Observation of the Ocular Fundus in Newborn Domestic Goats

Abstract

The ocular fundi of 18 eyeballs from 9 domestic goats ranging in age from one day to 15 weeks were studied. Six of the animals were reared with their mothers until they were weaned naturally. The other three babies were separated from their mothers just after birth and fed milk replacer for calves until 3 days of age, and then they were reared with their mothers until they were weaned naturally. The results were as follows: The colors of the tapetum lucidum, optic disc, tapetum nigrum and retinal blood vessels were constant on and after birth in kids fed colostrum. However, the color of the tapetum lucidum of babies which did not receive colostrum was more yellowish than that of babies fed colostrum until 72 hours after birth. Retinal hemorrhages were observed in about 75 percent of the examined eyeballs of babies fed colostrum, but not observed in babies not receiving colostrum. The persistent hyaloid artery was observed in all of the examined eyeballs thoughout the investigation.