COW-Lifornia Girls

The Food Animal and Reproduction Medicine (FARM) Club at the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine recently won a new, handheld digital ultrasound machine in a national competition among veterinary medicine university organizations. After initial entries of photos and an essay — which were judged on knowledge, creativity, and desire for the machine — the contestant list was narrowed to the top eight universities. Those eight then had to create a short video which would be voted on by the public.

The FARM Club’s “COW-lifornia Girls” (spoofing the popular “California Girls” by Katy Perry) proved to be the most popular video. After a widespread marketing campaign, the FARM Club’s video garnered more than 2,000 votes out of a total of 8,000 for all eight videos. Being the only entry from the state of California, the FARM Club reached out for promotional help to a wide network of closely connected organizations that were eager to support a California cause, including the California Beef Council, the California Veterinary Medical Association, California 4-H, CBS13 Sacramento Evening News and Good Day Sacramento.

The ultrasound machine will provide an invaluable experience to FARM Club members, and other students, for years to come. It will allow UC Davis veterinary students early exposure to ultrasonography and become proficient with ultrasound technology before the clinical portion of their studies begins.

The UC Davis FARM Club provides extracurricular learning and networking opportunities for students interested in production medicine. The club promotes the belief of providing the utmost care for animals, while working to ensure a healthy, wholesome and safe food supply to benefit consumers. The FARM Club teaches students about the unique responsibility veterinarians have to bring sound scientific evidence to future clients and to educate the consuming public about the food they eat. This mission begins in veterinary school and continues throughout a career as a food animal practitioner.

10 Canine Commandments

The Percentages of Poisonous DCD in Imported Milk Powder

The authorities of the World Health Organization had confirmed to our Ministry of Health that the poisonous Dicyandiamide (DCD) substance is not found in the five types of imported milk powder. However in contrast, when investigations were carried out by the Ministry of Health, it was confirmed to contain the DCD poisonous substance.

When samples of the milk powder were sent to Singapore for a second opinion, it had revealed that these milk powders do contain the poisonous milk powder. The report sent had been sent to the attention of the ‘food and investigation’ unit of the Ministry of health.

The contents of the percentages of DCD contained in the milk powder are listed below:

Lakspray        15.17%

Raththi              7.42%

Maliban            0.46%

Anchor              0.43%

Nespray            0.36%

May 25, 2013 | lanka C news

Elephant Orphanage - Pinnawala, Sri Lanka

Pinnawela orphanage is situated Kegalla city, in Sabaragamuwa province in Sri Lanka. It was established 1975 by the Sri Lanka Wildlife department.This 24 acres large elephant orphanage is  also breeding place for elephants, and it has been the greatest herd of elephants in captivity in the world.

There are only a few elephant orphanages in the world. Pinnawela has now become one of the bigger orphanages and is quite well known worldwide. The elephants are stall fed. There is very little food material that they can gather from the premises of the orphanage except grass. Large quantities of food are brought in daily. Jackfruit, coconut, kitul, tamarind and grass form the bulk of the food given to the elephants at Pinnawela. Each animal gets approximately 76kg of green matter a day and in addition each gets 2kg of a food mixture containing maize, rice bran, powdered gingelly seed and minerals. They have access to water twice a day from the river Maha Oya that runs by the Orphanage.

 Elephants are walking to the river Ma Oya for a two-hour bath.

 Baby elephants are feeding with milk

 Baby elephants with their mothers

Tourists can observe elephants bathing in Ma Oya (River)

Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever

Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever (RMSF) is a rickettsial disease that can infect both dogs and humans. This disease spreads by ticks and caused by a small gram-negative obligate intracellular parasite named Rickettsia rickettsii. In many cases, the dog will be healthy within 2 weeks, but seeking veterinary care is recommended if you suspect that your dog suffers from Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever because severe cases can be deadly if left untreated.

Rocky Mountain spotted fever is most common during the period of the year when ticks are active. A majority of the infected dogs are less than 3 years old and have been living in or visiting habitats where ticks can be found.

 

Transmission

The disease is transmitted to dogs via a number of hard-bodied ticks. A majority of the cases in dogs are caused by ticks from the genus Dermacentor, but Amblyomma americanum and Rhipicephalus sanguineous have also been shown to carry Rickettsia rickettsii.

