Protecting Your Flock from Disease

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Disease is present in every flock and can reside in the animals, soil, air, and water. Producers don't often talk about illnesses affecting their sheep because they don't want the stigma of disease to reflect negatively on their flock. But producers shouldn't have to deal with the problem alone. Let's accept the fact that disease is inevitable, remove the stigma, and learn how we can prevent or mitigate disease transmission in our flocks. Disease is defined as "a condition of the living animal that impairs normal functioning and is typically manifested by distinguishing signs and symptoms." Unfortunately, sheep can't tell…

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Ovine Progressive Pneumonia (OPP)

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Most shepherds have probably heard of OPP as it is one of the three diseases included in the biosecurity panels that many laboratories offer. The USDA Sheep 2001 study tested over 21,000 samples from 682 randomly selected flocks country wide to collect data on the prevalence of OPP. They found that 36.4% of flocks had one or more animals that tested positive and overall, 24.2% of the animals tested were positive for OPP. Only 1.2% of the producers suspected that their animals were infected with OPP. This data is from over 20 years ago but still relevant as it shows…

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Sheep and Antimicrobial Stewardship

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[pdf-embedder url='https://easternalliancekatahdins.com/wp-content/uploads/Sheep-Antimicrobial-Stewardship.pdf' title='Sheep-Antimicrobial-Stewardship.pdf']With the global rise in antibiotic resistance, appropriate use of antibiotics on the farm is essential to maintaining their effectiveness. This fact sheet from The Ohio State University College of Veterinary Medicine provides important and useful information on antimicrobial stewardship.

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The Value in the Veterinary-Client-Patient Relationship

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I value my veterinarian's time and expertise. She works extremely hard, often taking appointments starting at 8 AM, and is still making phone calls on case notes at 8 PM! By law, in order for her to prescribe medications for my sheep, we need to maintain a Veterinary-Client-Patient Relationship (VCPR). I do sometimes bring sheep into her clinic for diagnosis or treatment. But I also make sure to pay for her time to visit my farm once a year, for a "well flock" visit, where she can view the whole flock and my operation. I like to schedule this at…

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Udder Health in Ewes: Mastitis, Udder Scores and Management

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Ewes only have two teats and hopefully raise at least twin lambs, so maintaining healthy udders and culling ewes with udder problems is important to minimize lamb losses and bottle lambs while ensuring optimal growth of lambs on your farm. Mastitis leads to lower weaning weights in lambs of affected dams, takes time and money for treatment, as well as slowing down genetic progress due to forced culling of ewes. Rates of mastitis are variable across different farms. It is important to keep track of the percentage of ewes that get mastitis each year or are culled for lumpy udders…

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Prolapses in Sheep

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There are three structures that can prolapse and be visible under a ewe's tail: vagina, uterus and rectum. Vaginal and uterine prolapses can affect ewes around lambing and will be discussed here. Vaginal Prolapse A vaginal prolapse occurs when a ewe's vagina protrudes out of her vulva. Most prolapses occur in the last few days or weeks of pregnancy. It usually starts with the ewe laying down and you just see a small little ball of red tissue protruding from the vulva that retracts when she stands up. This is the ideal time to start treatment and prevent it from…

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The Shepherd’s Toolbox: Supplies to have on-hand before you need them

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Fall and early Winter, when the seasonal workload lessens, is often a good time to focus on our sheep supply inventory. We usually think of this when getting ready for lambing, but as shepherds we should always be prepared throughout the year for emergencies, mishaps, and unforeseen circumstances. Having some key supplies on-hand can prevent undue delay in necessary treatment and management of your flock. Following is a list of important items shepherds should have on hand, including basic handling equipment. Support Network Veterinarian – Probably the most important "tool" is a good working relationship with a veterinarian. It's best…

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Transporting Sheep Safely

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Summer is often the busiest time for transporting sheep since the buying and purchasing of new animals is at its peak. It is also the season for hauling animals to sales, shows, fairgrounds and livestock markets. Unfortunately, it can also be the most stressful time for animals with long trips, escalating temperatures, and crowded conditions. This article attempts to address some of those concerns and provide a plan for preparing for the trip, ways to reduce stress and keep animals healthy during transport, and how to handle new arrivals to maintain biosecurity on your farm. First and foremost, do not…

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Selecting for Parasite Resistant Katahdins

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People frequently ask us for suggestions on improving the parasite resistance of their flocks and how to identify resistant animals, and with good reason. Intestinal worms, or parasites, are one of the most limiting factors to profitable production for shepherds raising sheep on pasture. Lambs and late gestation and lactating ewes are the most susceptible. The main parasite of concern in much of the U.S. is Haemonchus contortus or barber pole worm. The most obvious cost to producers is through deaths of lambs and ewes. But probably more loss occurs in lambs because of anemia, reduced appetite, slower growth, delays…

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Drug Withdrawal Times for Sheep

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Whenever we sell animals, be it at auction, privately as feeder lambs, breeding stock or even just pets and lawnmowers it is our responsibility to make sure that the animals we are selling will not enter the food chain with illegal drug residues in their tissue. Animals that are sold at auction need to be ready to slaughter as many enter the food chain within hours or days after being sold. Private sale feeder lambs, pets and breeding stock animals can be sold before their drug withdrawal times are over as long as you tell the buyer and they are…

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