Posted by Administrator on June 16 2005 11:14

Ovine Newsletter 4th Quarter 2005 Maximizing profitability on your sheep operation means maximizing the number of viable lambs. Being prepared for lambing season by having your supplies in order and being ready with disease prevention and treatment strategies will maximize your lamb crop. The first step in obtaining on adequate lamb crop is having pregnant ewes. It’s not too late to have ewes pregnancy tested so you can sell open ewes. We have ultrasound services available for pregnanc... [More]

Posted by Administrator on June 16 2004 08:58

Ovine Newsletter 3rd Quarter 2004 White Muscle Disease Is caused by a deficiency in vitamin E and/or selenium. This usually effects rapidly growing lambs. The are usually three presentations: Bright, alert, weak/down in hind limbs, Tremble if forced to walk Sudden death Increased incidence of infectious disease (esp. pneumonia) Treatment is focused around getting vitamin E and selenium into the affected lambs, initially with an injection and then by supplementing it in diet. Urolit... [More]

Posted by Administrator on June 16 2004 08:52

Ovine Newsletter 2nd Quarter 2004 Short pasture conditions are favorable for more severe internal parasite infestations because more larvae are normally found on the lower parts of the plants near the soil surface. This makes sheep more prone to problems because they are short grazers. This free-living stage of the life cycle of these internal parasites can vary from several weeks during cooler months to only a few days in the warmer months. Extreme temperature will affect the development or s... [More]

Posted by Administrator on June 16 2004 08:41

Ovine Newsletter 1st Quarter 2004 Orphan lambs often can be seen at one or two weeks of age by their thin condition and dirty faces due to them robbing small amounts of milk from other ewes. It is recommended that the strongest lamb be weaned and the weakest lamb(s) left on the ewe. A higher survival rate and better performance is seen when this method is used. However, if the weak lamb left on the ewe dies, another graft should be made. Some lambs will not adapt to a nipple as well as others... [More]

Posted by Dr. Sara Barber on June 15 2003 12:44

Don't Forget to Deworm Your Flock Prior to Breeding Ovine Newsletter 3rd Quarter 2003 All breeding ewes and rams should be dewormed prior to the breeding season. This will reduce parasite stress on the ewe and ram and improve breeding efficiency. Remember to rotate dewormer families on an annual basis to minimize resistance to parasites. Product Options for Fall Deworming: Anthezole Drench 100 ml 10 ml/100# VMC Panacur Drench 100 ml 5 ml/100# Valbazen Drench 1 Liter 5 ml/100# Ivomec Dre... [More]

Posted by Dr. Sara Barber on June 15 2003 12:22

Ovine Newsletter 2nd Quarter 2003 What are some practical ways I can reduce the risk of introducing new diseases in my animals? Isolate all newly purchased animals for a minimum of 2 weeks and preferably 30 days. When returning from a show, assume your animals are sick, and isolate from your herd for at least two weeks, or even better, do not co-mingle with your breeding herd for the whole show season. Isolation = Not in same airspace, no nose-to-nose contact. Clean or separate clo... [More]