Cattle Practice October 2021

CATTLE PRACTICE VOLUME 29 PART 1

A questionnaire assessing motivations
and experiences of veterinary surgeons
following participation in a farm animal

veterinary internship

Stephanie Prior, Sophie A Mahendran and John Fishwick
Royal Veterinary College

Introduction Materials and Methods

Retention of farm animal veterinary surgeons has been A questionnaire was created online using Jisc software
highlighted as an area of vital importance to both package. The questionnaire was comprised of 14
veterinary and livestock industries. Support and questions with a range of free text and multiple-choice
mentorship of recently graduated veterinary surgeons answer questions. The access link was sent to academic
has been highlighted as a key area required to improve institutions, private practices and shared on social media.
the transition from student to practitioner.
Results cont.
Farm animal veterinary internships normally form a
guided introduction into veterinary practice. Interns The most common scheduled contact time with a
have greater support than traditional for new or recent mentor was weekly or fortnightly.
graduate veterinary surgeons and are usually offered
regularly CPD (continuing professional development) Scheduled contact time with a mentor
and meetings with a supervising senior clinician who
acts as a mentor. Daily 3

The internship model has been promoted as a tool to Weekly 8
support recently qualified veterinary surgeons offering
mentorship in additional to CPD opportunities. Many Fortnighly 9
private practices and academic intuitions now offer farm
animal internships with differing levels of support and Monthly 9
CPD.
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Results
Number of Interns
There were n=29 respondents, 62% (n=18) completed
their internship within an academic institution The majority of respondents felt that the mentor contact
compared to 38 % (n=11) in a private practice. time offered was sufficient 79.3% (n=23) however 20.7%
(n=6) did not agree. All respondents who that felt
The respondents completed their internships between mentor contact was insufficient had monthly contact
2008 and 2021. The most common time to undertake an with their mentor.
internship was directly after graduation 93% (n=27), 7%
(n=2) started an internship a year after graduating. The CPD offered with the internship varied from 5 to 26
days per year. Despite the wide range in answers 96.5%
The main motivations for completing a farm animal (n=28) felt that the amount of CPD offered was enough.
veterinary internship were identified as ‘support’, as this
was mentioned by 62% (n=18) respondents. Other Further education was completed in some form by
reasons that were highlighted were: 39.3% (n=11). Although 60.7% (n=17) have not completed
• The desire to work for the practice offering the any further education after their internship, the majority
would be interested in further education in the future(
internship including the reputation of the practice n=14).
• Amount of CPD offered
• Academic opportunities ` Further education undertaken by veterinary surgeons
• Stepping-stone to a residency
who have completed internships
If given the opportunity again, 92.8% (n=26) of
respondents would opt to complete the same internship 43 No further education
again and would recommend their internship to other Further education - Other
veterinary surgeons. However, 7.2% (n=2) would not
recommend their internship but would still complete an 6 Further education - PhD
internship, just with another institution or practice.
14 No further education but
All respondents still practice as a farm animal veterinary interested in the future
surgeons.
1 Further education -
Residency

Conclusions

This study has shown that farm animal veterinary internships are well received by those that have undertaken them. Although
the level of mentor contact and CPD offered differs between institutions. The motivations for undertaking internships are
broad but mostly about the perceived extra support. Internship programs may help to support recruitment and retention in
the farm animal veterinary sector. This study is of small numbers, which may limit the conclusions. Further research with
larger numbers may help to assess the impact of internships in this sector.

2021 93

CATTLE PRACTICE VOLUME 29 PART 1

Farmer psychosocial beliefs and
attitudes: implications for control of BVD

Naomi Prosser1, Eamonn Ferguson2, Jasmeet Kaler1, Michael Tildesley3, Edward Hill3,
Matt Keeling3, Martin Green1

1School of Veterinary Medicine and Science, University of Nottingham, Sutton Bonington Campus, Leicestershire, LE12 5RD, 2School of Psychology, University Park,
University of Nottingham, Nottingham, NG7 2RD, 3Zeeman Institute (SBIDER), Mathematics Institute, University of Warwick, Coventry, CV4 7AL

We investigated the psychosocial profiles and BVD
behaviours of 475 UK cattle farmers in a survey
using multiple validated measures.

Altruism:
Altruism in farmers was similar to the general
population.

Closeness to others: Trust:

Vets Farmers felt closest to Vets Most trusted group

Other farmers Other farmers

Government Farmers felt most distant from Government Least trusted group

Associations with BVD control behaviour:
Multiple psychosocial factors were associated with BVD control and veterinary input has
a role in these.

