Sleepy Sickness In Some Flocks

Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31143, 20 August 1966, Page 10

Sleepy Sickness In Some Flocks

Lambing percentages are not as high as expected in some districts of Canterbury, but in others they are well above those of the last two years.

In Ashburton County the lambing so far has been described as very good, and one veterinarian estimated that the percentage would be “quite a few up” on last year. After a good autumn and winter, the birth-weight of lambs is heavier this spring, Single lambs are bigger, and in some cases, excessively big. Sleepy sickness, particularly in older ewes, has been common, particularly further inland. This has been attributed mainly to flock management after the rams had been taken out at tupping.

Ewes went into the winter in heavy condition when, according to a veterinarian, it would have been better to cut them back. Instead of being on a rising plane of nutrition, the ewes had dropped in condition over the closing part of the winter, and sleepy sickness had occurred. The sickness had also occurred in cases where farmers tried to “stretch” their turnip feeding too far.

However apart from sleepy sickness, lambing troubles have been at a minimum so far, with stock health good in ewes of all ages. Very little trouble has been reported in down-country flocks in North Canterbury. An odd case of sleepy sickness, described as no more than usual, has been reported in the Rangiora district. As

in other parts of the province, many flocks further inland have only just begun to lamb, while very few flocks in any district have actually completed lambing yet.

In the Malvern district it is a little soon to come to any conclusion on lambing percentages, but a veterinarian at Darfield said his first impression was that percentages were not as high as might have been expected in view of the very favourable autumn and winter. There had been snow on the ground at Darfield only once this last winter, compared with nine occasions last year. There was quite a lot of sleepy sickness about two weeks ago, but it has tailed off over the last 10 days. Veterinarians are using a drug, new to New Zealand, with some degree of success. Where a 50 per cent “save” under the old form of treatment was regarded as good, as many as 75 per cent of affected ewes are being saved with the new drug. Some very large single births are reported. One lamb delivered at Darfield last spring weighed 18>lb, whereas the over-size lambs usually range up to about 131 b.

Although farmers retained a lot of old ewes in their flocks last autumn, no mortality problems have been reported, except that ewes whose teeth failed over the winter, suffered because of falling nutrition, and were more susceptible to sleepy sickness.