General sheep thread

tomwaterford

ganmo wrote: »

How many ya dosing?
Do cattle auto drenchers have larger openings?
The best auto drenchers are the nj Philips ones

I'm looking into these now!

I find the head isn't the problem....the chamber (?) Just doesn't fill as the vitamins are quite thick,and refilling syringes are a pain and time consuming

DJ98

sea12 wrote: »

It's on the back label but from meme tort I think it's 14 days

http://www.pcs.agriculture.gov.ie/media/pesticides/content/products/labels/05510%20-%20Mastercrop%20MCPA%2050%20-%202016%20to%20date.pdf

Thats the label but I cant see a time period on it

rangler1

roosky wrote: »

When do maggots stop being an issue in your experience, I though this colder and wetter than average august/September we had in the northwest would have avoided maggots but I am seeing a few cases still. I cant really justify click and dipping inst an option at the minute !

A good few lambs with maggots in the factory yesterday, keep a watch out for them

LambMaster

Has anyone had any experience with crossing Lleyn with Vendeen. I saw some Lleyn x Hampshire Downs the other day and the wethers looked grand but I didn't like the ewes at all.

rangler1

LambMaster wrote: »

Has anyone had any experience with crossing Lleyn with Vendeen. I saw some Lleyn x Hampshire Downs the other day and the wethers looked grand but I didn't like the ewes at all.

Vendeen aren't good as ewes, they're prolific but can be poor mlkers, they grow into big dogged ewes as well.

LambMaster

rangler1 wrote: »

Vendeen aren't good as ewes, they're prolific but can be poor mlkers, they grow into big dogged ewes as well.

I keep Vendeen myself, I was just wondering what comes through in the lambs. Mine have enough milk until 12 weeks yet they lose condition if the lambs stay with them any longer. The x lambs are lively from birth. You're right, not good as a ewe, they make nice rams though.

stantheman1979

+1 had vendeen ewes before they wouldn't give u enough for a cup of tea. Decent terminal sheep though.

LambMaster

stantheman1979 wrote: »

+1 had vendeen ewes before they wouldn't give u enough for a cup of tea. Decent terminal sheep though.

My pedigrees come up with a good deal of milk for the first few weeks, they run low fairly soon though. Great motherly instinct, it's too bad that all the main breeds are being bred just for rams, with little or no attention paid to the ewes in most cases.

stantheman1979

Yeah there's a split now. It's either terminal or replacement very few breeds offer both. The best are Suffolk and texal but both of them have their good and bad points also.

LambMaster

Border Leicester seem to be a compromise, mainly a maternal breed, yet when they're crossed with the Texel etc, they work out as a good meaty breed.

rangler1

stantheman1979 wrote: »

Yeah there's a split now. It's either terminal or replacement very few breeds offer both. The best are Suffolk and texal but both of them have their good and bad points also.

Hard to have anything dual purpose, in the eighties cookers were 'dual purpose'...central heating and cooking, they did neither properly, better not to go against nature, improve the maternal traits in maternal breeds and terminal traits in terminal breeds.
On saying that Texel is a good terminal with maternal qualities too and a great cross with Lleyn

Siamsa Sessions

Had lambs in this morning and noticed a few had a kind of scab like this in the picture. One of them was swollen on one side of her face too.

Any ideas what it might be?

tomwaterford

Siamsa Sessions wrote: »

Had lambs in this morning and noticed a few had a kind of scab like this in the picture. One of them was swollen on one side of her face too.

Any ideas what it might be?

It's like a type of orf?

Is where they grazing rough with a lot of furze/thistles etc,sometimes at home they come out like that a small bit

rangler1

Siamsa Sessions wrote: »

Had lambs in this morning and noticed a few had a kind of scab like this in the picture. One of them was swollen on one side of her face too.

Any ideas what it might be?

Are they on redstart or typhon, saw a good few white lambs in the factory with swollen faces this week.
It's called photosensitisation

https://en.wikivet.net/Sheep_Medicine_Q%26A_10

Does it look like that

Siamsa Sessions

Thanks lads.

There's plenty thistles where they were grazing, but they were moving to another paddock today anyway and there's very few thistles there. So, hopefully that'll help.

They're not on redstart or typhon but the swollen one does look a bit like that, apart from the eye. Our one's eye is clear and not infected - just her cheek is swollen.

The ones with scabs got alamycin but any ideas what might help the swollen / photosensitive one?

Thanks again

LambMaster

Siamsa Sessions wrote: »

Thanks lads.

There's plenty thistles where they were grazing, but they were moving to another paddock today anyway and there's very few thistles there. So, hopefully that'll help.

They're not on redstart or typhon but the swollen one does look a bit like that, apart from the eye. Our one's eye is clear and not infected - just her cheek is swollen.

The ones with scabs got alamycin but any ideas what might help the swollen / photosensitive one?

Thanks again

This is what I found online

Affected animals should be removed from pasture suspected to contain the photodynamic agent. Any drugs or medications currently received by the animal should be stopped. Affected animals should only be allowed access to grazing at night.

