Letter to the editor

Abstract

Madam:— From 1982 to 1984, four cases of an unusual condition in six to eight month old hoggets were referred to Invermay Animal Health Laboratory from farms in Otago and Southland. The condition occurred in mobs which had been wintered for long periods, usually 6 to 12 weeks, on swedes or turnips. Towards the end of this period, up to two-thirds of the hoggets were in poor condition. Examination of the mouths of these animals showed that the crowns of several of the incisors had fractured leaving short irregular brown stumps. Usually the central six incisor crowns were broken off while the corner pair were intact, but sometimes the crowns of the central four incisors were missing. Occasionally tooth loss was assymetrical. The incisors of the hoggets in good body condition appeared normal.