A biological trial was conducted at Department of Poultry Science, Madras Veterinary College, Chennai to evaluate the effect of inclusion of RDDGS in commercial broiler diet on hematological, serum biochemical parameters. A total of 144 commercial day-old broiler chickens were allotted to four treatments with three replicates and 12 birds per replicate. Experimental diets were prepared by including RDDGS at 0, 5, 10, 15% at the expense of soyabean meal was prepared to be nearly isocaloric and isonitrogenous as per BIS (2007) standards. At the end of the experiment blood was collected from one male and one female from each replicate and analyzed for serum biochemical and hematological parameters. Statistical analysis of data revealed that there was no significant (P>0.05) difference in the hematological, serum biochemical and intestinal histomorphology parameters. It can be concluded that the RDDGS can be included up to 15% in commercial broiler diets without effecting the hematological and serum biochemical parameters.

An attempt was made to work out the factor shares and value shares of output in livestock sector over last 19 years and to examine in the Total Factor Productivity (TFP) growth of livestock production i.e. livestock production growth over and above the input growth in Tamil Nadu using secondary data for the period from 1999-2000 to 2017-18 from various reports on state-wise estimates of value of outputs from Central Statistics Office, Government of India and Department of Economics and Statistics, Government of Tamil Nadu. The share of milk to total value of output in Tamil Nadu decreased from 68 per cent to 27 per cent from the year 1999-2000 to 2017-18, whereas product shares of meat increased from 18.45 per cent to 64.77 per cent during the same period. During the same period, the factor shares of feed (47.65 per cent to 38.06 per cent) and dry fodder (36 per cent to 20 per cent) was decreased, in contrast to the share of green fodder (10 to 19 per cent). The value of TFP was found to be increasing gradually from the year 2000-01 to 2002-03 and drastically declined during the year 2003-04 (0.95), thereafter it increased gradually from the period 2003-04 to 2016-17, with drastic dip during 2011-12 and minor dip during 2007-08, 2013-14, 2015-16 and 2017-18. From the year 1999- 2000, the cumulative TFP index increased to 6.17 during 2004-05, 12.79 during 2010-11 and 20.38 during 2017-18 with increase of one unit per annum, which indicated good sign of livestock development in Tamil Nadu. It could be concluded that the technological interventions in livestock sector (output growth over and above the input growth) in Tamil Nadu shared about 72 per cent in the growth of livestock sector for the past 19 years.

Samples of feed ingredients were collected from the truck loads that arrived at feed processing unit located in Veterinary College and Research Institute, Orathanadu, Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu, India. Physical examination of collected samples was carried out prior to their chemical evaluation. Chemical evaluation of feed samples revealed that moisture content in maize grain ranged from 8.47% to 17.25% and high moisture was observed in samples received during the monsoon season (September to December). The crude protein content of protein supplements viz., soyabean meal, coconut oil cake, coconut deoiled cake (DOC), groundnut cake, groundnut deoiled cake, delinted decorticated cotton seed cake, sunflower deoiled cake and gingelly oil cake were 45.49, 25.11, 24.47, 36.92, 43.89, 35.36, 30.21 and 29.89 per cent on dry matter basis, respectively. The crude protein (% DMB) and crude fiber (% DMB) content of deoiled rice bran, rice bran and wheat bran were 15.47 and 16.13, 7.55 and 36.26, 14.26 and 9.47, respectively. Due to the high moisture content in maize grain 8.77% of the total truck loads of this ingredient received at the processing unit were rejected. Similarly, of the total truck loads of oil cakes received at the processing unit 20.93 % of soyabean meal, 12.5% of coconut oil cake, 20 % of coconut DOC, 22.22% of cotton seed cake and 33.33% of gingelly oil cake were rejected due to the lower crude protein and higher crude fiber contents. All truck loads of rice bran (100 %) were rejected due to their lower crude protein, higher crude fiber and Acid Insoluble Ash (AIA) content. The study thus revealed that quality control measures are essential to check the entry of poor quality raw materials before processing the feed.

