MORTALITY AMONGST SHEEP.

West Coast Times, Issue 9735, 25 January 1894, Page 4

MORTALITY AMONGST SHEEP.

On the West Coast ok the North Island. Interim report by J. R. Charlton, M. R. C. V. S., Government Veterinarian.

Sheep in very considerable number* have been dying on the farms along this coast, chiefly from a disease described by my predecessor, MrM'Clean, M.R.C.V.S., as Yellow Atrophy of the Liver. During the past ten days many farms have been j visited : the living sheep, the pastures, •water, &c, have received special attention ; and every organ and tissue of the body bave been subjected to close scrutiny — the microscope being much in requisition. (a.) Symptoms. — Snatching movement of the right fore limb after rest, with occasional lameness; drooping of both ears, at first only when at rest, afterwards constantly; a watery discharge from the eyes, and a peculiar and striking expression of face ; disinclination to move, and apparent inability to bring its hind limbs forward, the feet seeming to be put down almost from whence they were lifted. The nose is protruded, the breathing becomes labored ; the wool may be easily pulled out; and the sheep, having usually selected a quiet or shaded place, sinks and expires. Frequently from

thirty-six to forty-eight hours elapse between the early marked Hymptoms and death, though often the time is jnuch shorter, and a sheep will be found sometimes dead or dying which has previously shown no mark-jd signs of illness. Cause — In all paddocks where these deaths occur it has been found that there is present in enormous excess food in which the albuminoid ratio must be probably 1 : 35. So great is the profusion in which Trifolia are found that a sheep may .almost lie down and obtain all it can consume without moving. That sheep will suffer from acute and extensive degenerative changes in the liver when kept under such conditions, especially so in a climate like this, is surely an undisputable and well-known fact.

fact. -Treatment — The sheep should be removed to a paddock in which there is no great profusion of food, aud in which they will partake of exercise in search of food. Food must be at their disposal in such variety as will iusure the presence of the well-known ingredients which are absolutely essential to the maintenance of a proper nutritive balance. Beyond this a dose of laxative medicine, and a convenient supply of water in which a little chlorate of potash may be dissolved, will be the only treatment necessary. When change of pasture cannot be effected, the affected stock should be quietly driven into a stockyard, or into \ pens where such are available, each night, and only allowed on the pastures by day. Care must be taken, however, to avoid over-crowding in the pens. (B.) Settlers must note that this i« not the condition in which sheep pine more or less slowly away, becoming emanciated, and in some instances losing their sight the eyes sometimes sloughing prior to death. Sheep kept on pasture exclusively , consisting of Yorkshire fog ( Holcus tana- : tvs), which is nothing more or less than ! an obnoxious weed, and cocksfoot (Dactylii glomerata), cannot possibly ; remain in perfect health for any ] prolonged period ; and though the sheep's eye is peculiarly susceptable to the influence of atmospheric and other '. conditions, yet there is no doubt that it i 3'■ rendered especially so when the sheep ■ are kept on a diet such as indicated (

above. Cocksfoot, of course, has excellent qualities when young, and mixed in proper proportions with other suitable grasses ; but when it " tufts," and forms almost the only article of diet in a pasture, health cannot be maintained. Of the extraordinary influence of improper food upon the eyes, the experiments of Chossat, Leteli er, Majendie, and others leave no doubt : repeated experiments proving wit, absolute certainty that a particular diet wlien persisted in produced opacity, ulceration, and rupture of the cornea, with eswu of the humors of the eye, aud loL 1 blindness.