Symptoms

• Fever in the 102.6-104.9º F
• Hemorrhages on exposed mucosal surfaces
• Vasculitis that leads to oedema in the extremities- e.g. swollen ears, prepuce and scrotum
• A red rash
• Joint swelling
• Dyspnea
• Myalgia
• Meningoencephalitis that causes neurological symptoms, e.g. vestibular ataxia    

Incubation period of Rickettsia rickettsii is just 2 days to over 2 weeks. After the incubation period, the organism will enter the circulatory system of the dog, and proceed to invade the endothelial cells of the venules and capillaries where the organisms can start multiplying rapidly. Eventually, this can lead to vasculitis, oedema, vascular collapse, shock and haemorrhage. Brain, heart, kidneys and skin are usually the most damaged parts of the dog's body.

Treatment

• The antibiotic treatment should start within 24-48 hours of onset of clinical signs. If the dog is suffering from an advanced form of RMSF, it might not respond to antibiotics treatment.
• Fluid therapy should however be used with caution due to the risk of pulmonary and cerebral oedema.
• Two of the most commonly used antibiotics are tetracycline and doxycycline. Tetracycline is normally administered three times per day, 22-30 mg per kg body weight.
• Doxycycline is given only twice a day, and no more than 10-20 mg per kg body weight.
• Chloramphenicol is also the drug of choice for pregnant bitches and it also can be given to puppies at the rate of 15-30 mg per kg body weight three times per day.
• In older dogs, enrofloxacin is also effective, 3 mg /kg body weight given twice a daily.
• Retinal hemorrhage, chorioretinitis and other serious lesions can require systemic corticosteroid administration.

Prevention

• Check the dog for ticks several times a day and remove them.
• Anti-tick treatments can be used to discourage ticks. Fiprinol and Permethrin are effective against ticks.
• Use of an anti-tick collar.
• Limit the dog's access to tick infested habitats, at least during the warm season when ticks are active.
• There is no Rocky Mountain spotted fever vaccine.

No toxic material in MILCO products

In the backdrop of recent allegations that toxic material was found in some brands of imported milk powder, the nation’s primary milk producing company, MILCO (Pvt) Ltd, confirmed that there is no toxic material in their milk powder or other dairy products. MILCO Chairman Sunil Wickramasinghe told the Sunday Observer that their products are tested at regular intervals and no traces of any chemicals were found in them.

Wickramasinghe projected that Sri Lanka will produce 70 percent of its total milk requirements by 2016. Total self-sufficiency in milk will be achieved a few years later, saving a staggering US$ 400 million per year to the national coffers which could be used to improve the dairy farming sector, he said.

An average of 85,000 tonnes of milk products are imported every year, costing about Rs.30 billion, he said. The country’s present milk production has exceeded 200,000 liters per day which will be systematically increased to achieve self-sufficiency, he said.

The import of hybrid cattle from Australia and other countries, expanding the dairy farming network throughout the country including in the North and the East and introducing new breeding methods will be some of the measures to increase milk production, he said.

Last year’s import of 84,000 tonnes of milk products cost the national coffers Rs.30 billion, the MILCO Chairman said, adding that last year’s milk production recorded a 31 percent increase over the previous year.

by P. Krishnaswamy

Insulinoma to PSY's "Gangnam Style"

Students in the comparative endocrinology elective at Mississippi State University's College of Veterinary Medicine produced this entertaining and educational video about insulinomas.

Dog & Kitty - Vet School Parody

Remix to "Black and Yellow" Vet School Style! This was all in good fun; no animals were harmed in the making of this video. Thoughts and opinions reflect those of the people included in the video and not MSU-CVM as a whole. Enjoy!

Yeah ah ha

You know what it is

Dog & kitty, Dog & kitty

Dog & kitty, Dog & kitty

(repeated)

[Chorus]

Yeah ah ha, you know what it is

everything we do, we do for your "friends"

Yeah ah ha, yea its not for nothing

Late nights in the MDL to make an 80-somthin

Physiology...I don't know anything

Dog & kitty, Dog & kitty

Dog & kitty, Dog & kitty

Oh my gah! Is it time for the NAVLE??

Dog & kitty, Dog & kitty

Dog & kitty, Dog & kitty

Dog & kitty, Dog & kitty

[ Verse 1]

1st years, dress nice

We got our boots on & bowties

Linny-poo, and Cooper too..

They teach us how to do the brachialis groove

Trucks outside, engines roaring

Had to downsize and drive something boring

And I got my coffee and some Monsters

Taco Thursday makes my autonomic get the upper hand yo

Hear those Doctors talk, but it all sounds just like Sharon

Gone all day, 8 to 5, get home to find destruction

Put your lint roller in the air

Picking up, cat hair

[Chorus]

[ Verse 2]

Some of us like big furry friends

Pasture, smelly dairy and big bull pens

Not a redneck, just an equine freak

Head to Stall Rounds, there ain't no time to eat

Necropsy too, but that ain't no fun to me

Bab's asleep so he can't tell you anything

And I got my apron, I ain't playing

Throw em up if you love cow butts, Tyler!