Farmers were in 5 BVD control groups Factors associated with BVD control group

Doing little or nothing Baseline comparison group

Vaccinating and testing Habits and emotions influence disease control
Decisions and goals influence disease control

Careful introducing new stock and testing Farming community-minded and trusting

Open herd doing a lot and testing Feel close to vets
Do not trust other farmers
Habits and emotions influence disease control
Decisions and goals influence disease control

Closed herd, separate from other stock Do not trust other farmers
and testing Understands disease control
Time and money

[email protected]

2021 94

CATTLE PRACTICE VOLUME 29 PART 1

The effect of bovine respiratory
disease on behaviour in pre-weaned
calves

Beth Riley1,2, Marie Haskell1, Jenna Bowen1, Colin Mason1, David Bell1, Alexander Corbishley,2 Carol-Anne

Duthie1

1. Scotland’s Rural College, West Mains Road, Edinburgh, EH9 3JG, Scotland

2. Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies & Roslin Institute, University of Edinburgh, Easter Bush, Midlothian, www.sruc.ac.uk

EH25 9RG. Scotland

Email: [email protected] a)
Introduction

• Bovine respiratory disease (BRD) is a significant cause of b)
morbidity and mortality in artificially reared calves.

• Early detection and treatment of BRD will improve calf
outcomes.

• Standing, lying and feeding behaviours may indicate illness
prior to the onset of more severe clinical signs.

• There is no research on changes in water drinking
behaviours in calves with BRD.

• The aim of this study was to examine the differences in
activity, lying, feeding and water drinking behaviours in
restricted fed calves with BRD compared to their healthy
counterparts.

Materials and Methods

• 114 pre-weaned group housed calves followed from ~8-39 Figure 1. The changes in the number of daily lying (a) and
days of age. standing( b) bouts in calves with BRD (green) when compared
to healthy calves (yellow),
• Automatic calf feeding unit (BioControl) consisted of milk
and water lanes with automatic weighing platforms. • Calves with BRD had more lying bouts and longer standing
Maximum daily milk replacer was 7L. bouts on the day of peak disease and a tendency to be less
active and have fewer standing bouts. (Table 1)
• Activity was recorded using a three-axis accelerometer
placed on the right hind leg (IceQube, IceRobotics). • Figure 1 shows that calves with BRD also had fewer lying
and standing bouts on day 3 relative to peak disease.
• Wisconsin scoring (WS) for BRD detection (McGuirk, 2015)
was carried out by trained technicians daily • No differences in feeding behaviour seen in calves with BRD
on peak disease day or ±3 days of peak disease day.
• Calves with BRD (WS≥5) paired to a healthy calf (WS<3 for
±10 days) in the same pen, of approximately the same age • Crossbred calves less active than Holstein calves (motion
and weight and of the same type (Holstein or Crossbreed). index 2532 vs 3471, p<0.05). No differences seen in any
other activity or milk drinking behaviours.
• Linear mixed model used to analyse the effect of BRD on
behaviour. Conclusions

Results In conclusion, BRD affects activity in restricted fed pre-weaned
Table 1. The effect of BRD on activity behaviours in restricted calves but does not appear to affect feeding behaviour.
fed pre-weaned calves on the day of peak disease Further research is required into how calves learn to access
water in the pre-weaning period and behavioural differences
Behaviour BRD Healthy SEM p between dairy and crossbred calves..

Daily lying time (minutes) 950 968 14 NS References
Mcguirk, 2015. Calf Health Scoring Chart
Daily standing time (minutes) 370 352 14 NS https://fyi.extension.wisc.edu/heifermgmt/files/2015/02/calf_health_scoring_chart.
pdf:
Daily lying bouts (n) 17.8 22.0 1.92 <0.05
Acknowledgements
Daily standing bouts (n) 17.8 21.6 1.96 <0.1
The authors wish to thank the farm and technical staff at SRUC Dairy Research &
Total daily motion index 2872 3934 527 <0.1 Innovation Centre, Crichton Royal Farm, Dumfries for their assistance. This study
was funded by Innovate-UK, AHDB and EASTBIO DTP.
Mean lying bout length (minutes) 56.5 50.1 6.34 NS
SRUC is a charity registered in Scotland, No. SC003712
Mean standing bout length 22.1 18.8 1.25 <0.05

(minutes)

Mean motion index when standing 167 203 25.9 NS

• Twelve calves used in analysis.

