If you have lambs that have succumbed to this condition, please call the practice on 01772 861300 so we can arrange obtaining a sample for testing.
A normal birth usually takes about 30 minutes without any help. Directly after the foal is born the umbilicus is still attached. It is important to leave the mare and foal attached for as long as possible. The umbilicus will break at the right time and place, there is no need to cut it. The first couple of hours are important for the foal to drink enough colostrum. Colostrum is full of antibodies necessary for the immunity of the foal.Within 8 hours the foals should drink approximately 2-3 litres of colostrum to get a sufficient enough antibodies.
The placenta should be detached from the mare within 4 hours after parturition, it is important to check if the placenta is complete (needs to look like a pair of trousers). If the placenta has not come out within 4 hours, or is not complete it is important to contact the vet.
Two year old Bonnie was recently found with some serious injuries, under the bonnet of a scrap car at a local recycling plant.Unfortunately Bonnie is not microchipped, so local charity, Lancashire Cat Rescue, agreed to take her in.
The first stage of Bonnie’s treatment was for our vets to repair Bonnie’s leg with pins and an external frame to stabilise the fracture – see images.
The next stage planned is to remove Bonnie’s broken tooth when she has post op radiographs in 6 weeks time.
Bonnie is now recuperating with Lancashire Cat Rescue.
40-50% of horses suffer from diastemata. They are most common in older horses. It’s our most commonly treated dental disease.
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Periodontal disease is very painful and horses often present with quidding (dropping of balls of hay). Some horses ‘pull faces’. Subtle signs e.g. eating less or weight loss are often attributed to old age. Symptoms are commonly seen during winter as long forage is more likely to become trapped between teeth than grass.
Treatment is carried out using sedation, pain relief and local anaesthetic in our clinic and involves removal of trapped food with the guidance of the oral endoscope camera that can view into the deepest pockets. Widening of diastemata is sometimes required to release entrapped food. The cleaned deeper pockets are sometimes packed with a protective putty whilst the gum heals beneath. Tooth overgrowths are floated (reduced) using powertools in order to balance the pressures on the teeth, reducing tooth drift. Severe cases may require tooth extractions.
Following a course of thoroughly performed treatment, the prognosis for resolution is very good especially with early diagnosis and action.
Maedi Visna is a wasting disease causing chronic pneumonia. It is caused by a highly contagious virus. Most sheep are infected as lambs via colostrum or aerosol, however generally do not show signs until they are 4 years old.The main signs are:
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Blood tests are commonly used to diagnose MV. Selecting thin cull ewes to test will help identify the disease if present within the flock.
Ovine Pulmonary Adenocarcinoma is caused by a virus leading to a progressive and fatal infectious lung cancer of sheep. The virus is spread from infected sheep by aerosol and nasal discharge. It is often seen in older thin sheep. There is no treatment.The signs are very similar to chronic pneumonia:
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Once signs are evident the disease is fatal.
The definitive diagnosis is made by post mortem examination of the lungs.
If there is suspected OPA ultrasound examination of the lungs can be considered.
Johne’s disease is caused by a bacterium which grows very slowly and lives for a long time in the environment. It is mainly spread through faecal contamination of feed and the environment, ewes also pass it to their lambs across the placenta and in colostrum. It is the same agent that causes Johne’s disease in cattle.Affected sheep suffer from:
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Testing for Johne’s can be tricky at an individual level. There is no single diagnostic test that can detect the disease at all the stages and sub-clinically infected animals may test negative.
Blood screening groups of cull/thin ewes can be effective at identifying Johne’s disease in your flock.
Border disease or hairy shaker disease is a virus which causes birth defects, barren ewes and abortion. It is from the same family of viruses as BVD in cattle.If a ewe is infected during pregnancy the virus passes through the placenta to the lamb, in some cases this causes embryonic loss or abortion. Some lambs survive and are born Persistently infected (PI). PIs shed the virus continuously and can infect other sheep and lambs. This can be a major problem in naïve flocks unknowingly buying in PIs which can then cause around half of lambs born to be affected by the disease.
