Approach to Group Lamb Health

M.18, W.3, L.1

Clinical disease is often a symptom of ?

symptom of underlying management or nutrition issues

List the steps of a case investigation

• Take a history

• Examine environment, housing, nutrition

• Live lamb clinical exams

• Ewe clinical exams

• Lamb post mortems

• Additional testing

• Preventative actions

List important sheep specific questions to ask when taking a history

• AGE of affected lambs

• timing of lambing & breeding

• management at lambing time

  • colostrum

• breed of animals affected

• any treatments

List IMPORTANT data to look at when investigating losses

• Number of ewes bred

• Scanning results

• Number of lambs weaned

• Number of lambs sold or kept for breeding

Other:

• number of lambs born alive/dead

• number of lambs turned out at __ days

• number of lambs ‘marked’ or wormed

List issues that can occur Pre-partum and Peri-partum during lambing

Pre-Partum

• maternal disease

• maternal death

• abortion

• severe maternal starvation

Peri-Partum

• dystocia

• abortive agents

• membranes over nose

List issues that can occur from neonatal to 3 weeks during lambing

• Starvation:

  • mastitis of ewe

  • lack of milk

  • lack of vigor

  • rejection by ewe

• Neonatal infection

• congenital disease

• Hypothermia

List issues that can occur Pre-weaning during lambing

• Nematodirosis

• Coccidiosis

• Parasitic gastroenteritis

• Pulpy kidney

• Ruminal acidosis

List issues that can occur Post-weaning during lambing

• Parasitic Gastroenteritis

• Pneumonia

• Septicemia

• Ruminal acidosis

• Pulpy kidney disease

List one issue that occurs during pre-weaning and post-weaning

Trace element deficiencies

List risk factors for neonatal deaths

• low:

  • birthweight

  • serum immunoglobulin

  • ewe body condition

• high litter size

• being born late in season

• inexperienced/young mothers

• male lambs

List general ways to prevent lamb losses

• ewe nutrition

• good

  • hygiene

  • lighting

• compact lambing

• adequate labor

• shelter outdoors

  • bushes, trees, pallets secured upright

• vaccinations

• stocking rates

• appropriate genetics

List prevention of lamb losses at lamb level

• COLOSTRUM = GOLD

• Navel dipping

  • dipping better than spraying

• good hygiene

• regular checks

  • full abdomen, BAR, navel

• Quickly

  • Target: within 2 hours

• Quantity

  • 50 ml/kg in first feed

  • 2-300ml/kg in first 24 hrs

• Quality

  • IgG levels

  • fat content

  • checking:

    • viscosity, color, colostrometer, Brix refractometer

List types of colostrum replacers

• Fresh from another ewe

• Frozen from other ewes

  • DO NOT MICROWAVE

• Cow colostrum

  • need 30% more volume (lower fat and IgG content)

  • pool from 4 cows

  • vaccinate against Clostridial disease

  • risk of Johnes disease and TB transmission

• Powdered colostrum

why should you not microwave frozen colostrum replacement?

denatures antibodies

List reasons why orphan lambs are high risk

• poor colostrum provision

• nutrition very artificial

• Red gut

define red gut

• fatal disease

• occurs when rapid fermentation of feed causes SI to become unstable —> torsion of intestines

• sudden death, abdominal bloat, dark red intestines

List ways to prevent red gut in orphan lambs

• ensure fiber intake

• milk at room temp after 7 days

• continual milk supply or frequent small feeds

• wean early

List simple steps of lamb PMEs

• Check outside (nose, toes, tail, navel)

• Remove skin (chest and abdomen)

• Open abdomen

• Open chest

Why should aborted lambs not get a PME

zoonotic agents!!

