Acta Veterinaria Scandinavica Brief communication Copper deficiency and effects of copper supplementation in a herd of red deer (Cervus elaphus) Kjell Handeland*1, Aksel Bernhoft2 and Magne S Aartun3 BioMed Central Open Access Address: 1Section for Wildlife Diseases, National Veterinary Institute, P.O. Box 8156 Dep., 0033 Oslo, Norway, 2Section for Toxicology, National Veterinary Institute, P.O. Box 8156 Dep., 0033 Oslo, Norway and 3Lillesand Veterinary Office, Ringgata 22A, 4790 Lillesand, Norway Email: Kjell Handeland* - kjell.handeland@vetinst.no; Aksel Bernhoft - aksel.bernhoft@vetinst.no; Magne S Aartun - dyreklinikken@lillesand.online.no * Corresponding author Published: 30 April 2008 Acta Veterinaria Scandinavica 2008, 50:8 doi:10.1186/1751-0147-50-8 This article is available from: http://www.actavetscand.com/content/50/1/8 Received: 15 February 2008 Accepted: 30 April 2008 © 2008 Handeland et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Abstract Copper (Cu) deficiency was diagnosed in a Norwegian red deer (Cervus elaphus) herd subsequent to deaths due to emaciation in late autumn 1999. The animals had free access to salt licks containing 3000 mg Cu/kg. An evaluation of the herd revealed poor calf growth rate, low weights of adult hinds, dull and light-coloured hair coats and cases of diarrhoea. The herd was subsequently monitored throughout a three-year period of Cu-supplementation. The monitoring regimen included clinical observation, copper serum examination, weighing, faecal parasitological examination, and reproduction control by ultrasound. During the period January 2000 to May 2001, the animals were treated with Cu oxid capsules (1 g CuO/10 kg liveweight) at 2–4 months intervals, with the exception of March to September 2000. The animals were fed continuously with Cu- enriched concentrates containing 300 mg Cu/kg, at a rate of 1/2 kg per head and day, from May 2001 to January 2003. Following both copper supplementation regimens adequate serum Cu concentrations were measured, and markedly improved body weights, coat quality and reproductive results were observed, except for the period from March to September 2000 when no treatment was given. The results showed that in a deer herd, with a diet low in Cu, supplementation with CuO capsules had to be given at intervals of a few months to maintain adequate serum Cu levels. Free access to Cu-containing salt licks did not meet the animals' Cu demand. Good and stable results were achieved by the daily feeding of Cu-enriched concentrates. Findings Copper (Cu) deficiency causes various disease syndromes in ruminants [1]. In farmed red deer (Cervus elaphus), defi- ciency has been associated with general unthrift, recog- nized as poor body condition, growth rates and coats [2- 5], as well as enzootic ataxia [6,7] and osteochondrosis [8,9]. Another trace element deficiency observed in farmed deer is selenium (Se) deficiency, causing nutri- tional myopathy and Se responsive ill-thrift [10,11]. Clin- ical signs of Cu or Se deficiency have not been recorded in free-ranging red deer although low levels of both elements have been found in Norwegian populations [12]. This study presents clinical, chemical and reproductive data in a Cu-deficient Norwegian red deer herd that was diag- nosed in late autumn 1999, and subsequently followed up throughout a three-year period of Cu-supplementa- tion. The herd was established in 1995, and consisted of approximately 15 adult hinds with additional calves and Page 1 of 4 (page number not for citation purposes)