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SHEEP-fed-barely-sprouting-fodders, page : 154
2. Feed such as beet pulp, wheat bran, and corn fodder that has excessive phosphorus and potassium but is low in vitamin A is another culprit. If you have been feeding this type of feed correct it by adding 1 or 2% ground limestone or dicalcium phosphate to make the calcium phosphate ration approximately 2:1.
3. Crops grown with the use of a heavy fertilizer with high nitrate content is also another culprit. When crops have been treated with a heavy fertilizer it interferes with the carotene roughage that produces vitamin A. When vitamin A is added to the lamb's ration it will counteract this problem.
4. Hard water is yet another culprit. This can be corrected by adding feed grade ammonium chloride to the ration, approximately one fifth of an ounce (6.1 ml) per head per day. This salt is harmless and is found in some pelleted feeds.
5. Do not feed with just pelleted feed. This disease rarely develops in lambs who receive 20% alfalfa.
6. Hormonal changes that occur when ram lambs are castrated at less than 4 weeks of age is another culprit. The absence of testosterone after castration keeps the urethra from growing to its maximum diameter. If you experience a persistent problem with ram lambs that have been castrated before reaching sexual maturity, try castrating after 6 weeks.
7. The risk of this disease can come from feeding sorghum based rations, cottonseed meal and milo. Corn and soybean meal are less apt to cause problems.
White Muscle Disease:
White muscle disease is also called "stiff lamb" and is caused by the lack of Selenium. If the soil is deficient in Selenium then your hay will also be deficient. If selenium lacking hay is fed to ewes after the third month of pregnancy or during lactation you may have a problem unless it is well supplemented by whole-grain wheat and/or mineralized salt with selenium in it, the supplement should also have vitamin E. To put your mind at rest and save lambs, have your soil tested for selenium deficiency.
The good news is that there are both oral and Injectable products available and are given to the ewe 2 or 4 weeks before lambing i.e., when you give the second vaccination against tetanus and enterotoxemia.
Signs of White Muscle disease include, difficultly getting up and walking, and gradual paralysis of the muscle. Even though lambs can be treated, once muscle changes occur they cannot be reversed. However, many small, weak lambs or lambs with a stiff neck at birth do respond to treatment with selenium.
3. Crops grown with the use of a heavy fertilizer with high nitrate content is also another culprit. When crops have been treated with a heavy fertilizer it interferes with the carotene roughage that produces vitamin A. When vitamin A is added to the lamb's ration it will counteract this problem.
4. Hard water is yet another culprit. This can be corrected by adding feed grade ammonium chloride to the ration, approximately one fifth of an ounce (6.1 ml) per head per day. This salt is harmless and is found in some pelleted feeds.
5. Do not feed with just pelleted feed. This disease rarely develops in lambs who receive 20% alfalfa.
6. Hormonal changes that occur when ram lambs are castrated at less than 4 weeks of age is another culprit. The absence of testosterone after castration keeps the urethra from growing to its maximum diameter. If you experience a persistent problem with ram lambs that have been castrated before reaching sexual maturity, try castrating after 6 weeks.
7. The risk of this disease can come from feeding sorghum based rations, cottonseed meal and milo. Corn and soybean meal are less apt to cause problems.
White Muscle Disease:
White muscle disease is also called "stiff lamb" and is caused by the lack of Selenium. If the soil is deficient in Selenium then your hay will also be deficient. If selenium lacking hay is fed to ewes after the third month of pregnancy or during lactation you may have a problem unless it is well supplemented by whole-grain wheat and/or mineralized salt with selenium in it, the supplement should also have vitamin E. To put your mind at rest and save lambs, have your soil tested for selenium deficiency.
The good news is that there are both oral and Injectable products available and are given to the ewe 2 or 4 weeks before lambing i.e., when you give the second vaccination against tetanus and enterotoxemia.
Signs of White Muscle disease include, difficultly getting up and walking, and gradual paralysis of the muscle. Even though lambs can be treated, once muscle changes occur they cannot be reversed. However, many small, weak lambs or lambs with a stiff neck at birth do respond to treatment with selenium.