List other types of testing for a lamb mortality case investigation

• Lamb Colostrum Intake

  • serum total protein

  • IgG direct measures

  • GGT (indicates intake not IgG absorption)

• Parasitology

• Ewe:

  • dietary analysis

  • metabolic profiles

List preventative measures to apply after a lamb mortality

• Vx

• maternal nutrition

• colostrum management

• hygiene

• navel treatment

• individual lamb treatments:

  • glucose, warming box, Abs

List conditions you’ll see on a farm causing lamb mortality

• Starvation / hypothermia

• watery mouth

• neonatal diarrhea

• neonatal bacteremias

• Orf

• congential conditions

• umbilical prolapse

• cow colostrum anemia

Describe starvation and hypothermia (how lambs appear, temperature, underlying causes, brown fat reserves purpose)

• lambs curled up (maybe away from dam)

• T < 39°C, empty abdomen

• Underlying causes

  • mismothering

  • maternal mastitis

  • birth trauma / joint ill

• Brown fat reserves

  • depend on maternal nutrition

  • last approx 5 hrs

Describe how to give a glucose injection

• New needle – 19 guage, 1 inch

• New syringe (50ml)

• Mix into one syringe

  • 4ml/kg 50% glucose

    • 20ml - 5kg lamb

  • 6ml/kg hot boiled water

    • 30ml - 5kg lamb

• Mark the spot with antibiotic spray

  • 1 inch behind and ½ inch to side of navel

• Insert needle, pointing it toward the tail-head

Describe watery mouth (other names for it, what age lambs it affects, when it occurs during lambing, what it causes)

• Rattle Belly or Slavers

• 1-3 day old lambs

• towards end of lambing

• failure of passive transfer of immunity

• decrease colostrum

  • slow GIT motility + high abomasal pH

• enterotoxemia, e.g. E. coli

List early and later signs of watery mouth

Early Signs

• cold wet mouth

• reluctance to suck

• dull

Later signs

• salivation

• distended abdomen w/ gas + fluid

• recumbency

• diarrhea or constipation

List Dx and Tx of Watery Mouth

Dx

• typical clinical signs

• PME suggestive

Tx

• fluids, 50 ml every 3 hours w/ glucose

• NSAIDs

• warmth (keep w/ ewe if possible)

• Abs

List causes of neonatal diarrhea

• E.coli K99

• Cryptosporidiosis

• Salmonellosis

• Rotavirus

• Lamb dysentery

• Coccidiosis

Describe Lamb Dysentery (type, 2 forms, Dx, Tx, and prevention)

• Clostridium perfringens type B

• 2 Forms

  • young lambs (1-3 days old)

    • sudden death

    • PME hemorrhagic enteritis - jejunum

  • Older lambs (up to 3 wks)

    • abdominal pain

    • hemorrhagic diarrhea

    • death

• Dx

  • Toxins B and E in intestinal contents

  • PME

• Tx

  • symptomatic

  • most need PTS

• Prevention

  • vaccination (ewes pre-lambing)

  • Colostrum

Describe Enterotoxigenic E.coli (ETEC) (what age it affects, symptom, Tx, Prevention)

• <48 hrs old

• secretory diarrhea

• Tx

  • prompt fluid therapy

  • Abs

  • NSAIDs

• Prevention

  • hygiene, colostrum, isolate sick lambs

Describe Cryptosporidium parvum (zoonotic?, what age it affects, symptom, recovery time, Tx, Prevention)

• Zoonotic

• < 3 wks old

• profuse watery diarrhea

• may recover in 5-7 days or die of dehydration

• Tx

  • fluid therapy

  • Halofuginone (Halocur)

    • not licensed

• Prevention

  • hygiene (difficult to kill)

Describe Salmonellosis (zoonotic?, strains, symptoms

• zoonotic

• Salmonella typhimurium or S. Dublin

• Profuse diarrhea

• rapid death

• Tx

  • fluid therapy (intense)

  • Abs

  • NSAIDs

• Opportunistic infections

  • immunosuppressed

  • high environmental contamination

  • E.coli, Mannheimia hemolytica, Pasteurella multocida

• Navel ill

• Septic polyarthritis

• Spinal abscess

• Meningitis

• Pneumonia

• Liver abscesses

• Septicemia

• Navel Ill

  • umbilicus

• Meningitis, Septic polyarthritis, Septicemia

  • mouth

  • upper resp. tract

  • umbilicus

• Spinal abscess

  • all of the above

  • infected tail ring

Mild

• slight swelling

• ± serosanginous to purulent discharge

Severe

• depression

• ± pyrexia

• failure to suckle

• painful, warm swelling ± discharge

Can lead to

• hepatic necrobacillosis

• peritonitis

• meningitis

• cystitis

Tx

• systemic antibiotic:

  • penicillin, amoxicillin ± clavulanic acid

  • fluorfenicol

  • long course, min 7 days, ideally 10-14 days

• NSAID

Prevention