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Various systems of early post natal management of the newborn calf were examined to determine which would consistently achieve high serum concentrations of maternally derived immunoglobulins, and to examine the factors which might influence this transfer. Early assisted sucking of colostrum to satiation produced consistently high serum concentrations of absorbed immunoglobulins with a mean of 27.17 +/- 8.92 zinc sulphate turbidity (ZST) units for 100 calves. No significant increase in the serum concentrations of absorbed immunoglobulins occurred when calves, which had been assisted to suck immediately after birth, were permitted to remain with their dams and encouraged to suck again at 12 hours (29.20 +/- 9.40 ZST units). Despite early assisted sucking, a small proportion of calves may remain hypogammaglobulinaemic because of the low concentration of immunoglobulins in their dams' colostrum; leakage of colostrum from the udder before calving was the major cause of these low immunoglobulin concentrations. A highly significant correlation was demonstrated between the colostral immunoglobulin concentrations and the passively acquired serum immunoglobulin concentrations of the calves. With this intensive system of early assisted sucking the breed of the calf did not significantly influence the absorption of colostral immunoglobulins.

An abattoir survey of sheep and goats was carried out in The Gambia for one year. A total of 1248 goats and 438 sheep, predominantly young females, were slaughtered and sampled. Sixty per cent of the females of both species were pregnant. There were no significant differences between the dressing percentages of different breeds and age groups. Sex and stage of pregnancy had a significant influence on carcase yields in both species. In goats the highest carcase yields were obtained during the early dry season. Most of the animals were clinically healthy and there were few pathological findings postmortem. In both species, there was a seasonal fluctuation of packed cell volume (PCV), with a minimum during the rains, and although the prevalence of trypanosomiasis was low it reduced the PCV. Faecal egg counts of Trichostrongylidae were highest during the rainy season and goats had higher faecal egg and coccidial oocyst counts than sheep. In sheep, a breed difference was observed for PCV and an age difference for egg excretion. The peak or higher rates of egg excretion occurred during the rains in both species. The immune status against peste des petits ruminants was significantly lower in goats (39 per cent) than in sheep (49.5 per cent). Antibodies against bluetongue virus were found in 62.6 per cent of goats and 55.8 per cent of sheep.

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