Sudden death in lambs

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Sudden death in lambs

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Mad Cowman

Joined: 27 Feb 2005
Posts: 16
Location: Shrewsbury

Posted: Sat Oct 29, 05 6:26 pm Post subject: Sudden death in lambs

I have just read an interesting article on the sudden death of lambs on stubble. Even though most of you with sheep will not have them on stubble the article about various diseases is very interesting. If you want to read it go to www.fwi.co.uk then click on special reports and then on the sudden death in lambs article. I have found this website very useful, especially the long range weather forcast. Its' worth registering to.

Rob R

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 31902
Location: York

Posted: Sat Oct 29, 05 6:55 pm Post subject:

Quote:

The common causes of sudden death associated with stressful husbandry, feed changes or toxic substances in forage crops are �

clostridial diseases
redgut
systemic pasteurellosis
grain overload
acute liver fluke
nitrate poisoning
Brassica poisoning

Interesting link, thanks

One point I do note is that the article points out a mixture of husbandry management & symptoms of an intensive system

Mad Cowman

Joined: 27 Feb 2005
Posts: 16
Location: Shrewsbury

Posted: Mon Oct 31, 05 11:12 am Post subject:
Yes I agree, the only downside with articles on the fwi site is that they are for intense farming.

gil
Downsizer Moderator

Joined: 08 Jun 2005
Posts: 18415

Posted: Mon Oct 31, 05 1:49 pm Post subject:
yeah. Don't know about you, but when I ran breeding sheep and their lambs at low stocking density and on organic ground (old species-rich pasture, never resown with modern grass mixtures), they rarely ailed.

Rob R

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 31902
Location: York

Posted: Mon Oct 31, 05 8:15 pm Post subject:

gbst wrote:

yeah. Don't know about you, but when I ran breeding sheep and their lambs at low stocking density and on organic ground (old species-rich pasture, never resown with modern grass mixtures), they rarely ailed.

It's true- many of the 'problems' encountered in modern husbandry are entirely man-made production disorders. On the whole, nature largely looks after itself if the balance is right.

Mad Cowman

Joined: 27 Feb 2005
Posts: 16
Location: Shrewsbury

Posted: Tue Nov 01, 05 1:41 pm Post subject:

If you use the 'old' husbandry tactics then you seem to find they suit us smallholders better.i.e. grazing cattle and sheep together as they're supposed to keep each others worms down and its' good pasture management. I find it sad to see that alot of livestock farms do not use their pasture to maximum effect as they let large areas get overgrown with nettles, thistles etc.
I've come across another useful site. Its' the website for bayer chemicals who supply pesticides etc. for the mainstream ag.. industry. Part of this site has a superb weed, grass and pest id. Also a page called 'slugwatch' which keeps an eye on the slug 'hotspots' in the uk. From this site I've found the bugs infesting my sprouts at the moment which are 'mealy bugs'. I've also found out which type of slugs are infesting my ramaining potatoes. At the beginning of the planting year I spent alot of money on slug pellets. So i am now altering a mainstream ag. system for my allotment, where I wait until I get so many slugs per metre square before I put the pellets down. I count the slugs by using empty margerine tubs. Paint them black and cut a 'door' on one end. Dot these tubs around the allotment,especially where severe damage can be caused(brassicas,strawberries etc..). Just open the tub lid and put a few 'peelings' from your dinners veg in and close lid. Have a look 24hrs later to see how many slugs there are and which type. I haven't decided how many slugs per metre square are worth putting pellets down, as 1 slug is bad news. I think it comes down to a line between necessaty(spelt wrong) and trying to keep them all out which I now know ain't gonna happen. Apparently slugs will travel several metres for a 'munch', so don't just puts the tubs around the border, dot them about for an accurate reading. Anyway, sorry for going off on a tangent, the web site is www.bayercropscience.co.uk/home.aspx. I think you'll enjoy it.

gil
Downsizer Moderator

Joined: 08 Jun 2005
Posts: 18415

Posted: Tue Nov 01, 05 2:05 pm Post subject:

re pasture management and weed-infested farmland :you'd think some farmers had never heard of topping their fields..... Very useful technique, and if you leave it until after wildflowers etc in your area have set seed, environmentally friendly.

following on from the prevous post, sorry for going off-topic :

Because of my complaints about slugs, someone gave me
'The Little Book of Slugs', edited by Allan Shepherd and Suzanne Galant, Centre for Alternative Technology Publications.

Ways to deal with slugs without pellets. Though perhaps more appropriate on garden-sized plots. I'm still using pellets, though try not to unless serious damage being done. I had a slug problem below ground with my potatoes this year. Should have dug up samples earlier to check. Nasty shock when I lifted the maincrop. Will check out the Bayer website, sounds interesting. Cheers, Madcowman.

Gervase

Joined: 17 Nov 2004
Posts: 8655

Posted: Fri Nov 25, 05 3:15 pm Post subject:

We had one wether die from systemic pasteurellosis earlier this month, which was a blow.
Entirely avoidable, however, and I'm kicking myself. Because the sheep were on pasture that hadn't had sheep for at least a decade, I thought I'd not bother vaccinating the lambs. Then, when the tup arrived, we moved the wethers to a smaller, damper pasture just when the worst of the rain hit.
Sure enough, one morning we found the wee fellow dead with froth around the mouth - bearing all the hallmarks of systemic pasteurellosis. Grr!

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