Growth dynamics of buffalo population and milk production and productivity in Tamil Nadu was analysed. Point to point annual compound growth rate (ACGR) was calculated to assess the trend in buffalo population and continuous annual compound growth rate (ACGR) for milk production and productivity. The share of Tamil Nadu to National buffalo population decreased from 5.29 to 0.72 % (1951 to 2012) and the buffalo milk production reduced from 4.01 to 0.46% (2001-02 to 2015-16). The ACGR of buffalo population in Tamil Nadu was -17.23% during the last inter-census period (2007-12). North Eastern and Cauvery Delta agro-climatic zones of Tamil Nadu registered high negative growth. The annual compound growth rate of buffalo milk production during 2011-12 to 2015-16 in  Southern zone was -27.37% and it was - 21.72% in North Eastern and -20.93 % in Cauvery Delta zone with overall ACGR of -16.85%. The ACGR of buffalo milk productivity was 0.61% (2001-02 to 2015-16) in Tamil Nadu, while the rate was 1.58% in India. Hence, rigorous implementation of buffalo development programmes is a prime requisite and need of the hour for improving buffalo population and milk production in Tamil Nadu.

The sheep lungworm Dictyocaulus filaria is of world-wide distribution and causes verminous pneumonia which may result in weight loss and death of the infected sheep. The current investigation was carried out in an organized farm in the Nilgiris district of Tamil Nadu, India during the period from 2012 to 2014. Infected sheep showed clinical illness varying from dullness, depression, moderate coughing, dyspnoea and labored breathing with little mortality. On necropsy, both larval and adult stages of lungworm were recovered from trachea, bronchi and bronchioles. The identity of the nematodes was confirmed as D. filaria based on the socks shaped spicules in males and anterior knob in the larva. Of the 55 animals, including 17 lambs examined during the study period, eight animals were confirmed to have died due to verminous pneumonia. Apart from that, in a few lambs, lung abscess was noticed. Though the infection was present throughout the year, the clinical illness was pronounced in dry summer (n=23) and rainy season of south west monsoon (n=19). The disease was managed by minimizing the exposure of lambs to the contaminated pasture and by deworming with two doses of levamisole hydrochloride @ 7.5 mg/ kg body weight at 21 day interval to control the lungworm infection in sheep.

The present case describes the successful vaginal delivery of a buffalo calf with Aplasia Cutis Congenita co-existence with Ablepharon Macrostomia Syndrome (AMS) in a graded Murrah buffalo.

An intact female non-descript dog was brought to University Veterinary Hospital, with a complaint of a mass in the ventral abdomen and in-appetence. Clinical examination revealed a round ulcerated hard tumour like mass on the right inguinal mammary gland and a nodular friable tumour like mass on the vulval lips. Examination of the impression smears of the masses revealed, plasmacytoid pattern of canine transmissible venereal tumour (CTVT). On thoracic radiography, pulmonary metastasis was observed and the tumour was staged as T4N0M1. The tumour mass on the right inguinal mammary gland was surgically excised under general anaesthesia. Chemotherapy was adopted with vincristine sulphate (0.025 mg/Kg) at weekly intervals. Complete regression of vulval tumour was observed after 21 days of chemotherapy. Immunocytochemical localisation of vimentin antibody was done to assess the response to chemotherapy.

Mammary tumors are common in intact female animals. A nine year old intact, Labrador bitch was presented with a history of progressive swelling on the right inguinal mammary glands. Upon physical examination, it was tentatively diagnosed as a mammary tumor and confirmed with fine needle aspiration cytology as a mammary adenoma. A regional mastectomy was performed to remove the affected glands along with right inguinal lymph node. The bitch made an uneventful recovery with the resolution of clinical signs.

A total of 203 blood samples were collected along with data on age at first calving from Murrah / graded Murrah buffaloes maintained at different organized farms. Genomic DNA isolation and Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) were performed to amplify the PCR products and were digested with HpaI restriction enzymes overnight. Population genetic indices was calculated based on basic statistical tools. At the MTNR1A / HpaI locus, three genotypes viz., CC, CT and TT identified, with frequencies of 0.225, 0.505 and 0.270 respectively. The allele frequencies of C and T alleles were 0.478 and 0.522 respectively. The overall means of age at first calving was 1385.76 ± 24.31 days. Individuals with the CT and TT genotypes (1356.78 ± 33.03 and 1378.38 ± 37.66 days) had shorter age at first calving than CC genotype (1422.14 ± 53.01 days) and the differences were statistically significant (P<0.05).

Antiviral activity of ivermectin was examined against R2B strain of Newcastle disease virus in 9 - day old embryonated chicken eggs. Five distinct concentrations (500, 250, 100, 50, 10 µg/mL) of ivermectin were used in the study. Haemagglutination test was performed to determine the antiviral activity of ivermectin by using chicken RBC. The results revealed that ivermectin can exert a significant antiviral activity against Newcastle disease virus at higher concentrations (500, 250 and 100 µg/ml) but with cytotoxic effects. On the contrary a moderate to weak antiviral activity without cytotoxicity was demonstrated at lower concentrations (50, 10 µg/ml).