Anti-inflammatory drugs such as flunixin meglumine and topical steroid creams may be useful to decrease the severity of cutaneous lesions in the acute stage of the disease. Secondary bacterial infections of cutaneous lesions are common and should be treated with antimicrobials and correct wound management. Lesions generally heal well, and surgical debridement is reserved for only the most severely necrotic lesions.

If the animal is affected by secondary photosensitisation, supportive treatment should be provided. A low-protein, high-energy diet rich in branched-chain amino acids such as beet pulp is recommended. Intravenous fluid therapy with 5% dextrose may be necessary in hypoglycaemic patients with signs of hepatic encephalopathy.

rangler1

Siamsa Sessions wrote: »

Thanks lads.

There's plenty thistles where they were grazing, but they were moving to another paddock today anyway and there's very few thistles there. So, hopefully that'll help.

They're not on redstart or typhon but the swollen one does look a bit like that, apart from the eye. Our one's eye is clear and not infected - just her cheek is swollen.

The ones with scabs got alamycin but any ideas what might help the swollen / photosensitive one?

Thanks again

We use a steroid injection for any cases we've had, usually improves them. usually takes two injections 3 days apart
the ears nearly always fall off. We had a farmer ask where would they put the tag on a lamb that lost its ears going to the factory, we told them to tie it round the neck.....seemed to have been accepted anyway

greysides

I don't think that photo is Photosensitisation. Not sure about Orf..... beware handling affected sheep in case it might be, as I see a bare arm in the photo too.

Something else to consider is Dermatophilosis (aka Lumpy Wool Disease).

IH784man

Is 4x5 a big enough pen for lambing ewes or is 5x5 minimum

LambMaster

IH784man wrote: »

Is 4x5 a big enough pen for lambing ewes or is 5x5 minimum

I'd say 4x5 is grand, have a bigger pen on hand though for ewes that are still a good bit away. Also depends on what size the ewes are.

ganmo

And how many lambs

Siamsa Sessions

Thanks for replies again folks.

Will see how things go for next few days and go from there. I'll give an update on here then and hopefully the info will be of use to others.

Siamsa Sessions

rangler1 wrote: »

We use a steroid injection for any cases we've had, usually improves them. usually takes two injections 3 days apart
the ears nearly always fall off. We had a farmer ask where would they put the tag on a lamb that lost its ears going to the factory, we told them to tie it round the neck.....seemed to have been accepted anyway

Was it always in lambs? Or are adult sheep affected too?

Lamb is the same today. She's the only one with her cheek/jaw swollen but a few ewes have bristled noses like in that pic.

rangler1

Siamsa Sessions wrote: »

Was it always in lambs? Or are adult sheep affected too?

Lamb is the same today. She's the only one with her cheek/jaw swollen but a few ewes have bristled noses like in that pic.

Yea, always lambs, I get a few cases every year on grass, only in the white sheep, not in the vendeens

Siamsa Sessions

rangler1 wrote: »

Yea, always lambs, I get a few cases every year on grass, only in the white sheep, not in the vendeens

Are adult sheep "immune" then? As in, the lambs grow out of it?

rangler1

Siamsa Sessions wrote: »

Are adult sheep "immune" then? As in, the lambs grow out of it?

They never really recover and some die, I'd usually factory the ones that live even if they're replacement ewe lambs, I had one case this year in 800 lambs so it's not something to worry about but it can be very common in lambs on redstart or typhon, farmers usually put lambs on typhon at around 38kgs so if they get it they just slaughter them, they usually turn into screws.
We had one case in an adult sheep, a weed called St Johns Wort can cause it too

Siamsa Sessions

rangler1 wrote: »

They never really recover and some die, I'd usually factory the ones that live even if they're replacement ewe lambs, I had one case this year in 800 lambs so it's not something to worry about but it can be very common in lambs on redstart or typhon, farmers usually put lambs on typhon at around 38kgs so if they get it they just slaughter them, they usually turn into screws.
We had one case in an adult sheep, a weed called St Johns Wort can cause it too

I'm indebted to you - thanks.

She "was" a replacement but will probably go now with anything that's scanned not in lamb.

The value of posters like yourself on here can never be measured - thanks a million

Green farmer

Rangler, I know asked before, but how much meal would you feed the ewes for the first few months of pregnancy ? .5kg per day ? Abit short of silage here, and have a paddock ready for cutting, but thinking of leaving it, and spending the money on meal instead

rangler1

Green farmer wrote: »

Rangler, I know asked before, but how much meal would you feed the ewes for the first few months of pregnancy ? .5kg per day ? Abit short of silage here, and have a paddock ready for cutting, but thinking of leaving it, and spending the money on meal instead

I don't feed any meal if they have grass, when the grass runs out they go into the sheds and get .5kg with straw, so I suppose .5kg would work with limited grass as well, AN ordinary lamb finisher is good enough, say 14 or 15%protein, They don't need much protein in early pregnancy.....It would be a good idea to stripgraze the paddock you were going to cut for silage, be better to use a back fence in this wet weather so they're only on each block for one day or it'll be destroyed and never recover.

White Clover

What colours and in what order do people here use to raddle their rams? I know most will start with yellow, what colour next ..?
TIA.