Sheep & Goat

First and foremost if you are crossing a state line you need a health certificate and some require intrastate so check regulations for each exhibition. Health certificates need to be current, usually 30 days but that may vary also. All sheep and goats will need scrapie tags. If a sheep...

Now is the time to think about abortion. We will get the calls and emails when it happens but that’s after the fact. If you intend to feed aureomycin for chlamydia control you need to get your VFD now. I prefer to pulse feed at higher levels than continuous use...

Back in the day when I was a 4H and FFA member, my goals were to raise and show the best pigs I could raise. That was before it became a money game. You could actually raise your own and be competitive. We had some Hampshire sheep which  I never...

As breeding season approaches there are several management practices to be considered. Rams are certainly half of the flock and genetically much more than half building a future. I could always justify paying a premium for an outstanding ram, not so much for a ewe. With that consideration only top...

This August we will have the opportunity to supply a selected number of Tractor Supply stores with our Selenium/Iodine with TM- item -#6249 and our Selenium/Iodine/Vitamin E with TM Item- #8770. We developed this premix in response to many calls we received through the years of male sheep having urinary calculi. The...

I get a number of calls through the season when producers call and report finding dead lambs that had appeared healthy and are now dead. In younger lambs, often starvation is the cause. If noticed before death, tubing with warm lamb milk replacer or preferably a milk product that has...

While it doesn’t seem so now is the time to talk about abortion and we will do so in our upcoming Webinar June 12. Certainly if one chooses to vaccinate for chlamydia that is to be accomplished 30 and 60 days prior to breeding. Ewes not previously vaccinated for Vibrio...

Recently, we have had quite a few questions from producers and would like to share some of them. Question: We have some ewes that had their lambs weaned off 5 days ago. Had all feed taken away with little water for day 1 - 2 then on days 3...

I just read a report where according to the USDA only one half of sheep producers consult a veterinarian once a year and only a third of goat producers do. In this day and age, this a concerning fact. Animal welfare and profitability are at risk. I am puzzled as...

VFD Update Veterinary Feed Directive rules. They are not simple and I have had numerous calls from producers and veterinarians trying to get on the same page. On December 2nd, 2016 the rule was amended to allow extra label use in minor species. This was followed by a Compliance Policy...