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Pregnancy toxaemia is one of the most common diseases affecting small ruminants in the last month of gestation. Nearly 80% of the foetal growth occurs in the last 6 weeks of gestation. Fat goats and goats carrying twins and triplets are at greater risk. Pregnancy toxaemia is characterized by metabolic acidosis, hypoglycaemia and ketonaemia and a very high mortality rate. In our study five does with pregnancy toxaemia showed a marked hyperglycaemia (12.4 ± 5.4 mmol/L). Although our findings are based on a small population sample (10 goats), we nonetheless postulate that hyperglycaemia could be explained by the death of the foetuses. Caesarian surgery was performed on four of the five does with hyperglycaemia (HG does). In the fifth, kidding was induced. In this group, two does had two dead foetuses, two had three dead foetuses and one does had four foetuses, only one of which was alive. Caesarian surgery was performed on all five does with hypoglycaemia (LG does). Four does of the LG group had three foetuses and one had two foetuses, all alive. The HG doe had lower rectal temperatures, lower sodium and higher urea nitrogen (BUN) in the blood when compared with the LG does. As the condition of affected does may deteriorate quickly, the results of the present study suggest that in the last days of pregnancy goats with pregnancy toxaemia and concurrent hypoglycaemia should be considered for caesarian surgery.

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We investigated the effect of vaccination of male beef calves (mean age+/-S.D.: 158+/-31 days) against bovine herpes virus (BHV-1 or IBR virus), bovine respiratory syncitial virus (BRSV), bovine viral diarrhea (BVD) virus and para-influenza (PI(3)) virus on the incidence of respiratory disease during the first forty days after weaning and entering a feed-lot in Portugal. In May 2003, Mertolenga, Preta and mixed-breed calves from 10 different beef herds, were systematically assigned (by order of entrance in a chute) to two treatment groups, before moving to a common feed-lot. One hundred and twenty five male calves were vaccinated with a quadrivalent vaccine (Rispoval 4) and revaccinated after 21-27 days while 148 herdmates were injected with saline (0.9% NaCl) on the same occasions. The incidence and severity of clinical cases of "bovine respiratory disease" (BRD) were evaluated every day during the first 40 days after entering the feed-lot. Morbidity (3% vs. 14%) and mortality (0% vs. 4%) due to BRD were significantly lower in the vaccinated group. Ten days after revaccination, the calves were treated with an antimicrobial - ending the study - after an outbreak of BRD caused a high incidence of disease in the non-vaccinated group. In conclusion, our results showed that Rispoval 4, a quadrivalent vaccine against respiratory viruses, under field conditions, reduces morbidity and mortality due to BRD in beef calves after weaning.

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s.c. administration of carprofen in combination with epidural injection of lidocaine may improve the welfare of calves castrated by use of an external clamping technique for up to 48 hours.