- Email: [email protected]
A Manual of Lambing Techniques
I. Lorenz / The Veterinary Journal 168 (2004) 323–327 metabolic acidosis with minimal dehydration in neonatal calves. Canadian Journal of Veterinary Research 50, 502–508. Lorenz, I., 2002. Untersuchungen zur Bedeutung der D -Laktatazidose bei K€ albern mit Neugeborenendurchfall. Proceedings: 11. Jahrestagung der Fachgruppe ‘‘Innere Medizin und Klinische Laboratoriumsdiagnostik’’, pp. 19–20. Naylor, J.M., 1989. A retrospective study of the relationship between clinical signs and severity of acidosis in diarrheic calves. Canadian Veterinary Journal 30, 577–580.
327
Omole, O.O., Nappert, G., Naylor, J.M., Zello, G.A., 2001. Both L and D -lactate contribute to metabolic acidosis in diarrheic calves. Journal of Nutrition 131, 2128–2131. Uribarri, J., Oh, M.S., Carroll, H.J., 1998. D -lactic acidosis – A review of clinical presentation, biochemical features, and pathophysiologic mechanisms. Medicine 77, 73–82. Wendel, H., Sobotka, R., Rademacher, G., 2001. Untersuchungen zur klinischen Absch€atzung des Azidosegrades bei K€albern mit Neugeborenendurchfall. Tier€arztliche Umschau 56, 351–356.
Book review A Manual of Lambing Techniques Winter, A.C. and Hill, C.W. Ramsbury, Wiltshire, The Crowood Press, 2003. 96pp. £14.99 (hard) ISBN 1861265743 Learning how to manage ovine obstetrical cases is a challenging task for those who work with sheep, regardless of whether they do so as a shepherd, a flock manager or as a veterinarian. For the veterinary student, ovine obstetrics is one more item to jam into an over-full course, so there seldom seems to be enough time to master the skills that shepherds expect of their veterinarian. For newcomers to the sheep industry, there are few training opportunities for learning how to deliver lambs safely and with minimal harm to the dam. Hence, as the authors of this book say, most people have to learn how to lamb ewes on the job. The need for an easily assimilated overview of the management of ovine obstetrics is therefore paramount and the fact that the Manual of Lambing Techniques is in its second edition within five years is its own testament to how well it fulfils that role. The book is primarily aimed at farm workers yet, although it is written in lay terms, the authors avoid the trap of dumbing downÕ language and concepts. Instead, they provide clear, step-by-step instructions for the diagnosis and mutation of most of the common ovine dystocias, together with clear delineation between the obstetrical problems that can be managed by farm staff and those which require veterinary attention. The book is well illustrated with simple line drawings, which greatly add to the ease of understanding complex malpresentations. But perhaps the most useful aspect of the book is that it is very much a how to doÕ manual: How to improvise a lamb stomach tube, how to make a lamb carrier, how to raise a eweÕs hind quarters when working alone, how to place a snare, how and where to pull; all simple everyday things, intimidating to the novice, yet explained in a way that is easy both to follow doi:10.1016/j.tvjl.2003.10.003
and to obtain a successful result. Moreover, all of this information is given within the context of the principles of good obstetrical practice (hygiene, lubrication, repelling to reposition, and respect for maternal tissues); commendably the authors reiterate these points over and over again through the text. If the book has a weakness, it is simply that it is aimed not only at a farming audience, but also at veterinary students and practitioners, and there are few areas that seem inappropriate to a lay audience. For example, I felt that the lengthy discourse on suturing the vulva after the replacement of a vaginal prolapse was far too detailed for the lay reader and seems to be clearly directed at veterinarians. In turn, veterinarians may find the bookÕs frequent injunction to consult your vetÕ a little irksome. Nevertheless, these are minor irritations in what is an invaluable guide to obstetrical management. The Manual is a book that I enthusiastically recommend to anyone who works with lambing sheep. For the lay-person, it is a simple, easy to understand field guide to peri-partum problems of the ewe. Indeed, if its simple messages were widely adopted by sheep farmers it would make a significant contribution to improving the welfare of lambing ewes. For the practicing veterinarian, it could prove a useful vade mecum, especially to those members of the profession whose main interests are in companion animals yet who also have amongst their clients life-stylers and small-holders who breed a few sheep. For the veterinary student, it should be required reading material: there are few other books on obstetrics which allow a novice to assimilate an understanding of obstetrical practice so easily. T.J. Parkinson Institute of Veterinary Animal and Biomedical Sciences Massey University Palmerston North, New Zealand E-mail address: [email protected]
327
Omole, O.O., Nappert, G., Naylor, J.M., Zello, G.A., 2001. Both L and D -lactate contribute to metabolic acidosis in diarrheic calves. Journal of Nutrition 131, 2128–2131. Uribarri, J., Oh, M.S., Carroll, H.J., 1998. D -lactic acidosis – A review of clinical presentation, biochemical features, and pathophysiologic mechanisms. Medicine 77, 73–82. Wendel, H., Sobotka, R., Rademacher, G., 2001. Untersuchungen zur klinischen Absch€atzung des Azidosegrades bei K€albern mit Neugeborenendurchfall. Tier€arztliche Umschau 56, 351–356.
