Diseases of growing lambs Flashcards
What are common clinical presentations of growing lambs?
- Diarrhoea
- Found dead / clostridial disease
- Coughing / respiratory disease
- Trace element deficiency
- Lameness
- Neurological diseases
- Skin diseases
- Poor growth
What are differential diagnoses for diarrhoea in lambs?
- Nematodirus battus
- Parasitic gastroenteritis
- Coccidiosis
- Cryptosporidia parvum
- Acidiosis
- Clostridium perfringens type B - lamb dysentery
- E coli
- Salmonella spp.
What are clinical signs of crypto in lambs?
- 3- 7 days old
- Diarrhoea profuse
- Dehydration
- Can be fatal
- Tenesmus, fever, weight loss
- Sub clinical - poor growth
How do you treat crypto in lambs?
- Supportive
- Oral fluid - four/six times a day
- Drug treatment - diclazuril / toltrazuril
What is the aetiology of coccidiosis?
- Eimeria crandalis
- Eimeria ovinoidalis
What are risk factors of coccidiosis?
- High stocking rates
- Inadequate colostrum
- Mixing ages
- Stress
- Concurrent nematodirus infection
What causes acidosis in lambs?
- Consumption of rapidly fermentable carbohydrates (grain, bakery waste)
- Management of concentrates in growing lambs (sudden introduction of ad lib concentrates)
- Stubble grain crops wheat and barley
- Fall in rumen PH
- Lactic acid production
- Rumenitis
- Metabolic acidosis
- Lead liver abscessation, fungal
rumenitis and death
What are clinical signs + diagnosis of acidosis?
- Sudden death
- Dull, depressed, reluctant to move, teeth grinding, bloat, ataxic
- Diarrhoea, dehydration
- Dx = history, CS, PM
How is acidosis treated?
- IV fluids
- Multivitamins
- Daily penicillin
- Hay
What are differential diagnoses an treatment for bloat?
- Ddx = hypocalcaemia, abdominal catastrophes, peritonitis, ascites, uroperitoneum
- Tx = stomach tube, dimeticone, Red devil trochar
What are clinical signs of cobalt deficiency?
- Weight loss
- Anaemia
- Slow growth
- Debility
- Watery eye discharge
how is cobalt deficiency diagnosed + treated?
- Dx = co vit B12 levels in blood + liver
- Tx = cobalt rumen boluses / drenches, Vitamin B12 injections
What breeds are predisposed to copper poisoning?
- North ronaldsay
- Suffolk
- Blue faced leicester
- Texels
What are clinical signs of copper poisoning?
- Ataxia
- Head pressing
- Jaundice
- Haemoglobinuria
How is copper poisoning diagnosed + treated?
- Dx - History, clinical signs + PM
- Tx - Sodium calcium EDTA, supportive therapy, Molybdenum + sulphur added to water
What can cause respiratory disease in lambs?
- Pneumonia - respiratory viruses - PI3, RSV
- Bacteria - Mycoplasma, mannheimia, pasturella
- stress
- Lung worm
What are clinical signs of mannheimia haemolytica?
- Pyrexia
- Mucopurulent nasal discharge
- Cough
- Increased resp rate + depth
- Dyspnoea
- Death
How would you treat mannheimia haemolytica? Prevention?
- Oxytetracycline
- Amoxicillin
- Macrolides
- Px = ventilation, hygiene, stocking rates, risk factors
What are differential diagnoses in poor growth in lambs?
– Inadequate nutrition
– Parasitic disease especially anthelmintic resistance (next lecture)
– Trace element deficiencies
– Pneumonia
– Lameness (lameness lecture)
* Chronic joint ill
* CODD/FR/Scald
– Orf, Scab (skin diseases)
