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SHEEP-fed-barely-sprouting-fodders, page : 98
GOOD HEALTH PROCEDURES
Many factors can contribute to health problems. It could be due to lack of exercise, unhygienic living quarters, moldy or spoiled feed, overfeeding, toxicity, parasite, stress brought on by new surroundings, weather, predators, transportation and so on, diseases transmitted by other sheep, infections after lambing, abrupt change in feed or insufficient water.
1. First and foremost is the need for good sanitation. Clean bedding in barns, fresh clean water and feed. Also clean your utensils such as needles, and nursing bottles thoroughly, these elementary practices go a long way to keeping your flock healthy. Another aspect of good sanitation is storage and disposal of any cleaning product, herbicides, pesticides, medicines and anything else that is poisonous including their wrappers, and containers.
2. Importance of nutrition. Adequate nutrition is essential. Animals that receive high levels of nutrients have a much stronger immune system.
3. Housing and space. If you decide to keep your sheep in buildings, good ventilation is essential to eliminate the build up of ammonia. However, the sheep should not be subjected to drafts even though they have a warm coat! If you keep them outside, make sure they have somewhere to shelter out of rain, and wind. Make sure your flock are not forced to eat too close to the soil, or too close to their own manure.
4. Healthy animals. A healthy animal is one that is bright and attentive with a good appetite. Their manure should be solid and pelleted. As for their eyes and ears they should be alert to their environment and should be able to keep up with the rest of the flock.
5. Additions to the flock. Always make sure the animals you are interested in purchasing are healthy, if they do not appear to be 100% healthy, don't buy and look somewhere else. In the west sheep farmers keep records of the health of their sheep, ask to see these records, if they say they don't have them, forgotten them or any excuse avoid buying from them. If you decided to buy an entire flock, seek the advice of your vet and get him to examine them. If the seller raises an objection, find another flock. This way you can save yourself a lot of money. Sheep that are sold in a sale barn are most often not a good buy, the animals up for sale usually have a problem. As for a middleman, who purchases animals to resell, ask for a written guarantee.
If you are buying a ewe that has already been bred, check her lambing record, ask if her birthing was easy, needed assistance, did she have a prolapse uterus etc. a ewe that had a prolapsed uterus is good for butchering. As for a ram that suffers from foot rot, or lambs that have had scours – be wary, they are not what you want in your flock, and are good for butchering.
6. Quarantine: All new
Many factors can contribute to health problems. It could be due to lack of exercise, unhygienic living quarters, moldy or spoiled feed, overfeeding, toxicity, parasite, stress brought on by new surroundings, weather, predators, transportation and so on, diseases transmitted by other sheep, infections after lambing, abrupt change in feed or insufficient water.
1. First and foremost is the need for good sanitation. Clean bedding in barns, fresh clean water and feed. Also clean your utensils such as needles, and nursing bottles thoroughly, these elementary practices go a long way to keeping your flock healthy. Another aspect of good sanitation is storage and disposal of any cleaning product, herbicides, pesticides, medicines and anything else that is poisonous including their wrappers, and containers.
2. Importance of nutrition. Adequate nutrition is essential. Animals that receive high levels of nutrients have a much stronger immune system.
3. Housing and space. If you decide to keep your sheep in buildings, good ventilation is essential to eliminate the build up of ammonia. However, the sheep should not be subjected to drafts even though they have a warm coat! If you keep them outside, make sure they have somewhere to shelter out of rain, and wind. Make sure your flock are not forced to eat too close to the soil, or too close to their own manure.
4. Healthy animals. A healthy animal is one that is bright and attentive with a good appetite. Their manure should be solid and pelleted. As for their eyes and ears they should be alert to their environment and should be able to keep up with the rest of the flock.
5. Additions to the flock. Always make sure the animals you are interested in purchasing are healthy, if they do not appear to be 100% healthy, don't buy and look somewhere else. In the west sheep farmers keep records of the health of their sheep, ask to see these records, if they say they don't have them, forgotten them or any excuse avoid buying from them. If you decided to buy an entire flock, seek the advice of your vet and get him to examine them. If the seller raises an objection, find another flock. This way you can save yourself a lot of money. Sheep that are sold in a sale barn are most often not a good buy, the animals up for sale usually have a problem. As for a middleman, who purchases animals to resell, ask for a written guarantee.
If you are buying a ewe that has already been bred, check her lambing record, ask if her birthing was easy, needed assistance, did she have a prolapse uterus etc. a ewe that had a prolapsed uterus is good for butchering. As for a ram that suffers from foot rot, or lambs that have had scours – be wary, they are not what you want in your flock, and are good for butchering.
6. Quarantine: All new