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Calf morbidity is an important productivity factor that results in huge economic losses in the success of livestock production in Ethiopia. However, there is no robust information on its rate and its predictors in the mixed crop livestock production system as most studies are targeted to intensive dairy farms. A longitudinal study design was conducted from December 2018 to April 2019 in Siyadeber and Wayu districts of Amhara region, Ethiopia. A total of 135 apparently healthy calves were enrolled from randomly selected fifty-fifty households in three Kebeles of the district, namely, Gash-amba, Siyadeber, and Wale-deneba. A pretested structured questionnaire was used to collect data about the potential risk factors upon the face-to-face interview made with the owners. Calves were monitored for the incidence of morbidity in a weekly visit basis, and any clinical abnormalities were recorded on registries. The chi-square and Fisher’s exact test followed by Generalized Linear Models for binomial family extensions for risk estimate were run, and a p value <0.05 was considered statistically significant. In this study, the overall incidence rate of calf morbidity among under six months of age was 388 calves per 100,000 days of follow-up, with a cumulative incidence of 34.1% (95% CI: 26.1–42.7). Calf diarrhea, pneumonia, septicemia, dehydration, and navel ill were the encountered health problems consecutively. Among the potential risk factors, calves from Siyadeber Kebele (RR = 2.11, 95% CI: 1.13–3.94), calves housed with other livestock (RR = 2.05, 95% CI: 1.10–3.80), housed with their dam (RR = 1.92, 95% CI: 1.20–3.05), without bedding (RR = 1.89, 95% CI: 1.20–2.94), and calves whose dam age ranges from 5 to 8 years (RR = 1.87, 95% CI: 1.05–3.35) were found to be predictors of calf morbidity. In general, the high calf morbidity rates established in this study together with the alarming predictors of calf morbidity entail attention by the concerning bodies on proper management and improved health care so as to reduce the calf morbidity.

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Pre-emptive analgesia refers to the application of analgesic before the patient exposal to noxious stimuli. The study was conducted from December, 2013 to May, 2014 on 12 healthy bitches presented to the University of Gondar Teaching Veterinary Clinic for ovariohysterectomy to compare the epidural analgesic efficacy of bupivacaine alone and bupivacaine with tramadol to relieve postoperative pain and asses changes on physiological and heamatological parameters. The bitches were randomly assigned to experimental group I and II. Premedication was done with atropine sulphate and xylazine hydrochloride at 0.04 mg/kg subcutaneously and 1mg/kg intramuscular, respectively. Induction was employed by diazepam at0.25 mg/kg intravenous, immediately followed with ketamine hydrochloride at 5mg/kg intravenously for effect and maintenance, incremental injections of ketamine hydrochloride was administered. Bupivacaine at 1 mg/ kg was administered epidurally in group I bitches while 1 mg/kg of bupivacaine combined with 2 mg/kg tramadol were administered epidurally in group II bitches. Physiological and haematological parameters were assessed at different stages of analgesia, in addition to pain scoring using visual analogue scale (VAS) and categorized numerical rating scale (CNRS). After epidural administration, mean temperature and heart rate between treatment groups showed statistically (p<0.01) high significant reduction while respiratory rate reduction was significant (p<0.05) in group-II bitches compared to group-I due to the inclusion of opioid analgesic tramadol. Haemoglobin, Packed cell volume, total erythrocyte and leukocyte counts showed a significant (p<0.05) decrease in 1 hour after surgery in both groups. There was a significant (p<0.05) difference in both visual analogue scale (VAS) and categorized numerical rating Scale (CNRS) score postoperatively in 2 and 6 hours between group I and II bitches. In fact, the visual analogue scale score of group II bitches at 6 hour after surgery was statistically (p<0.01) highly reduced compared to group I bitches. In conclusion, postoperative pain assessment revealed better reduction in pain at all intervals in group-II bitches compared to group-I due to the inclusion of opioid analgesic tramadol. However, further studies are needed to compare the efficacy and doses of this combination as epidural analgesic for various surgeries. Keywords: Bitches, Bupivacaine, Epidural, Ovariohysterectomy, Postoperative pain, Tramadol