EWE TROUBLES.

Pahiatua Herald, Volume XLIV, Issue 13640, 26 August 1937, Page 7

EWE TROUBLES.

TWIN DISEASE AND MICK FEVER. At this time of the year many farmers experience trouble with, their breeding ewes. The general climatic conditions experienced this season indicate that there is a possibility of lamfcing trouble being rather prevalent, and this is borne out by the fact that Lincoln College has already received a large number of inquiries about in-lamb ewes. The aim of the sheep owner should be to attempt to prevent these troubles rather than to treat them after* they have made their unwelcome appearance. The troubles which are most likely to affect the ewes are (1) Ante-par-tum paralysis, or as the farmer more frequently calls it, c ‘dopiness, ; ’ “twin lamb disease” or “sleeping sickness,” and (2) milk fever. Both these troubles are due largely to nutritional and management fac-. tors, and as such it is possible to reduce them to a. minimum by careful management. The feed supply should be improved gradually, particularly in quality, as lambing approaches. Wherever possible a little extra hay, grain or oat-sheaf chaff should be fed, and if it can be arranged a short period each day on green feed will prove beneficial to the ewes and also to the unborn lambs. Where past experience has shown that these disorders do occur, a wise precaution would be to give the sheep a salt-lick containing a moderately high percentage of lime. This should certainly help to lessen the likelihood of milk fever becoming prevalent. VALUE OF EXERCISE. Without careful shepherding the benefits to he derived from improved feeding may be nullified. The ewes should be exercised quietly and judiciously as early as possible in the morning and last thing at night. It is during this exercising that the watchful shepherd should be on the look out for ewes which do not appear to be quite normal These ewes should be cut out of the main mob, given a change of feed, and kept under careful observation.

A further point in management which should b e attended to is the -avoidance of any check in the feed of the sheep. \\ here it is considered advisable to place in-lamb ewes in sheltered spots they should be supplied with adequate feed to which they have previously been accustomed. In the case of both in-lamb and milking ewes it is advisable to avoid such things as pine needles and sorrel unless the sheep have been accustomed to them for some time. For the successful treatment of any disease two of the chief points f (> be attended to are the early diagnosis of the trouble and careful nursing after a remedy has been applied. In the case under consideration this cannot be too strongly emphasised. Because of individual variations it is difficult to describe exactly the symptoms of either ante-partum paralysis or milk fever. A careful blood tf\st would differentiate between them, but it is not always practicable to have such a test carried out. ONSET SLOWER. An approximate but by no means exact differentiation between these two complaints is that in ante-par-tum paralysis the onset is usually slower. A careful shepherd should early observe sheep, obviously carry- i mg twin lambs, showing signs of dullness, weakness, and an unusual ga't. As a general rule the sheep are affected for a. few days before death intervenes. With milk fever set is usually, but not always, more sudden, there are frequently obvious nervous spasms and the Awe goes down quickly in an unconscious state. The ewe may or may not have twin lambs. The trouble may occur either before or after lambing and * requently takes place inside 24 hours. As soon as it is suspected that a ewe has ante-partum paralysis, and before she loses her cud, she should be given one pint of molasses in enough hot water to make it pour readily, and to this should lie added 2-3 ounces of glaubers salts. It necessary the molasses drench, without the salts, should be repeated until the ewe appears normal. Where milk fever is suspected the calcium gluconate treatment as outJmed in Canterbury Agricultural College Bulletin 96 should be adopted. The .point to be realised is that the administration oi molasses in an endeavour to cure ante-partum paralysis will not cure milk fever. Similarly. while the injection of lime compounds into the blood stream is effective for curing milk fever, it will seldom have any effect in cases of ante-partum para lysis. here there is <any difficulty* in d.fterontiating between these ’ two complaints it, is suggested that the following drench he administered as .*■ oon as any untoward svniptoms are obsoi Vfcl. To one pint of 'molasses i-oill :i pint of hot water in which Jills been dissolved one teaspoonful < I calcium chloride and one te ispoonI'd oi ammonium chloride. This drench should he repeated ill t’-'J hours and tin* sheep encouraged to eat small quantit es of nutritious feed and given every care and attention .