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 […]

Mastitis in ewes can be fatal and usually results in the end of her productive life. The usual presentation is acute gangrenous mastitis (blue or black bag) usually caused by either Staphylococcus Aureus or Mannheimia Haemolytica. S. Aureus is normally present on the teat skin but damage to the teat ends allows it access into the teat […]

Fascioliasis An important stage of the Liver fluke life cycle takes place in mud snails and requires wet and warm conditions (above 7 – 10°C) during the summer months. Over the last couple of years unseasonal weather has seen these conditions well into autumn and winter. This means that sheep and cattle are still being […]

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 […]

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: [checklist icon=”fa-arrow-circle-right” iconcolor=”#39aa87″ circle=”yes”] Difficulty breathing […]

Lungworm larvae may survive drier periods of weather within faecal pats to be dispersed onto pasture en masse following periods of rainfall, such as those recently experienced. Cases across the UK have been recently detected. In naïve animals such as unvaccinated calves in their first grazing season or bought-in dairy cattle on farms with a […]