• Not all calves visited the water lane during the pre-weaning
period. Of the twelve pairs included in the models only 3 calf
pairs had records of both calves using the drinker lane. No
further analysis of water drinking behaviour was performed

Leading the way in Agriculture and Rural Research, Education and Consulting

2021 95

CATTLE PRACTICE VOLUME 29 PART 1

Prevalence of bacterial pathogens of Bovine Respiratory
Disease in calves on Polish dairy farms

Objectives Results

The main bacterial pathogens associated with Bovine Respiratory Disease Out of the 181 samples analysed for the presence of M. haemolytica, P.
(BRD) are Mannheimia haemolytica, Pasteurella multocida, Histophilus multocida, H. somni and M. bovis genetic material, 52%, 98%, 34% and 44%
somni and Mycoplasma bovis. M. haemolytica is the main bacterial agent of of samples respectively gave positive results. When the results are shown by
BRD and has a considerable economic impact in cattle, especially in the farm, M. haemolytica, P. multocida, H. somni and M. bovis were identified on
feedlot industry. P. multocida and H. somni are also opportunistic BRD 31%, 86%, 24% and 32% of the investigated farms, respectively.
pathogens and are involved in the development of bronchopneumonia in
cattle with clinical signs indistinguishable from pneumonia caused by M.
C haemolytica. M. bovis lacks a cell wall and is fastidious, requiring special
media and techniques for its isolation and culture. M. bovis is often
M Prevalence of Bacterial Pathogens
Y
98%
CM associated with chronic pneumonia, and its mechanism of action remains 86%

MY
CY poorly understood.
CMY 100%
90%
K 80%
70%
The prevalence of BRD bacterial pathogens is relatively high and it has an 60%
impact on the health of calves on dairy and beef farms. The economic 50%
impact of cattle disease on calves still remains considerable, with BRD 40%
being the most significant health problem in the modern cattle industry: it 30%
is associated with pneumonia in nursing and recently weaned calves in the 20% 52%
first weeks of life. The control of BRD in calves is aimed mainly at bacterial 10% 31% 44%
pathogens through antimicrobial and vaccination programmes. 0% 34% 32%
24%
M. bovis
The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of bacterial M. haemolytica H. somni P. multocida
pathogens involved in BRD in calves on dairy farms located in different Per sample (n=181) Per herd (n=90)
regions of Poland.

Material and methods Conclusions

The samples (n=181) came from calves with BRD symptoms or In our study, the prevalence of bacterial components within the BRD
respiratory-related signs in the herd (n=90). All the samples originated complex, especially M. haemolytica, P. multocida and H. somni was high.
from March 2018 to December 2019 and were collected from animals The prevalence of these pathogens is considered to be one of the most
younger than 3 months with no previous antibiotic treatment. significant health problems in the cattle industry, accounting for economic
losses that surpass those incurred by all other diseases of cattle combined.
In order to show the presence of bacteria, nasal swabs (70%) or M. bovis under conditions that suppress host immunity (e.g., stress due to
broncho-alveolar lavages (BAL, 30%) were taken from live animals showing weaning, transportation or viral infections), can rapidly reproduce in the
clinical signs such as high body temperature, cough and dyspnoea. To upper respiratory tract and gain access into the lungs through inhalation.
collect material from the nasal cavity, flocked swabs (FLOQswabs, COPAN, There, they can adhere to and colonize the lung epithelial surface,
Italy) were used; whereas, in the case of broncho-alveolar fluid, catheters resulting in pulmonary inflammation and gross pathology.
with a 20 mL syringe containing approx. 10 mL of 0.9% NaCl (Polfa, Poland)
were utilised. The samples were transported, for no longer than 24 hours, Information about the prevalence of bacterial pathogens involved in the
at 4oC directly to the Diagnostic Laboratory at the Faculty of Veterinary BRD complex is important in animal husbandry, as it provides evidence to
Medicine, Wroclaw. Immediately after the samples were received, bacterial effectively counteract the negative effects of infections and losses from
DNA was isolated using a commercial kit (DNeasy Blood & Tissue Kits, illnesses, both in the choice of treatments and preventative measures such
QIAGEN, Germany). In the next step, another commercial kit (VetMAX as vaccination.
Ruminant Respiratory Screening Kit, Thermo Fisher Scientific, USA) was
used for detection of M. haemolytica, P. multocida, H. somni and M. bovis
antigens. Real-time PCR was run using a thermocycler (CFX96 Touch
Real-Time PCR Detection System, Bio-Rad, Germany).

2021 96