SHEEP DISEASES

Waipa Post, Volume 41, Issue 3186, 9 August 1930, Page 8

SHEEP DISEASES

5g&:..'-;. G A USES _ AND CURES. ■ . ■- :• S*' LECTURE -TO. MORRINSVILLET *:"' . The -importance of preventing' dis- "■-" eases in ■sheep, -rather-than endeavour- - ins: t(o*cure" the sheep when affected, '-was emphasised by Mr I>. Marshall, - - -M.R."C.V.S.j of the . Department of Agriculture staff; in the course of a lecture-on sheep ..diseases to Morrmsyille farmers -oh Saturday last. The lecture had Wen arranged by the Morrinsville -branch of-/ the Farmers - -Union farmers to meet Mr Marshall and'discuss ways of. preventing the"considerable loss-of sheep and lambs which has been experienced in the Morrinsville district during recent years. -'■. .' .- -' '"'■■'; ■', Many diseases which affected sheep were" caused by bacteria-which infested' old" pastures and yards. By keep- " ing the grass short, harrowing frequently and liming heavily the pastures would be kept fairly clean, while the use of temporary yards out m the paddocks and the sterilising of instruments used on sheep would also check ££ the spread of infection. Many dis- ' : eases were due to errors in manage- '. ' -'-ihenti The sheep was naturally a free animal, accustomed to poor, '~~u Oiilly country. Under present managefegJ ment, : with top dressing and stocking ".'■ heavily,-there was no need for sheep i --"■ to take exercise in the course of feed- - . ing. - Troubles from internal parasites wt^'were- also increased as the land got 11! '■■ f the eggs of the parasites, were liable to pick them I§F up in the course of feeding. •HfjL The various diseases were describ- '-'-■, >ed in turn by Mr Marshall, and the - - symptoms and remedies were ex- < pllllMriM-ih detail. Referring to sleepy *" ; ? "sickness,' M said it affected ewes dur--7f r - Jifgtbe mlonth before lambs were born in paralysis and death. a v post mortem examination was sgismade it would be found that the liver greasy and soft. This was :: V.'.C'du'e fpv-tnQ. accumulation of poison in '.--'-■ the. system.' Some ewes affected with : this, -complaint. might recover, but V, most of. tliem..died... Preventive measures were>most important, the chief ;. being to oblige all sheep to take exer'i - cise every day. .Each sheep should be S made to walk mile a day, and good :|iMiiir to stir the sheep up twice daily. ST-his stimulated the circulatioh.'-of the-sheep's _ blood and prevented the* accumulation of poisons : in"the system. Flushing the ewes before lambing by putting them ._ on green'oats, was also beneficial and : : - was customary in some sheep farming _~ . districts. ~ • „ -/ • r ;. Mamniitis. was a disease which did V; not affect many ewes in a flock, but it : -•it-appeared to be fairly diespread. The ."Speaker "thought it was caused by getting into, wounds in the "udder, and' he advised farmers not to . - graze'ewes in paddocks where there ; - was; gofse, so that the sheep would : . -not damage their udders. ;' ■ ,~ The various complaints which lambs . ; "contracted after docking were touchjeft on by Mr Marshall. Some ewe >■ lambs, died just after tailing, for no accountable reason, and this was apparently due to shock. Lambs seldom died of. tetanus after docking. The most serious infection was by germs after castration. These germs were commoruabout old yards and caused loss of "sheep after shearing by entering the. system of the sheep through shearing wounds. Such losses might be. avoided by more cleanliness and the greater use of temporary yards. .' ; The remedies for pulpy kidney disease, which carried off many of the best lambs, were discussed at considerable length. A good deal of investigation had been made by veterinary officers, and there was a lot of evidence-to back the theory that the disease was caused by over-nutrition. The speaker's own conclusion was that it was caused by - infection in the lamb's stomach, combined with overfeeding. Over-stocking had been tried as a remedy but had no beneficial effect. Giving the lambs plenty of exercise had reduced the mortality considerably in certain flocks. It was remarkable that single lambs were more susceptible to the disease than were twins, but in one experiment the singles were exercised while the twins were unexercised, with the result that mortality was greater among the twins. This seemed to show that exercising the lambs won Id reduce mortality. Yarding the sheep at night had also proved beneficial, and yarding the flock for 24 hours every seventh day had also been tried and showed an improvement. This seemed to be the only practicable way of dealing with the trouble. Some farmers said they would sooner risk losing some lambs through pulpy kidney than check the growth of the whole flock by shutting them up for a day every week. However, the exercise given the sheep by driving them about did some good. Mr Marshall handed round several bottles containing specimens of internal parasites about the size of hairs, to show how minute they were and how easily they could be overlooked in examining a sheep's stomach. Some parasites sucked blood, and all caused irritation to the walls of the stomach and prevented the animals taking in food. It was a mistake to simply dose the lamb and take no further precautions, as a lamb so affected was a very sick lamb. The parasites passed out of the sheep and ascended the grass blades, to be taken into other sheep later on. They appeared to ascend the grass in damp weather. The same parasites infected calves and sheep. The treatment recommended was first to drench the lambs to get rid of the worms, and to repeat the drenching at intervals. The lambs should be put on short, dry pasture, and if they could be put on hay or ensilage so much the better. Pastures should be kept short to give the parasites less cover. In using drenches a great deal depended on starting in good time before the lambs were badly affected and in looking after them after treatment. Referring to caseous lymphadinitis, Mr Marshall said this disease was caused by a germ which took up residence in the lymphatic glands and destroyed them. If these glands were absent the whole carcase would be rejected by the inspectors. The

disease was closely associated with shearing wounds, and the remedy was to dip the shears in antiseptic solutions and to use the tar pot for dressing every shear wound. Foot rot was caused by a germ which got- into the tissues underly-ing-the hoof. The hoof should be trimmed to expose the affected portion to the air" with an ointment of bluestone, lard and tar. Foot baths through which_sheep were driven were not effective unless the overgrown horn was removed. "If any of you are having any trouble with sheep and lambs I hope vou will let my department hear about it," said Mr Marshall in conclusion. "We may not be able to help you in all cases, but we would like to hear of your trouble."