Animals of all ages are susceptible for chocolate toxicity affecting many organ systems. The case presented here is of male German shepherd aged 4 years was accidentally encountered with chocolate toxicity with excessive salivation, vomition, diarrhoea, restlessness and incoordination like systems. The dog was treated symptomatically using rehydrated fluids, atropine sulphate and dexamethasone along with other supportive medication immediately. The dog was recovered completely within week of post treatment. 

The data on 1721 calves from Sahiwal and Jersey-Sahiwal crossbred cattle were utilized for studying the age specific mortality and culling rate. The overall mortality and culling rate were found to be 15.92 and 19.52 per cent in Sahiwal and Jersey crossbreds respectively. The average female calf mortality from 0-1, 1-3, 3-6, 6-12 and 12 month to age at first calving was observed as 5.81, 2.92, 2.06, 1.75 and 5.01 per cent, respectively. The genetic group had no significant effect on female calves mortality. The maximum culling rate was observed from 12 month to AFC.

This study investigated oxyclozanide, a salicylanilide anthelmintic, as an alternative treatment for Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) in bovine mastitis. With conventional treatments facing challenges due to antibiotic resistance, oxyclozanide demonstrated promising in vitro antimicrobial effect against MRSA isolates. The minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) ranged from 0.5 to 1.0 μg/ml, indicating its efficacy. Oxyclozanide’s mechanism involved disrupting the transmembrane structure of bacteria, presenting a potential strategy against MRSA. This suggested the repurposing of oxyclozanide as a viable option for combating MRSA in bovine mastitis, prompting further investigation into its precise mechanism and therapeutic potential.

The selection of breeding bucks stands as a pivotal decision in both organised and field populations aiming for genetic enhancement. Incorporating bucks with high genetic merit into breeding programme holds the potential to significantly elevate the overall productivity of the stock. This, in turn, serves to augment the economic viability of rural goat keepers who adhere to zero-input management systems. Hence, gaining a comprehensive understanding of the influence exerted by non-genetic factors on semen characteristics among bucks within a particular breed is imperative for effective breeding management. In this study, a total of 108 ejaculates from four adult Kanni Adu bucks were analysed to determine the effect of season and order of the ejaculate on conventional semen attributes using linear mixed models with lme4 package in R software. The estimated marginal means for semen volume (ml), sperm concentration (million per ml), mass activity (0 to 5 scale), initial, pre-freeze and post-thaw sperm motility (per cent) were 0.623 ± 0.056, 3841.00 ± 238.00, 4.73 ± 0.08, 86.87 ± 0.02, 85.49 ± 0.01 and 56.15 ± 0.01 respectively.

Eighteen queen cats with a history of mis-mating were confirmed pregnant by ultrasound examination and were divided into three groups of six cats each; Group I: Normal pregnancy cats, group II: Cats treated with cloprostenol alone and Group III: Cats that underwent treatment with cloprostenol and cabergoline for medical termination of pregnancy (MTP). Haematobiochemical and ultrasonographic aspects associated with MTP as well as the efficacy of cloprostenol administration alone and its combination with cabergoline in inducing MTP were studied. Ultrasonographic evaluation showed a significant increase in mean heart rate and a decrease in mean gestational sac diameter (p ≤ 0.01) values after 72 hours of initiation of the MTP treatment. Haematological parameters showed a significant reduction in RBC and PCV values; however, there was a significant increase in WBC and neutrophil values on post-hours treatment. Hence, the use of combined therapy (cloprostenol and cabergoline) can be considered a more effective protocol for MTP than single-drug therapy (cloprostenol) from 30- 35 days of pregnancy in cats. 

The current study was designed to evaluate the carcass and meat quality characteristics of Siruvidai chicken of Tiruvannamalai, Dharmapuri, Ariyalur and Perambalur districts of Tamil Nadu.  The carcass characteristics namely New-York dressed weight, eviscerated carcass weight, ready-to-cook weight, giblets weight, abdominal fat weight and meat: bone ratio were recorded. No significant differences observed in carcass characteristics among the districts except for pre-slaughter weight and breast yield. A significantly (p ≤ 0.05) higher breast yield was recorded from Ariyalur and Perambalur districts. The pH, water holding capacity, shear force value, tyrosine value and thio-barbituric acid (TBA) number did not show significant differences among the districts. The Siruvidai chicken of Tamil Nadu is meant for egg production and mothering ability. From this study, it is concluded that Siruvidai chicken may be utilized economically for meat production and processing.

