An experiment was conducted to assess the growth performance of Madras Red sheep on hydroponic maize fodder replacing Bajra Napier grass Co(CN)-4 at 50 and 100 per cent level. Madras Red ram lambs of about 4 months of age (33 Nos.) were randomly divided into three groups. All the lambs of three groups were fed with concentrate feed @ 100 g/ day. In addition, Group-1 lambs were fed with 100 % Co(CN)-4; group-2 lambs were fed with 50 % Co(CN)-4 and 50 % hydroponic maize fodder and group – 3 lambs were fed with 100 % hydroponic maize fodder to meet out their dry matter and nutrient requirement. The trial was conducted for three months. During the trial period the data collected were initial body weight, monthly body weight, final body weight, feed intake, and cost of feeding. No significant differences were observed in the average weight gain, dry matter intake and feed conversion ratio among the treatment groups. Cost of feeding per kg live weight gain was found higher as the inclusion level of hydroponic fodder included increased in the ration. Hence, hydroponic fodder can be recommended when acute fodder deficiency occurred especially during summer.

An in vitro experiment was conducted to study the in vitro cellulose disappearance of the following seven experimental feeds such as 1) Control feed; 2) Experimental feed (75%) + Fresh brewery waste (25%) (EFFBW); 3) Experimental feed (75%) + Dried brewery waste (25%) (EFDBW); 4) Fresh brewery waste (FBW); 5) Dried brewery waste (DBW); 6) Paddy straw (PS) and 7) Brewery waste incorporated paddy straw (BWIPS) incubated for 2, 6, 12, 24, 48 and 72 hours in Rumen Simulation Technique (RUSITEC). During initial incubation periods (2, 6, 12 and 24 hours), control feed, EFFBW, EFDBW and FBW showed higher in vitro cellulose disappearance than other experimental feeds, whereas, during later incubation periods (48 and 72 hours), the DBW, paddy straw and BWIPS showed higher in vitro cellulose disappearance than other experimental feeds incubated in RUSITEC. Among the feeds experimented in RUSITEC, disappearance of cellulose was more in the control feed, EFFBW and EFDBW when compared to other experimental feeds. Similarly, the cellulose disappearance was more in BWIPS compared to paddy straw. The in vitro cellulose disappearance rates at all incubation periods were higher for FBW than those for DBW.

         An experiment was conducted to assess the effect of application of cattle urine at a rate of 0.7 l/m2 area on carbon dioxide (CO) emissions under low, medium and high pasture cover blocks of the grazing area during rainy season at Hyderabad. CO2 emissions was significantly (P<0.05) higher in experimental plots which received cattle urine than without cattle urine. Mean CO2 concentration increased linearly with the time i.e., from 0 to 60 minutes of sample collection under different pasture cover blocks and the differences were significantly (P<0.01) different. The CO2 emissions flux (mg/m /h) ranged from 9.10 to 28.80, 12.30 to 27.80 and 10.40 to 32.50 with a mean of 16.50 ± 1.24, 17.50 ± 1.00 and 21.30 ± 1.58 mg/m2/h under low, medium and high vegetation covered chambers, respectively and no trend was observed in CO2 flux among different vegetative cover blocks. The differences in mean CO2 emissions flux among different vegetation cover plots were significantly (P<0.05) different with highest under high vegetation and lowest under low vegetation cover. It is concluded that, pasture growth would influence the CO2 emissions from the grazing lands when applied urine of grazing animals hence, appropriate pasture management combined with rotational livestock grazing helps in containing global warming.

A biological trial was conducted with “TANUVAS Namakkal gold Japanese quail” to determine the optimum level of energy and lysine requirement on the production performance during the chick and grower phase. Seven hundred and twenty, straight-run, day-old chicks were randomly grouped in nine treatments with four replicates of twenty chicks each. Three levels of energy (2800, 2900 and 3000 kcal/kg) and three levels of lysine (1.2, 1.3 and 1.4%) were used in a 3 x 3 factorial design. Low energy (2800 kcal/kg) had significant (P<0.01) influence on the body weight, body weight gain, feed consumption and feed conversion ratio in the chick and grower phase. High (1.4%) lysine had significant (P<0.01) influence on the body weight, body weight gain in the chick phase. Low and medium lysine (1.2 and 1.3%) groups had significantly (P<0.05) better weight gain and feed conversion ratio. Low and high (1.2 and 1.4%) lysine levels recorded significantly (P<0.01) higher feed consumption during the grower phase.

A Jersey crossbred heifer was presented to the Gynaecology Unit of Veterinary Clinical Complex, Veterinary College and Research Institute, Orathanadu for pregnancy diagnosis. Rectal examination revealed rigid cervix and flaccid uterine horns. Further examination revealed that left uterine horn was adhering with the adnexa like a firm mass and unable to retract. However, the right uterine horn and both the ovaries were free of adhesions and were easily movable. Ultrasonographic examination revealed left uterine horn was curled and there was synechiae as evidenced by dense hyperechoic bands around the contours of left uterine horn which confirm the unilateral left uterine horn adhesion.

