On the night of 24 December, Santa Claus will visit farms throughout Ireland delivering presents to children, who will hopefully be tucked up in bed. But what do we know about reindeer? What are the biosecurity measures that farmers should carry out to prevent the spread of disease when these animals enter your farm? More of that later.

Reindeer are part of the deer family, so they have hooves, long legs, a compact body and antlers.

Unlike other deer, both male and female reindeer grow antlers. These antlers are shed once a year – the males lose them in November, the females much later; therefore, all of Santa’s reindeer must be female.

They are herbivores and use their antlers to dig in the snow to find food, often referred to as reindeer moss. The females usually have one calf per year, the gestation period being seven-and-a-half months.

Fully grown males weigh 100kg to 240kg; the females are much lighter. They were one of the first domesticated species in the Arctic some 2,000 years ago and were used for food, clothing and materials for shelter. They are a social herd animal and herds can reach tens of thousands. Unfortunately, due to global warming and human endeavour, such as mining and oil drilling, their habitat is reducing and now they are on the vulnerable list of species.

Reindeer are obviously built for the cold. They have hairy hooves. In the summer, there is increased bloodflow down to the hooves so they expand, making it easier for them to travel on soft ground. In the winter, the hooves contract with the cold, but the narrower hooves are better for travelling on frozen ground.

In Arctic conditions, when reindeer breathe, it is important to heat the freezing air before it hits the delicate tissues of the lungs. Their noses have an enhanced or engorged blood supply to heat the air as they breathe in, so their noses are the warmest part of their external – hence, Rudolf the red-nosed reindeer.

In the Arctic, tribesmen used to celebrate the winter solstice by eating hallucinogenic mushrooms. These mushrooms may have also found their way to some of the reindeer they were herding.

Between the jigs and the reels, it became common knowledge that reindeer could fly and that is when Santa asked the reindeer to help him on his trip every Christmas.

By the way, a brandy foot bath is perfectly acceptable as a biosecurity measure.

Happy Christmas from the vets of Ireland.

Sean Coffey works at Mulcair Vet Clinic, Newport, Co Tipperary. Mulcair Vet Clinic is part of XLVets. XLVets is a group of progressive practices who are working together to achieve a better future for agriculture and veterinary in Ireland. For further information go to www.xlvets.ie.