Ch 17 - Small Ruminants

Question 1

Goat Products

Answer 1

Meat, milk, fiber - mohair, cashmere

Question 2

Populations

Answer 2

US sheep population has declined, US goat population is stable

Question 3

Do goats and sheep eat the same feed as cattle

Answer 3

Selective, gut parasites a problem

Question 4

Types of forages

Answer 4

Arid rangelands: good for wool production, low lambing rate
intermountain region rangeland:
hay and grain sometimes, summer grazing at high elevations, crop residues in oct-dec, ewes confinement fed

Browse and grasslands -arid to semi arid
stored and purchased forage, grain in winter

high potential grazing land and cropland

Question 5

The life cycle

Answer 5

Birth, suckling, weaning, growth, maturation, adulthood, pregnancy, lactaion

Question 6

Breeding season

Answer 6

save good pasture for breeding. avoid pasture with more than 50% legumes

Question 7

Flushing

Answer 7

increase nutrient intake and BCS prior to and during breeding season. increases ovulation, decreases embryo loss during implantation

Question 8

Practical feeding for preg and lact females

Answer 8

Quantity over quality

make forage main part of diet

Question 9

feeding thumb rule - grain

Answer 9

no grain during early and mid preg, .5-1lb during late gestation, maybe more if expecting trips,

Question 10

feeding thumb rule - after parturition

Answer 10

lots of water, warm water in winter. forage at first, take about a week to get ewe/doe on full feed

Question 11

feeding thumb rule - lactation

Answer 11

feed 4-5 lbs of best hay and 1lb grain for each offspring. if feeding alfalfa, grain can be corn or barley. if feeding grass hay, supplement protein and calcium

Question 12

Additional feeding tips

Answer 12

weigh feed, dont do minerals free choice, include drugs for coccidiosis, feed whole grains, separate animals into groups according to nutritional needs

Question 13

health risks related to lambing and kidding

Answer 13

pregnancy toxemia, milk fever, abortion, white muscle disease

Question 14

Pregnancy toxemia symptoms

Answer 14

Low blood glucose

lethargy, sluggishness, not eating, neurological dysfunction, coma, stiff gait

Question 15

Pregnancy toxemia risk factors

Answer 15

inadeuate nutrition, multiple fetuses, low food intake, obesity, poor body condition, lack of exercise, stress

Question 16

Pregnancy toxemia - tmnt and prevention

Answer 16

Tmnt - oral glucose, IV glucose, caesarian section

Prevention - Adequate energy in diet, feeder space, proper BC, exercise, less stress

Question 17

Milk Fever Symptoms

Answer 17

Low blood calcium

Sudden onset, recumency, neck turned back, musle weakness, muscle tremors, bloat, coma, death

Question 18

Milk fever - tmnt and prevention

Answer 18

Treatment:
Oral calcium
IV calcium
Dextrose

Prevention:
Proper ca in diet, minimize stress, save alfalfa for laction

Question 19

Abortion

Answer 19

Termination of pregnancy, stillborns, weak lambs and kids that die shortly after birth.

Failure to expel dead fetuses can result in death

Question 20

Abortion risk factors and treatment

Answer 20

bacteria, spoiled feed, cat feces

Treatment - antibiotics, isolate affected females, aborting females develop immunity

Question 21

White Muscle disease

Answer 21

deficiency of selenium and or vitamin E in newborns. Sudden exercise may trigger

Question 22

white Muscle disease symptoms

Answer 22

skeletal - treat w vit e/se shot
mild stiffness to obvious pain upon walking to inability to stand, stiff gait, hunched-up

Cardiac - pneumonia, trouble breathing, frothy nasal discharge, fever, irregular and elevated heart and respiratory rate

Question 23

White muscle disease - risk factors and prevention

Answer 23

selenium deficient soils, poor quality forage, lack of pasture access, low se feed

prevention - provide selenium or give injection

Question 24

lactating ewe mineral requirements

Answer 24

Calcium - high in lactating ewe
phosphorus - mineral supplement
Vit a and d in feed and sunlight

Sheep susceptible to copper toxicity

Question 25

Weaning lambs

Answer 25

not before 21 days, when creep feed intake is .5lb/lamb/day, or when weight equals 3x birth weight

Question 26

options for feeding lambs/kids

Answer 26

grain feeding - creep feeding, high energy ration until marketed

Pasture:
100% grass, supplemental grain, grain feeding at end of grazing period to improve fleshing

Question 27

Creep feeding

Answer 27

supplemental feed to nursing lambs and kids, enhances rumen, protected area, reduces stress at weaning
clean dry area with shade and water

Question 28

Grain Feeding

Answer 28

High energy diet,
better to feed whole grains (otherwise feed hay too) include coccidiostat, Ca:P 2:1
ammonium chloride to prevent urinary calculi

Question 29

enterotoxemia

Answer 29

overeating disease/pulpy kidney disease

excessive bacterial growth from rapid diet change or too much grain trigger lethal amounts of toxin and death

Question 30

Parasitism

Answer 30

impacts both energy and protein