Mixed infections with four gastrointestinal parasites were recorded in a desi fowl presented for post mortem in Chennai. The morphological characters of the worms found in the lumen of the gizzard, duodenum and caecum of a desi fowl were studied and the worms were identified as Ascaridia galli and Heterakis gallinarum. The caecum of a bird showed pathological changes including congestion and haemorrhages. Examination of the intestinal contents revealed the presence of eggs of A. galli and Capillaria spp along with oocyst of Eimeria spp.

The present study was carried out to investigate the effect of complete feed regimen on the carcass composition and serum profile of Madras Red sheep. Sixteen numbers of Madras Red lambs (90 d old) were dewormed and maintained on a dry fodder based complete feed regimen (14.25 % crude protein and 61.07 % TDN) for a period of 180 days. The animals were provided with ad libitum water and feed at all times. During third month of trial, blood samples were collected from individual animals via jugular vein for serum mineral and enzyme profile. At the end of 270 d the animals were slaughtered and the carcass parameters recorded. The average final body weight was 18.03 ± 0.89 kg and the mean daily body weight gain was 57.58 ± 4.65 g/day. The dry matter intake was 0.93 ± 0.08 kg/day. the carcass traits including those of edible and non edible portions and serum profile of Madras Red sheep maintained under intensive management system fed dry fodder based complete feed were found to be superior to those of Nellore and Garole sheep breeds..

The modified Apgar score for puppies was evolved based on the reference range of heart rate, respiration, irritability reflex, motility and membrane mucous colour according to the physiology of canine neonate. A total of 100 puppies born to the bitches that underwent Spontaneous Whelping (SW), Assisted Whelping (AW) and Caesarean section (CS) were selected and were divided into III groups viz. SW (n=30), AW (n=35) and CS (n=35).A modified Apgar score model was used to assess neonatal viability of the puppies. Among the total 100 pups evaluated 36, 13 and 51 pups were having Apgar scores of 0 to 4, 5 to 9 and 10 to 14, respectively. Out of 36 pups having Apgar scores of 0 to 4 at birth, 5.56, 19.44 and 75.00 per cent of pups were born through SW, AW and CS, respectively. Among 13 pups born with Apgar scores of 5 to 9 at birth, 0, 38.46 and 61.54 per cent of pups were born through SW, AW and CS, respectively. Out of 51 pups with Apgar scores of 10 to 14 at birth, 54.90, 45.10 and 0 per cent of pups were born through SW, AW and CS, respectively. Among the viable pups at birth, the pups born through CS were having low and medium Apgar scores of 0 to 4 and 5 to 9, respectively. All the pups delivered through SW had highest Apgar scores at birth while the pups delivered through AW had shown Apgar scores between 5 to 9 and 10 to 14.

Animal pain management is an important aspect in veterinary medicine. Trauma, illness and surgery can all result in acute pain and good management of pain is required for animal welfare (i.e., Health, physical and mental wellbeing). Newer classes of drugs are emerging for the management of pain which has lesser side effects and more efficacy than older drugs which were used against pain. Combination of two or more drugs has been proved to be more effective for the management of pain than the single drug usage. Selection of the most suitable drug combination is based on the severity of pain, effectiveness of the drug and also health status of the animal. Management of animals that are under pain needs a combination of good nursing, nondrug therapies (for example, ice packs or heat, bandaging and physical therapy) and drug treatments. The article reviews about the classes of drugs which are used for the management of acute and chronic pain in animals, their most common side effects, and the treatment regimen for different class of drugs. It is aimed to guide the veterinary practitioner to select and dose the animals with effective analgesics for the management of pain.

Data on 1, 64,962 ejaculates of 486 bulls maintained at BAIF (Bharatiya Agro Industries Foundation) Research Foundation was utilized for this study. Six semen production traits viz. ejaculate volume (EV- ml), sperm concentration (SC- 109/ml), initial sperm motility (ISM- %), post-thaw motility (PTM- %), total number of spermatozoa per ejaculate (TNS- 109/ejaculate) and the theoretical number of semen doses (TNSD) were included in the analysis. Effect of different factors like location, season, year, collection time, collection interval, ejaculation order, breed and age of the bulls was studied on the semen production traits and least-squares means were obtained for these fixed factors while adjusting for the random factors like bull and semen collector. Bayesian method using Gibbs sampling was used to obtain precise least-squares estimates along with 95 per cent posterior standard densities. Better yield was obtained in the early hours of the day before 7 AM, when the ambient temperatures were lower and the first ejaculate was better than the second ejaculate for all the traits. EV was highest when the bulls were six years old, whereas, ISM gradually declined as the age advanced.