Dr Biju P, the Kerala veterinarian, known for his case studies about a duck that lived with a metallic pin in the stomach and a goat with a hair tourniquet, retired from the Department of Animal Husbandry on Monday. In his last posting, he served as the Chief Veterinary Officer, Kannur. During his tenure as the senior veterinary surgeon, Dr Biju, a resident of Kanjirapally, executed a project to turn African moss into cattle feed at Arpookara, providing a long-lasting solution to the recurring infestation of canals with African moss.

Biju's most memorable moments in his career happened while treating a goat and probing mass deaths of ducks at Vadavathoor. His findings were published in international journals, earning him acclaim. When he served in Ettumanoor, he was asked to probe the deaths of ducks which were raised in a church. The examination showed that the ducks died of a lung infection. Necropsy of a female duck threw up something interesting, though. An examination of the gizzard showed the presence of a sharp object covered with necrotic tissue.

A 3-cm-long metallic pin was embedded in the duck's gizzard. Such sharp objects usually puncture the internal organs, leading to infection and death in birds. The gizzard is considered to be the grinder, which mashes the food and has a powerful crushing action to powder the hard objects ingested by ducks. Sometimes, foreign bodies perforate the gizzard, causing a condition called traumatic ventriculitis.

These birds usually die of extreme emaciation of toxaemia (presence of toxins in blood). This female duck, which Biju encountered, died of a totally different cause: enteritis. "It was a curious case because the metallic foreign body recovered from the gizzard was in an encapsulated condition. The duck was totally healthy until the time of death. Usually, the birds diagnosed with traumatic ventriculitis die soon," said Dr Biju.

He also chanced upon a hair-thread tourniquet syndrome in a goat while serving at Changanassery. An owner of a two-year-old male goat approached Dr Biju with a case that the goat found it hard to urinate, and the animal was in pain. Initial tests revealed no clinical abnormalities, and repeated examination was required. The vet examined the penis of the goat which revealed a band-like structure on it. The material appeared tightly woven around the organ. In his article, Dr Biju noted that the high tensile strength of hair makes it an effective tourniquet. "The body hair of female goats gets stuck to the male organ during mating, and a large number of such hairs form a ring, resulting in the shape of a tourniquet," Biju said. Both these articles, published in international journals, made Biju a popular figure.

On his retirement day, he was busy shifting his three cows from the church to Kanjirappally. "Now I have got plenty of time. Till now I lived in a flat and kept these cows in the church. I am moving them to Kanjirappally where I can take care of them now," the vet said.