Cattle 1

This subject has the following teaching availabilities in 2010:

Prospective students are advised to familiarise themselves with the Faculty's Academic Requirements Statement

http://www.vet.unimelb.edu.au/docs/AcademicRequirements.pdf

and infomation about Students Experiencing Disability

http://www.vet.unimelb.edu.au/docs/Disability.pdf

Diseases and production management of cattle are covered in this subject. Topics include clinical examination, infectious, metabolic, nutritional and parasitic diseases; diagnosis, treatment and prevention; and herd management and economics.

Students completing this subject should be able to:

• collect a history and epidemiological information of relevance to an individual or herd case;
• perform a thorough clinical examination of all body systems;
• suggest a reasonable diagnosis and differential diagnoses from the history, epidemiology, clinical signs and lesions observed in an individual cow, calf or bull, or a herd of cattle;
• recommend appropriate ancillary laboratory tests, submit a detailed request for a laboratory examination, and interpret the results of the laboratory reports;
• ascertain if the welfare of a cow or herd is being compromised;
• specify appropriate therapy or other course of action;
• provide the owner with a prognosis;
• advise the owner of the appropriate withholding periods for milk or of the animal from slaughter when antibiotics, drugs or chemicals are administered or applied;
• explain to the owner the economic costs of the disease;
• recommend measures to control a disease in a herd or other population; recommend measures to prevent a disease from occurring;
• prepare a written report for the owner or attendant, or a referring veterinarian;
• demonstrate competence in the analysis of records of production, health and reproductive performance of cattle herds;
• present clinical case material in a professional manner.

One 2-hour written examination at the end of semester (90%) and assessment during the cattle component of the ruminant rotation (10%). Students are required to pass each individual component of assessment.

This subject is not available as a breadth subject.

At the end of the sequence Cattle 1 and Cattle 2 students completing these subjects should have:

• skills in collecting information from various sources;

• skills in collating information and interpreting it with reference to scientific literature; and

• developed professional behaviour and communication skills.