[Chorus]

Ding! The grades are up, better hurry up...

Naw, just another email sayin we messed up

But Scantrons are confusing

So many bubbles make me wanna go swimming

In the lake with some fish

Maybe with some cake and Sunkist?

Relax and take trips

Oh crap, I was just asleep with my eyes open

I don't think he noticed...... FACEBOOK!

Poultry Feed Industry in Sri Lanka

An important part of raising chickens is feeding. It makes up the major part of cost of production; hence, good nutrition is reflected in the bird's performance and its products. Compounded feed production in Sri Lanka commenced with the establishment of government owned feed mill under Ceylon Oils and Fats Corporation at Seeduwa in late 1950’s with the intention of catering poultry sector. Although, there were a few private feed mills operating during early days, there production was small and producing mainly customer mixed feed for selected farms. Poultry feed ingredients include energy concentrates such as maize, oats, wheat, barley, sorghum, and milling by-products. Protein concentrates include soybean meal and other oilseed meals, cottonseed meal, animal protein sources, grains, and legumes.

In early sixties, there was only one commercial feed mill in the country but, at present, there are about fifteen large and medium scale feed mills and registered compounded feed manufacturers. However, the main portion of compounded poultry feed marketed in the country is produced by five large scale and nine medium scales feed millers. This reflects how far, the feed manufacturing sector is commercialized and organized. Therefore, proper planning and implementation to develop feed ingredients towards self-sufficiency is of utmost importance. This objective can be achieved through intensification of local raw material cultivation and production, identification and production of substitutes from non-conventional feed ingredients in adequate quantities at competitive prices. Sri Lanka has already taken initiative effort to cultivate and produce some of the raw materials locally in order to meet the requirements of feed millers.

 Feed is the main input in the poultry production system, which occupies almost 60% to 90 % of the production cost. Selection of the feed ingredient, chemical composition of the ingredients, and the nutrient requirement of the bird depending on the purpose are the main criteria in formulating a ration. At present, the total requirement of compound poultry feed is manufactured locally. A few large-scale feed manufacturing plants currently supply around 55 percent of total compound poultry feed requirement of the country. Due to high cost of production and fluctuating farm-gate prices of eggs during the recent past, there is an increasing trend towards self-mixing of layer feed. There are over 400 self-mixers in the major poultry processing areas in the Northwestern province.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             

Since, poultry requires concentrated feed of high quality, poultry farmers are highly depended on commercial compounded feed. Because of rapid expansion of the poultry sector, the compounded poultry feed production is also increasing with the demand. Ninety per cent of the total compound feed production in the country is for the poultry industry while five per cent is for dairy and the balance five percent for all others in the species. No increase has been reported in the feed industry for sub sectors other than poultry .

The current poultry feed production of Sri Lanka is approximately 499,600 MT annually in 2010. Either for self-mixing or for commercial production, substantial amount of raw materials used, are being still imported. Actual compound poultry feed production by registered feed manufacturers up to 2010 is included in following table.

Poultry feed production ('000 MT) 2001- 2010

2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010
426.8	440.0	465.0	460.0	450.0	462.0	480.0	464.0	454.0	499.6

Source: Dept. of Census and Statistics, Sri Lanka Customs, Dept. of Animal Production & Health, 2011

I am a Cat - I'm on a Boat Vet School style

Meow meow meow! Parody made for Suture Review variety show at my Veterinary College!

 Gotta love Lonely Island and gotta love CATS!!

Geographical distribution of poultry in Sri Lanka.

There are two intensive poultry producing regions in the island. The most developed is the coastal belt, which includes western and northwestern provinces. Most of the breeder farms and commercial farms are located in this region. The central province is the second intensive poultry producing area in the country. During the past three decades, the input supply in the poultry sector has been passed on to the private sector from the government sector. 

The backyard poultry production is undertaken throughout the island, but majority of farms are physically located in a triangle, which coincidences more or less with the coconut triangle. The three ends of the triangle are Chilaw, Kurunagala and Beruwela thus, a poultry belt could be seen in the western part of the country, which stretches, between Kandana and Lunuwila. The leading districts are Kurunagala, Gampaha, Puttalam and Colombo.