Ronnie & Jeannette Hurst

Health Care Tips

Many beginning lamb and sheep owners have questions about basic health care. We have put together some pictures and tips that we hope will benefit you, as they have us in the beginning. If you have any questions please e-mail us or visit the message board at MyLamb.com

Sources

This is just a small list of sources that we use on health care.

• Our Trusted Local Veterinarians
• Paula Simmons book, "Raising Sheep The Modern Way".
• The Merck Veterinary Manual
• The Knowledgeable Friends at MyLamb.com Message Board
• All Our Experiences Over the Years, Good and Bad.
• Asking Questions From Everyone We Ever Met.

Feeding

Feeding and even feeds themselves will vary greatly across the country and around the world. We suggest show lambs to be fed a good quality commercial ration formulated for show lambs with at least 16% protein level. Shop for what is available in your area and easily accessible.

Sheep and lambs need at least 10 days to adjust to any changes in feeds or increases in amounts. Death can occur in less than two hours if not treated. Causes are lush pasture, green and very leafy hay, grain increases or overloads to name a few.

Bloating

There are several bloat drenches on the market you can keep on hand. Bloats symptoms are enlarged leftside of the flank, hard breathing, grinding teeth, and excessive saliva maybe seen. You can also use 2 tablespoons of baking soda in a warm cup of water can be drenched. Repeating the dose in 30 minutes maybe needed. If the bloat is foamy type, a 1/2 cup peanut or corn oil can be given orally if the sheep can still breathing and swallowing normally.

Water Containers

Clean fresh water is needed for health and growth. Buckets can be used, but should not have been used before to store oil, radiator coolant, weed sprays, any supplements containing copper, or commercial fertilizers. This is a small list of poisons, for a full list visit Cornell University website.

Hay, Grass, Pasture, Ruffage, Whole Grains-Oats, Corn, Barley, Loose Salt, Minerals For Sheep and Lambs

Docking Of Tails

In California, tails must have a part left to be able to show and sell auction state sanctions fairs and livestock events. Many new breeders just wish to know where the "web" is under the tail.

We believe that most prolapses are caused by genetics in the ewes and rams, passed to the off-spring that you might buy. Ask questions, ask to see the sire and dams if possible.

Environmental causes can be dust, moldy feeds, dust in hay and other feeds, enclosed barns, pens and trailers without adequate ventilation can lead to severe coughing. Worms and other internal and external parasites, as well as excessive or rough exercise programs can also bring on a weakness in the back and tail area and prolapsing may occur.

Scrapie

All sheep and goat breeders are required to have a USDA premise number from their state veterinary service. Tags are being required for many shows and sales within the state of org in. Any out of state travel should be checked on at your local veterinary office for details. Some states require entry numbers and health certificates.

Scrapie is a fatal, degenerative disease affecting the central nervous system of sheep and goats. It is among a number of diseases classified as transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSE). Infected flocks that contain a high percentage of susceptible animals can experience significant production losses. Over a period of several years the number of infected animals increases, and the age at onset of clinical signs decreases making these flocks uneconomical. Animals sold from infected flocks spread scrapie to other flocks. The presence of scrapie in the United States also prevents the export of breeding stock, semen, and embryos to many other countries. TSEs are the subject of increased attention and concern because of the discovery of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) in cattle, the link between BSE and variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD) in people, and feline spongiform encephalopathy (FSE) in cats in Europe.

Basic information on genetics and scrapie resistance and information on how APHIS is using genetic testing to help eradicate scrapie. National Scrapie Educational Initiative - Information for producers on scrapie and the new identification requirements for sheep and goats provided by the National Institute for Animal Agriculture. For Additional Information on Ear Tags Contact Your State USDA office or USDA/APHIS Area Office for more information on scrapie or the eradication program contact the designated scrapie epidemiologist in your state.

How Do You Wash A Lamb?

