RCVS Certificate in Advanced Veterinary Practice Food-Animal Production Medicine & Herd Health: practice questions

Question 1 · medium

A farm protocol for cows with clinical ketosis lists oral propylene glycol. Which statement fits a correctly written farm treatment protocol?

1. It says 'give propylene glycol as needed' so that staff can adjust the amount to how sick the cow looks
2. It lists propylene glycol only by a trade name, with no dose, route or duration, so that staff buy the same bottle every time from the farm store and give whatever amount seems right
3. It gives a case definition, a dose such as about 300 mL once daily for 3–5 days for an adult cow — confirm against the product label and your national formulary, and when to call the vet
4. It leaves out any case definition, because ketosis is too obvious to need one on a well-run dairy farm

Question 2 · medium

A low-SCC herd wants to reduce antimicrobial use at drying off. Which approach is supported by current evidence and guidance?

1. Treating only heifers at their first drying off, since older cows rarely have infections
2. Selective dry cow therapy: antimicrobial only for cows likely to be infected, internal teat sealant for others
3. Stopping all dry-period treatment and sealants, since the dry period cures infections naturally
4. Using the same antimicrobial tube for all cows but at half the label dose, to keep coverage with less drug overall

Question 3 · hard

Why do liner slips during milking increase the risk of new intramammary infections?

1. Air entering the liner drives milk droplets back against the teat end, carrying bacteria into the canal
2. They lengthen the massage phase of pulsation, which causes severe teat-end hyperkeratosis within a single milking
3. They cause the cow to kick off the unit, which is the only way bacteria reach the teat
4. They increase the vacuum in the claw, which sterilises the teat canal and lowers immunity

Question 4 · hard

In a herd using on-farm culture for mild and moderate clinical mastitis, which result most justifies withholding antimicrobial treatment?

1. No growth, or a Gram-negative organism such as E. coli in a mild case
2. Growth of Streptococcus agalactiae in a first-lactation cow with a mild clot
3. Growth of Streptococcus uberis in a cow with a moderate, swollen quarter
4. Growth of Staphylococcus aureus in a cow in her first month of lactation

Question 5 · medium

A dairy farm wants its Holstein heifers to calve at 23 months. Which growth plan is most consistent with common guidance?

1. Ignore weight and breed every heifer on her first birthday regardless of size
2. Breed at about 55–60% of mature body weight and calve at about 85% of mature weight
3. Breed at about 30% of mature weight so that heifers enter the herd as early as possible
4. Breed at about 85% of mature weight and calve at about 100% of mature weight

Question 6 · hard

A smallholder village flock and a commercial broiler unit both ask for biosecurity advice about avian influenza. What is the best approach?

1. The same full shower-in protocol for both farms, since biosecurity advice should never differ between farms of any size
2. Vaccination only for both, since vaccination replaces the need for any other biosecurity measure
3. Advice proportionate to each farm's risk and resources, prioritising the measures that remove the most risk
4. No advice for the village flock, since biosecurity is impossible where birds range freely outdoors

Question 7 · medium

Removal records show that 45% of a herd's culls in the past year were for infertility, 25% for mastitis and 15% for lameness. What is the best use of this information?

1. To show that all culling decisions are voluntary and so need no veterinary review at all
2. To prove that the herd's culling rate is too low and that more cows should be culled
3. To show which diseases drive involuntary culling and to set priorities for the herd plan
4. To calculate the herd's calving interval directly from the percentages of culls

Question 8 · medium

A cow giving 28 kg/day is treated for clinical mastitis for 3 days, and the product label gives a milk withdrawal of 4 days after the last treatment. At 0.40 currency units per kg, what is the value of milk discarded?

1. 11.2 units
2. 44.8 units
3. 33.6 units
4. 78.4 units

Question 9 · medium

A dairy's bulk milk failed an antimicrobial residue test. Which cause is most common in such failures?

1. The antimicrobial was used exactly according to the label and records
2. A treated cow was milked into the tank because she was not clearly identified
3. Residues passed from treated calves to the milking cows through shared water troughs
4. The milk buyer's test is always falsely positive in summer because of heat

Question 10 · medium

Which change is most likely to raise dry matter intake in close-up dry and fresh cows?

1. Moving cows to a new group every few days so that they compete more strongly at the feed face
2. Overstocking the close-up pen so more cows are near the feed at the same time
3. Adequate feed-face space, fewer regroupings and fresh, palatable feed pushed up frequently
4. Feeding once every two days so cows learn to eat more at each feeding session