (cattle, sheep, pigs and poultry) and then by medicine type; proprietary names are used throughout.

      The lists that are presented cover the majority of licensed medicines available for cattle, sheep, pigs and poultry in the UK; these are included as a guide only. Practitioners from other countries will have other products available which are similar or are actually generic replicas. Such generic products may well be not only suitable but also legal in other countries; however, they are not legal in the UK.

      General advice on products that need to be carried and/or used by the emergency practitioner is given at the head of each main category of medicines.

      Cattle Medicines

      Anti-inflammatory preparations

      Practitioners need to be very selective with these preparations. Only a single NSAID (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug – indicated at the end of the drug description) is essential so, on balance, the author would choose a preparation containing flunixin meglumine. This drug will be useful for its analgesic, anti-inflammatory and antitoxic properties. A preparation containing dexamethasone which can be given iv is also required. A solution containing butylscopolamine 4 mg/ml and metamizole