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 clothing.
- Do chores last on isolation animals.
- No shared feed containers.
- Whenever possible, use your own trailer for transportation. If this is not possible, make sure the trailer is cleaned and disinfected before you haul.
- Do not share. Grooming tools, feed and water buckets, even hay forks are a great way to exchange germs. Ringworm and other fungi from shared grooming tools will end your show season.
- Be careful of who has access to your animals. If people visit your farm, make sure they are not wearing clothes and shoes that are dirty from other livestock. At fair, discourage visitors from handling and feeding your animals.
- Practice good personal hygiene. Many sheep germs can cause disease in people. These include ringworm, crypto, salmonella, and several abortion diseases.
- Once you are at the fair, be sure your animals have clean water and feed containers that you provide. To keep water consumption normal at fair, start putting Jell-O or KOOL-AID in the water several days before fair, and continue this practice during the fair. This will mask the change in water taste.