Sheep production exam 1

clip

• wool from one farm/ranch/season

trimness

fat

quality

• prime

• choice

• good

Black face

• paternal

• meat

white face

• maternal

• milk

stages of production

• breeding

• gestation

• lambing

• weaning

• market lamb/breeding

• shearing

Breeding

• August- October

• Estrous cycle: 17 days

• Gestation: 147 days

Flushing

• increases lambing

• increase nutrition 2 weeks before breeding

Early to mid gestation

• 15 weeks, fetal growth

• extreme nutrition can be harmful

• Placenta developed 30-90 days

• Underdeveloped results in lower birth weight

Late gestation

• 4-6 weeks 70% fetal growth

• Nutrition is vital

• pregnancy toxemia/ketosis: ewe cannot consume enough to provide for fetus, body begins burning fat

  • treat with proplylene glycol

• Mammary system developing

• Selenium and vitamin E crucial

Lamb jugs

• 3-5 days

Clip, dip , strip

• clip umbilical chord

• dip in iodine

• strip mucus plug

BO-SE

• vaccine providing selenium & vitamin E

• prevents white muscle disease

other lamb vaccinations for

• overeating

• tetanus

Weaning

60-120 days

• cold turkey method: no food/water for ewes first 24-48 hrs

  • prevents mastitis

replacement breeding stock

• needs to be 60% of its mature weight to breed

• still growing during first pregnancy

• can stunt growth

Scrapie

• prion

• affects CNS

• transferred through placental membrane

• takes 2-5 years to see signs

Scrapie blood test

• codon 71,136, 154

• Q- susceptible

• R- resistance

Compliance programs- scrapie

• ewes blood tested

• barns cleaned

• QQ culled

• Cant sell without USDA

Spider syndrome

• N- no spider syndrome

• S- spider syndrome

Dwarf

F- free

D- dwarf

CD&T

• prevents clostridial diseases (type C and D)- enterotoxemia

• 2cc’s

Underfeeding during pregnancy

• small/weak lambs

• lamb mortality

• ketosis

• poor milk

Overfeeding during pregnancy

• ketosis

• dystocia

• prolapse

Milk fever

• low blood Ca/too much Ca

Feeding after lambing

• no grain first 24 hrs

• best quality hay

feeding during lactation

• energy and protein requirements increase by 30-55%

Colostrum sources

• mother

• another ewe

• frozen

• fresh/frozen from another farm

• cow colostrum

• synthetic colostrum

• ewe milk replacer (not substitute)

Top producing states

1. Texas

2. CA

3. Colorado’

4. Wyoming

5. Utah

Teaser rams

Uses pharamones to induce ewes, vasectomy

Lamb nutrition

• only milk first few weeks

• 74% of milk will be in the first 8 weeks

• 4-6 weeks 50% of nutrition will be from other sources

• milk production peaks 3-5 weeks

Biosecurity

• know good breeders

• Isolate animals

• Don’t share animals

• Know health status of animal when purchasing

Vaccines

• vaccinate for chlostridial disease

• Abortions

• Sore mouth

• Foot rot

• Pneumonia

• E.coli

• Rabies

Parasite control

• rest pastures

• Genetic selection

• Fecal egg counts

Prevention nutrition

• balanced ration

• Feed with production and growth cycle

• Free choice mineral

Early detection

• body composition

• Appetite

• Lethargy

• Scours

• Anemia

• Fever

Predator Control

• fencing

• Management

• Guardians

• Lethal control

Prevention

• biosecurity

• Vaccine

• Parasite control

• Nutrition

• Early detection

• Culling

• Predator control

Foot Rot

Contagious

Made of 2 anaerobic bacteria

• needs initial trauma

• Symptoms

  • Lameness

  • Weight loss

  • Odor

• Treat with hoof trim, hoof bath, antibiotics, vaccinations culling

Foot scald

Not contagious

Infection between toes

No involvement of the hoof

Caused by fusobacterium

Foot baths, dry area to treat

Nutritional diseases

• enterotoximia: over eating

• Chlostridia: c (younger) D (older)

types of parasites

• coccidiosis (protozoan damages lining of small intestine- scours

• tapeworms

• lungworms

• meningeal worms

• stomach worms

• barber pole worm (bottle jaw)