1. Ovine and Caprine Surgery
Chapter 16
Ovine and Caprine Surgery

2. “It’s not that I’m so smart, it’s just that I stay with problems longer.” ~ Albert Einstein

3. Objectives
basic differences between standing surgical procedures and general anesthesia procedures.
Prepare a sheep or goat for surgery.
Assist and/or perform induction and maintenance of anesthesia.
Provide anesthetic monitoring.
Manage the patient during recovery and immediate postoperative periods.
basic risks and possible complications associated with anesthesia and surgery, and implement preventive measures when indicated.

4. Key Terms Buck odor Descenting Elastrator Fly strike Hypoglycemia
Laparotomy
Malacia
Meningitis
Supernumerary teats
Tetanus
Trocar
Urinary Calculi

5. Reading Assignment
Chapter 16: Sheep and Goat Surgeries

6. Surgery Similar to cattle
NPO: Food - 12 to 24 hours; don’t withhold water
Lambs and kids: consuming solid food material - fasted for 2 to 4 hours.
Fasting is not recommended in neonates.
Low risk of regurgitation as rumen/reticulum not functional
Hypoglycemia is common

7. Local Anesthetic
Sheep, and goats especially, are more sensitive to lidocaine.
May be toxic at 10 mg/kg (cattle > = 13 mg/kg) total dose.
Do not use in concentrations greater than 2%.
Dilute to 0.5 – 1%
lidocaine toxicity: muscular tremors,
severe depression, hypotension ,
occasionally convulsions

8. Blocks L block Paravertebral block: don’t need trocar Most common
A 18- to 20-gauge × 1 to 1 1/2 inches in length
Procedure same as cattle 
Paravertebral block: don’t need trocar
A 18- to 20-gauge × 1 1/2- to 3-in spinal needle
Use 0. 2 to 5 ml of lidocaine per site
Distal paravertebral approach: 20- to 22-gauge × 1-in needle, 2 to 4 ml

9. Local Blocks

10. Docking (~91 %), castrating (~78%), and disbudding are management practices routinely performed on sheep and goat farms.
Maintaining a high standard of animal welfare should
be a consideration in all decisions related to docking, castrating, and disbudding.

11. Cornuectomy

12. Blocks (cont’d) Cornual nerve block Goats: Dual nerve supply
Lacrimal nerve – cornual branch
Depth: 1 to 1.5 cm
A 22- to 23-gauge × 1-in needle
0.5 – 1 ml for kids; 2-4 ml adults
Infratrochlear nerve – cornual branch
Depth: 0.5 cm
A 22- to 25-gauge needle
0.5 ml for kids; 1-3 ml adults
Sheep are rarely dehorned.

13. Anesthesia for dehorning in the goat.
A, Needle placement for desensitizing the cornual branch of the lacrimal nerve.
B, Needle placement for desensitizing the cornual branch of the infratrochlear nerve

14. Blocks (cont’d) Intravenous regional analgesia (Bier Block)
A 22- to 25-gauge needle
Up to 10 ml of anesthetic
Caudal epidural analgesia
A 18- to 21-gauge × 1- to 1 1/2-inch needle for caudal epidural
Not > than 0.5 – 1 ml of 2% lidocaine/ 50 kg. body weight of sheep and goat

15. General Anesthesia Same concerns as with cattle Inhalant gases
Facemask induction < 150 lb
Oxygen (3 to 5 L/min) is given for 1 to 2
minutes before introducing anesthetic gas
Halothane – 3 - 4%
Isoflurane – 3%
Sevoflurane 4 – 6%
Endotracheal: 10 to 12 mm in adults
Heart rate: 80 to 150 beats per minute
Pre – anesthesia: diazepam – ketamine - propofol

16. General Anesthesia (cont’d)
Long blade laryngoscope

17. Castration Usually done in week 1
Urinary calculi
Can wait till 5-6 months in pets to reduce incidence of urinary calculi
Castrate before sexual maturity
Adults
Hemorrhage
Sedated

18. Castration Goats and sheep: 2 to 4 weeks of age
Done in the same manner as calves
with a blade
Age
Goats and sheep: 2 to 4
weeks of age
Pigs: 1 to 21 days of age
Anesthetic
None is needed for sheep, cattle, pigs, or goats
Should give tetanus antitoxin to goat and sheep
Can use antibiotics as preventative
Sheep and goats can be banded (emasculator bands)

19. 10 days later

20. (cont’d)
Emasculatone: spermatic cord
Emasculator bands

21. Castration – small ruminants
Burdizzo emasculatome
Crushes the spermatic cord
which crushes the blood vessels
(thus depriving the testicles of
blood supply) and causing them to
shrivel up and die
Don’t use cattle-size Burdizzo
By six weeks of age

22. Newberry Knife

23. Dehorning
US: dairy goats cannot be registered/ shown if they have horns
Disbudding: heat cautery

24. Dehorning (cont’d)

25. Tail Docking: Sheep Reasons Age
Improve sanitary conditions: Wool gets saturated with urine and feces
Increase productivity in ewes: Tail will not get in the way when bred
Appearance: Show animals
Age
Before 2 weeks of age
Can do it 24 hours after birth if lambs are big

26. Tail Docking (cont’d) Reasons to dock early Types of tail docking
Less trauma and stress
Less bleeding
Types of tail docking
Sharp pocket knife
Emasculatone
Emasculator
Hot docking irons
Elastrator
Pruning shears

27. Tail Docking (cont’d) Procedure Place tail on firm base.
Cut 1 inch from body.
Closer can cause prolapse
Force skin toward body so excessive skin will cover end when done.
Place the knife on the tail, and cut between the vertebra with a forward and downward motion.
Spray with iodine.
Pinch dock between fingers, if excessive bleeding.

29. C-Section Left flank with the female in right lateral recumbency
The head should not be elevated
L block
Clip and surgical preparation
Neonates
Clear the airways
Confirm pulse and respiration
Dry and warm
Treat the umbilical cord
Close with multilayer suture
Antibiotics and anti-inflammatories

30. Supernumerary Teats
Serrated scissors
Cut craniocaudal

31. Descenting Removes buck odor Performed at any age
Rut : urinate head, beard, forelegs
castration
Primary scent glands
Caudomedial base of each horn
Performed at any age
They may be removed during the dehorning procedure by extending the skin incisions to include them.
At other ages: Under sedation and local anesthesia
Sutures can be used to close the skin
Breeding females may reject males that lack this scent.

32. Disbudding: The electric iron is now being used to destroy the scent gland areas on this male kid. The white arrow indicates the location of the second scent gland that will be burned next.

33. References
K Holtgrew-Bohling , Large Animal Clinical Procedures for Veterinary Technicians, 2nd Edition, Mosby, 2012, ISBN: