Poor Thrift

Question 1

What is poor thrift?

Answer 1

• failrue to acheive target weight gain at a certain age
  OR
• very low BCS

Question 2

When are most thrift problems identified?

Answer 2

Slaughter time - most farmers do not routinely weigh

Question 3

Why is poor thrift important in young animals?

Answer 3

Even small ^ weight gain can be economically important in herds of large number

Question 4

Why is poor thrift in adults a problem?

Answer 4

> economic cost if thin at key times of year eg.
- mating: ^ anaeostrus length, v concenption, v ovulation
- early preg: v placental development
- late preg ^ metabolic disease
- lactation: v milk production
welfare

Question 5

What are the 2 methods of assessing thrift in adults and how effective are they?

Answer 5

1. weighing - also affected by age, breeed, gut fill, stage of production cycle
2. BCS - cattle, sheep, goats, alpaca, 1-5 scale
   horses and cattle sometimes 1-9 scale

Question 6

What is the logical approach to assessing weight loss in a herd setting?

Answer 6

1. Whole group affected or only some?
2. Appetite normal?
3. (if yes => a) Nutrition adequate?
4. (if no => b) Cant wat/wont eat?
   4a. (if yes) maldigestion, malabsorption eg. parasitism, johnes, tumours
   4a. (if no) underfeeding or trace element deficiency
   4b. cant eat - dental disease or lamenss
   4b. wont eat - parasitism

Question 7

What is the main cause of poor thrift in the whole herd? (± normal apetitie and adequate nutrition)

Answer 7

Maldigestion or malaabsorption due to parasitism

- nemotodes, liver flukes or coccidiosis

Question 8

What is the main cause of poor thrift in a few animals (normal appetite, adequate nutiriton)

Answer 8

• johnes
• tumours
• chronic disease eg. pnumonia

Question 9

What 2 forms of under feeding may be occouring?

Answer 9

1. Amount and quality

2. Trace element deficiency (grazing aniamls rely on soil/plant levels, usually whole group affected)

Question 10

What is the most common cause of whole herd “wont eat” weight loss in grazing animals? What is the problem with this?

Answer 10

GI parasitism - nematodes

> appetitie resuctino usually not noticed by farmer!

Question 11

What is the most common causes when a few individuals “cant eat” ?

Answer 11

• Dental disease (usually only adults)

- lameness

Question 12

How can poor thrift be defined?

Answer 12

• numbers eg. weight loss daily, time to slaughter
• age/groups affected
• no. animals affected
• severity

Question 13

How can poor thrift problem be refined?

Answer 13

• whole group/subgroup

- nutirtion adequate?

Question 14

What is the problem of older sheep losing incisors termed?

Answer 14

Broken mouth

Question 15

What aspects of the history are important when looking at poor thrift?

Answer 15

• farming system, feed management
• time of calving/lambing and weaning
• reproductive rate and spread
• worming regime and anthelmintics
• previous TE problems, supplements
• observations of clinical signs

Question 16

What should be assessed in the “environment examinatioin”?

Answer 16

Pasture and feed availabitily across farm

Question 17

What can be assessed from the distance examination?

Answer 17

• variation in size and weight
• scouring
• lamenss
• coughing
• pruritits

Question 18

What aspects of the physical exam can be undertaken quickly when getting thorugh a large group of animals>

Answer 18

weight, BCS, MMs

Question 19

When may PME be useful? What can be looked at?

Answer 19

• Large no.s affected, low individual calue eg. sheep
• chronic cases shoing no improvement
  -> eutahanise severely affected
• check with VLA first
  > collect liver for TE analysis
  > liver fluke
  > GIT worms
  > lungs resp disease

Question 20

What sheep GIT worms can be seen with the naked eye?

Answer 20

Heamonchus
Ostertagia
Trichostrongylus

Question 21

What other tests may be performed? What should be considered when advocating these tests?

Answer 21

> sample size and which animals to test? ]

• FEC
• Liver/blood - TE analysis
• ± feed analysis

Question 22

Are there often multiple factors affecting poor thrift in a group?

Answer 22

YES! Try to assess relative importance of each.