Patent ID: 8753889

Claim:
A method of detecting or predicting the presence of at least one production related metabolic disease (PRMD) in a test animal comprising: (a) collecting from the test animal at least one first sample of animal substrate comprising at least one of hair, feces, blood, erythrocytes, plasma protein, and any combination thereof; (b) measuring the amount of a first isotope in the first sample and the amount of a second isotope of the same element in the first sample; (c) determining a first ratio between the amount of the first isotope and the amount of the second isotope of the same element in the first sample; (d) collecting from the test animal a second at least one sample of animal substrate- comprising at least one of hair, feces, blood, erythrocytes, plasma protein, and any combination thereof; (e) measuring the amount of a third isotope in the second sample and the amount of a fourth isotope of the same element in the second sample; (f) determining a second ratio between the amount of the third isotope and the amount of the fourth isotope in the second sample; (g) comparing the test animal first ratio with a first control ratio of the first and second isotopes from a healthy animal other than the test animal and comparing the test animal second ratio with a second control ratio of the third and fourth isotopes from a healthy animal other than the test animal; (h) determining if a statistically significant difference exists between the test animal first ratio and first control ratio and between the test animal second ratio and the second control ratio; and if so, (i) determining that the test animal has the PRMD or predicting that the test animal is at risk of developing the PRMD, wherein the PRMD is selected from the group consisting of milk fever, ketosis, retained placenta, endometritis, fatty liver, mastitis, displaced abomasum, gastrointestinal colic, recurrent airway obstruction, laminitis, inability to recover from treatment for parasites, exertional rhabdomyolysis, lameness, cystic ovaries, hypomagnesemia, and a periparturient production-related metabolic disease (PPRMD).