A 6 year old female Afghan Hound dog was presented to the Small Animal Critical Care Unit, Madras Veterinary College, TANUVAS, Chennai with a history of dyspnea, coughing, weight loss and anorexia for 5 days with abducted gait. On physical examination, thoracic auscultation revealed muffled heart sounds and lung sounds. Low amplitude QRS Complex was observed on electrocardiographic examination. Thoracic radiography revealed pleural effusion. An echoic fluid accumulation around the heart, floating lung lobe and fibrin string was observed during the ultrasonography examination. Heamatological and biochemical parameters were within the normal value. Thoracocentesis was performed and removed around 450ml of milky white fluid intermittently. Based on pleural fluid analysis the case was diagnosed as idiopathic chylothorax. The dog was treated with intravenous fluid, antibiotics, tablet rutin, diuretics and steroids. After 1 week of treatment animal recovered gradually.

A two and half year old intact 19 kg female Doberman was referred to small animal medicine outpatient unit of Madras Veterinary College Teaching Hospital with the history of lateral recumbency, dyspnoea, weight loss, inappetence, brownish diarrhoea for past 2 weeks. Clinical examination revealed fever, blanched mucous membrane, lymphadenopathy, dehydration > 5%. Hematology revealed severe anaemia, moderate thrombocytopenia and severe leukocytosis with neutrophilia. Ultrasonography evidenced chronic kidney disease (CKD) and peripheral blood smear cytology confirmed Hepatozoan canis gamonts in neutrophils. Emergency fresh whole blood transfusion was done and treatment initiated with a combination therapy including single dose of Imidocarb dipropionate @7.5 mg/kg and Doxycycline @ 10 mg PO for 28 days following which the dog showed progressive improvements.

An experiment was conducted to study the effect of dietary supplementation of calcium, carnitine, zinc and their combinations for 5 weeks in eighty adult crossbred cocks which were divided into eight treatment groups each consisting of ten cocks. Cocks were fed with treatment diets. The treatment groups consisted of control (T1), control + calcium 2 per cent (T2), control + carnitine 250 mg/kg (T3), control + zinc 100 mg/kg (T4), control + calcium 2 per cent + carnitine 250 mg/kg (T5), control + calcium 2 per cent + zinc 100 mg/kg (T6), control + carnitine 250 mg/kg + zinc 100 mg/kg (T7) and control + calcium 2 per cent + carnitine 250 mg/kg + zinc 100 mg/kg (T8). Semen volume revealed no significant difference between treatment groups during five weeks period. Overall sperm motility was significant (P<0.01) between treatment groups except between T4 and T5 groups. Overall sperm concentration was significantly (P<0.01) higher in all treatment groups compared to control. Inclusion of calcium, carnitine, zinc and their combinations had significantly (P<0.01) reduced the overall dead and abnormal of sperms when compared to the control group. The results revealed that inclusion of 2 per cent calcium, 250 mg/kg of carnitine, 100 mg/ kg of zinc and their combinations in feed improved the sperm motility and concentration in cross-bred cocks. 

Helminth parasites cause a wide variety of debilitating and frequently fatal diseases in animals. Paramphistomosis caused by the paramphistome Cotylophoron cotylophorum constitutes a major group of disease in domestic ruminants. The anthelmintic activity of Syzygium aromaticum on the motility and acetylcholinesterase (AChE) activity of the digentic trematode Cotylophoron cotylophorum was studied in vitro. The flukes were exposed to various concentrations of hexane, choloroform, ethyl acetate and ethanol extract of Syzygium aromaticum and the motility and mortality of the parasite were observed. As ethanol extract was very effective, further studies were carried out with five different sub lethal concentrations (0.005, 0.01, 0.5, 0.1 and 0.5 mg/ml) of ethanol extract of Syzygium aromaticum (SaEE). The electronic measurement of the motility of the treated parasites clearly indicate the direct impact of the drugs on the motility of the parasite. Maximum inhibition in the motility (86.27%) and AChE activity (86.86%) was observed in 0.5 mg/ml after 8h of exposure. Acetylcholinesterase (AChE) is an enzyme which is involved in neurotransmission. It is present in the cholinergic synapses in the central nervous system as well as in neuromuscular synapses where it rapidly hydrolyzes acetylcholine. Inhibition of AChE in the parasite results in muscular paralysis and the parasite lose its biochemical hold fast and get expelled from the host.