The sheep and goat year (health planning)

Question 1

Sheep margins (£)

Answer 1

Gross margin: ewe- £32.50, lamb- from £80

Question 2

Net profits of ewe

Answer 2

£-2.50 t0 £12.50

Question 3

Aims of flock health schemes

Answer 3

• Improve sheep health and welfare
  
  • Improve profitability for farmer
  • Maintain vet expertise and job satisfaction
    
    • Improve profitability for practice

Question 4

Existing flock health schemes from Scotland rural university college

Answer 4

○ Premium health scheme for sheep and goats
○ MV/CAE
○ Johne’s
○ Enzootic abortion
○ Scrapie monitoring and genotyping for export

Question 5

Lamb vaccinations against Clostridia and Mannheimia

Answer 5

○ Slight compromise due to different persistence of passive protection between Clostridia and Mannheimia
○ 3 months
○ 4 months

Question 6

Clostridia and Mannheimia vaccination in ewes

Answer 6

2 months prior to lambing
E. coli vaccine also

Question 7

Clostridia and Mannheimia vaccinations for rams

Answer 7

Annual booster for young stock

Question 8

Costs of abortion

Answer 8

• Cost of APHA investigation (fetus/placenta) = £110.20
• Other costs/lost profits: vet fees, drugs, labour, disposal, loss of production of ewe, lost lamb
• Total estimated cost = £85/ewe
• National costs of EAE about £30M/yr

Question 9

Abortion vaccines

Answer 9

Toxoplasma (Toxovac), Biannual boosters
Chlamydophila/EAE (Enzovax) annual booster, primary course in ewes one month prior to tupping

Question 10

Orf vaccine

Answer 10

3 months prior to tupping
Live non-attenuated

Question 11

Other possible vaccines for ewes

Answer 11

• E. Coli (K99)
  
  • Erysipelas
  • Footrot
  • Louping ill
  • Salmonella

Question 12

SCOPS

Answer 12

• Quarantine treatment
• tests for resistance
• administer effectively - correct dose
• use only when necessary - monitoring FEC
• use the right drug
• consider narrow spectrum, appropriate rotation
• reduced dependence on anthelmintics
• grazing management, resistant rams, risk assessment
• preserve susceptible worms
• reduce selection pressure for AR

Question 13

Quarantine treatments

Answer 13

• Drench all in-coming sheep
  ○ Levamisole (yellow)
  ○ ML, avermectin (clear drench or injectable)
  
  • Keep off pasture 24-48 hrs
  • Turn out onto dirty pasture (dilution effect)

Question 14

Parasitic gastroenteritis in sheep

Answer 14

• Anthelmintic resistance: BZ+++, L+, ML rare
  ○ 4-6 weekly if on dirty pasture
  ○ Prior to tupping only for thin ewes
  ○ At lambing (spring rise)
• Leave 10% untreated!
• Ewes - 3 & 6 weeks after turnout
• Lambs
  ○ Wean at 5 months
  ○ Worm and put on clean pasture
  ○ ‘dose & move’ increases AR selection pressure

Question 15

Liver fluke of sheep

Answer 15

• Fluke forecast from ministry
  
  • Individual farm risk factors
  • Prevention
    ○ Triclabendazole
    ○ Nitorxynil, closantel possible alternatives
    ○ October
    ○ January

Question 16

Footrot in sheep (Dichelobacter nodosus)

Answer 16

Footrot is an infectious disease

If you find sheep lame with footrot
○ Treat within 3 days with an antibiotic injection and spray
○ Do not trim the feet at all
○ If possible, separate sheep with footrot or scald from the flock

Question 17

Scald in sheep

Answer 17

In some cases scald can progress to footrot

D. Nodosus exploits damage

Treat individual cases of scald in adult sheep as Early stage Footrot

AB sprays should clear most scald cases in lambs

Flock outbreaks of scald can be controlled by footbathing

Question 18

Control of footrot in sheep

Answer 18

• Biosecurity (purchasing)
  
  • Quarantine (21 days, check before turn out)
  • Inspect (treat any with footrot or scald)

Question 19

When do preventative medicine visits occur?

