The causes of hypothermia in 89 lambs were identified on the basis of history and clinical biochemistry. Excessive heat loss accounted for 24 per cent of the cases, and depressed heat production because of either severe hypoxia during birth, immaturity or starvation accounted for 72 per cent. Exhaustion of energy reserves and hypoglycaemia were marked characteristics of lambs which became hypothermic after 12 hours of age. Most of the lambs were either twins or triplets. The implications of the findings for both the treatment and prevention of hypothermia in newborn lambs are discussed.

A technique was developed for the resuscitation of hypothermic newborn lambs. This technique consisted of three major components: the administration of glucose solution by intraperitoneal injection to lambs aged six hours or more in order to reverse hypoglycaemia (10 ml/kg of a 20 per cent solution); rewarming the lambs in air at 40 degrees C; and careful attention to the nutrition and husbandry of the lambs after rewarming. The results indicate that careful application of this technique during lambing would considerably reduce the losses from hypothermia.

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Saffan was injected intravenously on 41 occasions in 11 horses and ponies to investigate its possible use in clinical equine anaesthesia. The optimum dose for induction was 1-90 mg per kg. This dose was divided into two halves, the first half given in five seconds and the second half, containing suxamethonium chloride 0.1 mg per kg, in the next 10 seconds. Induction was associated with excitement for up to 30 secs after the assumption of recumbency. At this dose rate anaesthesia lasted five to eight minutes. Muscle relaxation was poor. Recovery was associated with marked tactile and audible hyperaesthesia. Slight stimulation resulted in twitching and violent kicking movements lasting up to 15 mins. Maintenance with halothane was satisfactory and recovery from this regime was uneventful. Anaesthesia could be maintained with Saffan alone. This agent would appear to offer no advantage over currently used anaesthetic agents in equine practice and to display several marked disadvantages.

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More than 500 cases of watery mouth in newborn lambs were recorded in 11 flocks and a detailed examination was performed in more than 200 cases. The condition occurred predominantly in lambs aged 24 to 48 hours. The incidence in a flock varied from 1 per cent to 24 per cent and the mortality in affected lambs varied from 7 per cent to 83 per cent. A bacteraemia was found in 38 per cent of the affected lambs. There were no consistent abnormalities of clinical biochemistry or haematology. Watery mouth was more common in twins and especially in triplets than in single lambs. In twins the highest incidence of watery mouth was recorded in lambs born to ewes in poor body condition. Antibiotic given orally within 15 minutes of birth greatly reduced the incidence of watery mouth.

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