LIVESTOCK MONITOR

Press, 20 November 1987, Page 15

LIVESTOCK MONITOR

Moisture in recent weeks had generally been adequate for continued pasture growth, although some farmers were now getting bn top of their supplies of feed, according to the M.A.F., at Darfield. Rain had fallen spasmodically during the first half of November and some parts of Malvern, particularly the downland farms, received considerable rain during the heavy thunderstorm on November 10, said Caroline Carter, an agricultural consultant with the M.A.F. On the Darfield monitor farm, paddocks which have been shut for silage should be harvested this week. The farm’s old ewes are expected to be shorn soon, while the main shearing of ewes and hoggets will be done in December.

The hoggets on the monitor farm now weigh 47.1 kg, an increase of I.skg since October. The ewes weigh 61.9 kg, an increase of 7.lkg compared with the group weighed last month. A representative liveweight for the ewes will not be available until weaning. A strong demand for old ewes has seen prices of good conditioned stock make $l6 a head. Activity from a Southland-based processing company had increased the competition in Canterbury for stock and some companies were announcing marketing premiums for some

grades of ewes and lambs, said Caroline Carter.

“Sheep scales are likely to be farmers’ biggest asset this year," she said. If farmers are selling lambs “in the paddock” it would be to their advantage to have an idea of the average liveweight of the lambs. Farmers would then have an idqa of what the lambs were worth if sold on schedule and would be able to judge if the “on farm” offer was acceptable.

Parasitism is starting to appear in Canterbury lambs, according to Dr Bob Gumbrell, the veterinarian managing the M.A.F. Lincoln Animal Health Laboratory.

“We have had several cases recently of developing worm burdens in lambs, including one case of severe Nematodirus infection. These were all diagnosed by the faecal egg count method which is available through local veterinary practitioners.”

Examination of 10 to 12 faecal samples from a flock gives a good measure of need to drench. This can result in a saving of drench by indicating that the apparent ill-thrift is not caused by worms and that further causes should be looked for.

Dr Gumbrell said that enterotoxaemia (pulpy kidney) has been another common diagnosis in cases of sudden death in thriving kids and lambs.

This is a bacterial disease where bacteria present in the intestines produce a toxin that affects the kidney and other organs. It can affect animals of any age and is particularly common in suckling kids and lambs.

There is a very effective vaccine against enterotoxaemia that is frequently used at tailing. It provides protection for up to .12 weeks. “A continual but small number of cases of selenium poisoning is an ever present reminder that selenium is toxic,” said Dr Gumbrell. Cases include those where the wrong concentration of selenium is drenched and those where a double dose of selenium-con tai ning drench or vaccine is given to a small animal.

Dairy cattle The ever-present problem of mastitis is reflected by laboratory submissions of milk for culture for antibiotic sensitivity testing. While mastitis is not a severe problem in South Island dairy farms its presence in any farm results in production losses. These can be both temporary and permanent. Submissions of milk samples from untreated cows enables tests to be done that indicate the antibiotics which are most effective against the paticular strain of bacteria causing the problem. This can vary from farm to farm and from season to season.