Answer 19

• Pre-tupping
  
  • Post tupping / mid pregnancy
  • Pre-lambing
  • Post-lambing

Question 20

Pre- tupping visits: rams

Answer 20

• Numbers (1:10 for synchronised oestrus, 1:40-60 otherwise)
• Physical exam
  ○ Condition score (4 at tupping)
  ○ External appearance
  ○ Feet and teeth
  ○ Scrotum
  ○ Testes
  ○ Penis
• Semen evaluation
• Vasectomies

Question 21

Pre-tupping visit ewes

Answer 21

Pre-tupping visit: ewes
- Physical exam
○ Condition score 3-3,5 at tupping
○ External appearance
- History
○ Mastitis
○ Hypomagnesaemia
○ Lameness
- Abortion vaccines
- Worming
- Weaning

Question 22

Pre-tupping visit: lambs

Answer 22

• Physical exam
  ○ Growth rates
  ○ Lameness
  ○ Scouring
  ○ Wool condition
  
  • Anthelminitc usage
    ○ Frequency
    ○ Type
    ○ Faecal examination
  • Vaccines
  • Trace elements (Cu, Co, Se)

Question 23

Pre-tupping feeding

Answer 23

• Ewes
  ○ Flushing
  ○ Differential feeding by CS post weaning
  ○ Feeding advice through to mid pregnancy
  
  • Rams
    ○ Concentrate feeding rams through tupping
  • Lambs
    ○ Clean grazing for lambs post weaning
  • Winter feed analysis

Question 24

Pre-tupping visit: the report

Answer 24

• Ram examinations
  
  • Health plan update
  • Purchase of replacement stock
  • Biosecurity advice
  • Date of next visit

Question 25

Post-tupping visit: rams

Answer 25

- Check CS - Feeding - Worming/fluke - Vaccination - Foot care - External parasites

Question 26

Post-tupping visit: ewes

Answer 26

- Do not stress during first trimester - Physical exam - History (tupping results, scanning 80-100 days) - Mineral status - Vaccination and worming - Ewe lamb management - Last 6-8 weeks of pregnancy are critical - Increase energy levels - 12 ME/kg - Differential feeding ○ By condition score ○ By scanning results

Question 27

Pre-lambing visit: ewes

Answer 27

- Physical exam - BCS - History ○ Vaccination/worming ○ Abortions ○ Pregnancy toxaemia ○ Hypocalcaemia ○ Prolapses (lots of bulky forage can add to the problem) ○ Infections (e.g. Orf) - Samples ○ BHB ○ Albumin/urea

Question 28

Post-lambing: feeding

Answer 28

- Post lambing ewe feeding ○ Consideration of milk production ○ Prevention of hypomagnesaemia - Lambs ○ Creep feeding ○ Artificial rearing - Rams ○ Maintenance

Question 29

Post lambing visit: ewes

Answer 29

- Condition scores - Worming schedules - Hypomagnesaemia - Mastitis - Foot care

Question 30

Post-lambing visit: lambs

Answer 30

Growth rates Neonatal losses ○ Hypothermia ○ Colibacillosis (review hygiene, vaccination of ewes) ○ Erysipelas (review treatment/vaccination) ○ Coccidiosis (review hygiene, treatment) Worming Vaccination Weaning

Question 31

Flock replacements

Answer 31

- 10% of ewes fail to raise lambs ○ Ewe deaths ○ Barren ○ Embryo loss ○ Abortion and still birth ○ Lamb deaths - Normal replacement rates 20%/year - Culling - identification important

Question 32

Replacements: quarantine

Answer 32

- 21 days isolation and treat: - Ectoparasites ○ Ops or avermectine ○ If avermectins beware lice (amitraz, Ops) - Endoparasites ○ Levamisaole and avermectins, 48hrs then dirty pasture ○ Fluke - triclabendazole - Footrot and CODD - footbath twice in 21 days

Question 33

Replacements: vaccines

Answer 33

- Clostridia & Mannhiemia (pasteurella) - Toxoplasma - Chlamydophilia (EAE) - Footrot - Orf - Louping ill - E. coli - Erysipelas