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Hairy shakers are usually a good way to diagnose the presence of the disease. These lambs can also be blood tested to confirm presence of the virus.
Blood testing a group of ewes can identify if the flock has been exposed to the disease and is likely to be present.
CLA is a chronic bacterial infection of the lymph nodes resulting in abscesses. The bacteria often enters via cuts and is commonly spread through close contact when animals are housed or are trough fed. The disease can also be transmitted indirectly such as on shearing equipment.[checklist icon=”fa-chevron-circle-right” iconcolor=”#39aa87″ circle=”yes”]
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Lumps and abscesses are a classic sign of the disease and should not be ignored.
Diagnosis is either by sampling the intact abscesses and culturing the pus or by blood test.
Injury on Hattie’s arrival
Torn frenulum (underside)
During the repair
3 days after repair
Lenny recovering
4 weeks after repair
Lenny during dressage
Lambing time is the most crucial part of the year for making your sheep business profitable. Lamb deaths from birth to 3 days old should be less than 7% however many farms range between 10- 25%.A major factor influencing mortality in neonate (young) lambs is ewe body condition; as this directly relates to lamb body weight, colostrum quality and quantity. It is therefore important to ensure ewes are at BCS 2.5 to 3.0, (so vertebral spinous processes only felt with pressure and transverse processes only felt with hard pressure), and they are on a rising plane of nutrition in the run up to lambing. Energy and protein blood profiles can be taken 2 to 3 weeks before lambing to ensure ewes are receiving the correct nutrition to help reduce cases of twin lamb disease.
Another major cause of neonatal mortality is watery mouth. These lambs typically are lethargic, salivate and have a distended abdomen. It is caused by Ecoli and picked up by ingestion. Treatment involves electrolytes and antibiotics but is often hopeless. Therefore the emphasis should be on prevention which involves keeping pens clean, (especially towards the end of the season), dipping navels with strong iodine and ensuring all lambs get enough good quality colostrum quickly. See below:
Ensure ewes in good BCS, if you’re uncertain as to the quality of colostrum; colostrum quality can be measured using a refractometer: aim for specific gravity >1.05. Only use sheep colostrum replacement (colostrum from a milking sheep farm will usually be better quality than powdered colostrum); cow colostrum can cause a fatal anaemia. Also remember to give your Clostridial and Pasteurella vaccine four to six weeks before lambing to ensure the lambs receive antibodies against these diseases. (Any ewes that haven’t had this vaccine before will need a course of two injections four to six weeks apart).
200ml/kg within 18 hours of birth, with a maximum of 50ml/kg intake on each occasion.
Remember lambs in adverse weather conditions will require more colostrum or milk as more energy from their feed will be used to keep them warm.
Within 2 hours of birth.
Ensure ewe udders are clean and dry and the equipment to mix and administer colostrum is cleaned and disinfected between lambs.
We can also look if your lambs have received enough colostrum by blood testing any less than a week old.
Finally, there is continual pressure on antibiotic use. So to ensure we don’t end up with a world full of super bugs we need to be careful how we use antibiotics. Preventative use of antibiotics, such as blanket use of Spectam or Betamox LA for watery mouth needs to be reduced as this will actively select for resistance and there is pressure from Red Tractor Assurance to reduce this practice.
Also remember entropion, where the lamb’s eyelid is inverted causing the eye to be held shut, tear staining and damage to the eye. This is a heritable condition so affected lambs should not be kept as replacements, ewes should not be used to breed replacements and consider ram choice if a large percent of flock are affected.
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The above three complications leads to corneal ulceration and pain.
Tears drain via the nasolacrimal duct in the inner corner of the eye. If obstructed or damaged, tears accumulate and then tear down the face which can cause skin irritation. Stagnant tears can attract bacteria and lead to conjunctivitis
New Export Health Certificates have been made available on Export Health Certificate Form Finder service in the event that the UK leaves the EU without a deal.
Example Export Health Certificates and notes for guidance for exports to the EU, (in the event of a no deal Brexit) are now available on the following link. These provide the requirement for export.
