Bovine anaesthesia question

Re: Bovine anaesthesia question

Wren — Wed, 22 Sep 2010 08:56:09 GMT

[quote user="Michael Woodhouse"]

[quote user="Julian Earl"]Does no-one worry about someone from the VMD reading these posts? [/quote]

Nope.

Wren - how did you get on?

[/quote]

Sadly when I got there and got the bull in the crush the lump turned out to incorporate the cranial part of the prepuce (looked miles away from it when I saw it in the field), and therefore we decided that the best plan was to fatten the bull and get rid. I was very disappointed! However I have printed off all the GA tips and will save them for future reference. Thanks!

Re: Bovine anaesthesia question

Alan Tevendale — Tue, 21 Sep 2010 17:46:18 GMT

I've also used xylazine ketamine combinations very good success. Although I do find that I can often get away with just xylazine and a tipping crush as used for foot trimming if you've got access to one. Interestingly I recently used xylazine and ketamine in a male camel with good results.

Re: Bovine anaesthesia question

Michael Woodhouse — Mon, 20 Sep 2010 21:53:53 GMT

[quote user="Julian Earl"]Does no-one worry about someone from the VMD reading these posts? [/quote]

Nope.

Wren - how did you get on?

Re: Bovine anaesthesia question

Julian Earl — Mon, 20 Sep 2010 18:33:58 GMT

Does no-one worry about someone from the VMD reading these posts?

Anyway, I find that one often needs a significantly higher dose than the data sheet to get a breeding bull to be recumbent. The 3/4ml per 50kg often - nearly always in fact - leaves them standing there, drooling, swaying a bit, while I twiddle my thumbs for half an hour waiting. They still seem fully capable of resisting a Reuff's casting rope like that as well and I have given up to 25ml im for a one ton bull, i.e. 66% higher than the recommended 15ml. Even at 20ml they do the " resting nose on the ground trick" and sometimes refuse to go down. If I choose to go iv, then I tend to use about half of the im dose, not the third that is usually quoted. (Never had a tail drop off - yet!).

Also, the duration of sedation can vary significantly. Some are struggling to rise after forty-five minutes or so, others are still flat out well over an hour later. I have errrm, seen, Antisedan used, though of course I can't remember by whom, and it does work dramatically well and quickly.

Re: Bovine anaesthesia question

Phil Elkins — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 11:00:50 GMT

I personally am a big fan of Ketamine use, following a suitable dose of Xylazine, 5 minutes later inject 2mg/kg Ketamine IV will give about 20 minutes of good anaesthesia, which can be topped up with 1 - 1.5mg/kg Ketamine when needed IV.

Re: Bovine anaesthesia question

Sarah Wheeler — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 08:14:08 GMT

I would agree about the butorphanol; it also works really well with standing sedation for caesars and LDA ops. I use 0.5 mL IV along with about 0.7 mL xylazine for your average dairy cow.

Re: Bovine anaesthesia question

Michael Woodhouse — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 17:32:43 GMT

Sounds quite 'doable'. Good luck!

Re: Bovine anaesthesia question

Wren — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 14:31:41 GMT

Thanks, sounds about right!

I'm going to put it in a crush and have a closer look to check that it's do-able first (have only seen it in a field thus far) but it has a grapefruit sized pedunculated mass hanging from its caudal chest. Appeared fairly quickly over the last couple of months but is now getting kicked when it gets up or down and becoming a bit messy.

If it looks do-able I was planning to knock it down and whip it off!

Re: Bovine anaesthesia question

Michael Woodhouse — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 14:10:30 GMT

With bulls and Xylazine I always go for a heavy dose first. Topping up with more alpha 2 doesn't work well.

If you are sure the bull is only 350kg then I'd go @ 0.3mg/kg = 5.25ml intramuscularly or perhaps 3ml IV (neck not tail).Don't be frightened going in top whack.

Myself I often underestimate bulls weight and end up with them poorly sedated.If they have a weigh crush use it!

If the bull is still poorly sedated I have found that butoprhanol helps to top up the anesthesia and I usually give ~1ml/500kg IV. This is not licensed for cattle but has a license in horses with a meat withdrawal so can be easily justified.

If the bull cannot maintain sternal recumbency when I am done I administer 1ml/bovine atipamazole IV - the result of this is spectacular [get all your stuff out of the pen 1st!]. I don't do this routinely but if I am worried. Only ever used this in stock bulls so meat/milk withdrawal never been an issue. It is mentioned in one of the Xylazine data sheets.

Chloral hydrate is a great drug for these types of procedures buy you would end up stuck with most of a pot full, and it needs to be given by IV infusion.

What are you doing to the beastie?

Re: Bovine anaesthesia question

Hannah Wynne Richards — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 12:54:13 GMT

Xylazine can be dodgy in bulls-they can go deeper than expected-but I don't really know of anything better Might try light dose of xylazine and then ketamine-but ask a specialist anaesthetist 1st depends on site of op, but might try xylazine, cast and local

Wynne