Texas A&M College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Department of Animal Science researchers published an article in the March 2024 issue of Animal Genetics describing how they identified a de novo mutation in CACNA1A associated with autosomal dominant bovine familial convulsions and ataxia in Angus cattle. Bovine familial convulsions and ataxia Also known as cerebellar abiotrophy, bovine familial convulsions and ataxia (BFCA) was first described in Angus cattle in 1968. Affected calves...

Weaning in dairy calves is associated with a transition from a liquid to a solid diet and with multiple stressors, including increased gastrointestinal (GI) permeability, reduced immune function of the GI tract epithelium, decreased intestinal absorptive capacity, and increased respiratory disease. These stressors often lead to reduced weight gain during weaning. Bovine colostrum replacer supplementation may assist this transition during weaning by improving intestinal integrity and GI...

The prevention of diseases in the early stages of calf rearing is of fundamental importance. The onset of diseases often requires the administration of antimicrobials, but reducing their use in animals is currently a priority. Pegbovigrastim is a drug known for its immunoregulatory action in cows, but its function in calves has not been fully studied. The aim of the authors of this prospective study was to investigate the effects of pegbovigrastim administration on the nonspecific immunity of...

The goals of this retrospective case series were to describe the surgical technique and clinical outcome of small ruminants treated for obstructive urolithiasis using a modified tube cystostomy (MTC) technique. The database has identified small ruminants that underwent MTC for treatment of obstructive urolithiasis at Colorado State University, Kansas State University, and the University of Missouri between March 2018 and March 2023 Animals were diagnosed with obstructive urolithiasis on the...

Racecadotril, used as an antidiarrheal drug in humans and some animals such as the dog, inhibits peripheral enkephalinase, which degrades enkephalins and enkephalinase inhibition induces a selective increase in chloride absorption from the intestines. The study material consisted of 46 calves with infectious diarrhea and 14 healthy calves in the age 2-20 days. The calves were divided into eight groups; healthy calves (HG), healthy calves administered racecadotril (HRG), calves with...