By: Dr. G.F. Kennedy
Many people are well into the lambing season. We field dozens of calls daily and I am continually on E-mail at gkennnedy@pipevet.com. There are always problems but nothing unusual just more of it as our business and contacts grow. A lot of progress is being made but there is a long way to go. We hope to make a difference. We need your patronage to provide this service.
The Lac-Tec milk machine, while very successful, has been a headache due to lack of nipples and availability of machines. When it all works nothing can compare with this procedure of raising extra lambs. When the machine malfunctions it’s discouraging and like all mechanical things there will be break downs. I added a two-week old triplet to a group of lambs on our machine the other day and didn't have to touch it. Started on its own, unbelievable.
I still have discussions about the use of CDT. I don't recommend revaccination of ewes if they have been vaccinated twice either as adults or lambs in their life time. I recommend 1cc of CDT and 1cc of aqueous penicillin shortly after birth when animals are doing well enough to be processed. The CDT and pen can be mixed in same syringe and given SubQ. The use of tetanus antitoxin is ill advised and dangerous. Lambs can be revaccinated at weaning and CD is adequate. Further information can be obtained at https://askavetsheep.wordpress.com.
Urinary calculi continue as an ongoing topic. There is one simple fact, don't add phosphorus to the ration. Don't tell me the ratio is correct if you have added phosphorus, I don't care. Thirty pounds of limestone, 20 pounds of salt and five pounds of ammonium chloride per ton is the correct feed ration. Availability of clean water, alfalfa hay and loose salt are important, the water availability critical. Adding an additional sheep tub that is filled regularly in addition to automatic fountains can be very helpful.
A short visit about minerals may help the confusion. I divide them into macro and micro. Macro includes calcium and phosphorous and there is rarely a need for phosphorous in a sheep ration. Micro includes the essential iodine and in some areas the addition of selenium is essential and the trace elements that quite frankly the sheep will find on their own. We provide an iodine/selenium premix that can be mixed with loose salt to provide adequate amounts of these elements. We have an additional premix containing Vitamin E as well when needed.
A short discussion of Vitamin E is in order. In our practice locality when we see White Muscle Disease it is due to shortage of Vitamin E. We are selenium sufficient so it may be different in selenium deficient areas. I am a proponent of providing Vitamin E via feed, drinking water or injection. I also favor providing selenium through feed which includes salt. I have no use for BoSe which contains a nontherapeutic level of E and repeated injections will cause toxicity particularly in lambs. There is more information on our blog.
People that are dealing with foot rot problems should be aware of Zactran. Zactran is new and has shown great promise in preliminary studies. Again, there is more information on our blog but if you have a foot rot problem I would sure include Zactran in your eradication process.