Book review A Manual of Lambing Techniques Winter, A.C. and Hill, C.W. Ramsbury, Wiltshire, The Crowood Press, 2003. 96pp. £14.99 (hard) ISBN 1861265743 Learning how to manage ovine obstetrical cases is a challenging task for those who work with sheep, regardless of whether they do so as a shepherd, a flock manager or as a veterinarian. For the veterinary student, ovine obstetrics is one more item to jam into an over-full course, so there seldom seems to be enough time to master the skills that shepherds expect of their veterinarian. For newcomers to the sheep industry, there are few training opportunities for learning how to deliver lambs safely and with minimal harm to the dam. Hence, as the authors of this book say, most people have to learn how to lamb ewes on the job. The need for an easily assimilated overview of the management of ovine obstetrics is therefore paramount and the fact that the Manual of Lambing Techniques is in its second edition within five years is its own testament to how well it fulfils that role. The book is primarily aimed at farm workers yet, although it is written in lay terms, the authors avoid the trap of dumbing downÕ language and concepts. Instead, they provide clear, step-by-step instructions for the diagnosis and mutation of most of the common ovine dystocias, together with clear delineation between the obstetrical problems that can be managed by farm staff and those which require veterinary attention. The book is well illustrated with simple line drawings, which greatly add to the ease of understanding complex malpresentations. But perhaps the most useful aspect of the book is that it is very much a how to doÕ manual: How to improvise a lamb stomach tube, how to make a lamb carrier, how to raise a eweÕs hind quarters when working alone, how to place a snare, how and where to pull; all simple everyday things, intimidating to the novice, yet explained in a way that is easy both to follow doi:10.1016/j.tvjl.2003.10.003
and to obtain a successful result. Moreover, all of this information is given within the context of the principles of good obstetrical practice (hygiene, lubrication, repelling to reposition, and respect for maternal tissues); commendably the authors reiterate these points over and over again through the text. If the book has a weakness, it is simply that it is aimed not only at a farming audience, but also at veterinary students and practitioners, and there are few areas that seem inappropriate to a lay audience. For example, I felt that the lengthy discourse on suturing the vulva after the replacement of a vaginal prolapse was far too detailed for the lay reader and seems to be clearly directed at veterinarians. In turn, veterinarians may find the bookÕs frequent injunction to consult your vetÕ a little irksome. Nevertheless, these are minor irritations in what is an invaluable guide to obstetrical management. The Manual is a book that I enthusiastically recommend to anyone who works with lambing sheep. For the lay-person, it is a simple, easy to understand field guide to peri-partum problems of the ewe. Indeed, if its simple messages were widely adopted by sheep farmers it would make a significant contribution to improving the welfare of lambing ewes. For the practicing veterinarian, it could prove a useful vade mecum, especially to those members of the profession whose main interests are in companion animals yet who also have amongst their clients life-stylers and small-holders who breed a few sheep. For the veterinary student, it should be required reading material: there are few other books on obstetrics which allow a novice to assimilate an understanding of obstetrical practice so easily. T.J. Parkinson Institute of Veterinary Animal and Biomedical Sciences Massey University Palmerston North, New Zealand E-mail address: [email protected]