We use carding tables or sheep stands to control the lambs and sheep. They need to be watched and N E V E R left alone on the tables or racks. Start your hose at the back of the neck and work water into the wool getting to the hide under. Unless you are saving the wool, do not worry about any damage to it. Getting the hide as clean as possible will keep your clippers and blades cleaner, sharper and trouble free. Continue to work the water and soap into the body. Be careful of getting water into the ears, this can cause an infection and damage the ear. After shearing, we apply a t-shirt or duck canvas blanket to the lambs to protect the hide from biting bugs.

Inoculations

Enterotoxemia, also known as Overeaters type C & D and tetanus are the major inoculations we give. The ewes are given their shots at least a month before lambing. This is the time that the inoculations are in their peak time of making antibodies. The 1st one for any new lambs will be at a month old. They receive the booster yearly. The other shot we give is the Bo-Se for White Muscle Disease. It is a Vitamin E and Selenium shot. These 2 properties act together to keep animals from developing White Muscle Disease. This disease attacks the muscle parts inside the body and makes the blood supply no flow. It can affect the heart also.

If you are not sure how to give a shot or even what the terms Sub Q and I.M. mean? Sub Q is a shortened term for "Subcutaneous". This is a way of giving a shot between the skin folds missing the joints and muscles. Most vaccines and bacterins are injected subcutaneously.

I.M. refers to Intramuscularly, or in the muscle. Most antibiotics are administered in the muscle. Intramuscular shots are adsorbed more readily into the system.

If you are still confused about placement? Check this graphic about Shot Sites.

Pregnancy Toxemia

This can affect ewes who are too fat or too thin. Many times it affects ewes who are having multiple lambs or very large ones. Signs are laying or lending against fences or other solid objects for support. The eyes are glassy and the breath smells like model airplane glue. Fresh water available as well as drenching with Propylene Glycol for several days. This can kill the ewes in a very short time if left untreated.

Lambing Positions

Lambing time can become a very exciting time of the year. The new expected lamb crop is always looked on as a re-birth of the flock. There are several different studies done on feeding practices and lambing cycles.

Pme method consists of feeding at a consistent time period each day. If you wish to see more ewes lamb in the daylight hours, you would feed at night around 9 or 10pm. The late night feedings start at least 2-3 weeks before lambing due dates.

Here are some graphics showing the different positions of lambs at Delivery Time

Coccidiosis

The most serious outbreaks are seem in lambs in feed lot conditions during the spring months. Sporadic infections are occur at anytime, any age and any time of year though. Signs are diarrhea, many times the stools are dark and bloody, loose of weight and appetite and a dull appearence. The course can run from a few days to over 10. Recovery can be complicated by pneumonia and other secondary infections. Keeping the cocci levels low before lambing is very important. We always use Corid as a drench with any new lambs brought on the property.

Vital Signs

Average normal temperature is 103 degrees. Younger lambs maybe a little higher. Heart rates are between 70-80 beats per mintue. Resting resperation rate is 16 - 34 breaths per minute.

Sore Mouth

Sore Mouth is not life threatening. I can cause lambs not to eat as the sores on the lips can be painful. If a case continues for more than 10-12 days, there maybe a secondary infection and medications and support treatments can be used. If the lambs get sore mouth use rubber gloves to handle them, handle these lambs last and burn the gloves and wash your clothes. Any sores on a lamb will keep that lamb from attending a show. It is a health hazard for the public and as showman we should not keep passing it around.

Pictures Of Sore Mouth

Minerals

Fifteen minerals have been demonstrated as essential in sheep nutrition. Of the fifteen, seven are termed "Macro mineral Nutrients", implying that they are required in relative large quantities. Sodium, Chorine, Calcium, Phosphores, Magnesium, Potassium and Sulfur make the group up.

The remaining eight are termed "Micro mineral Nutrients", Iodine, Cobalt, Iron, Manganese, Zinc, Selenium, Copper and Molybdenum. Although they are required in small quantities, it should not be inferred they are any less important in a balanced diet.

Most commercial feeds are balanced in all nutrients needed. But some areas of the country and indeed the world have different requirements. Some places have in-balances in soils for ruffages or even drinking water used. If you use copper pipes for an example, you may have too much copper in the sheep diets, causing copper poisoning.