Scouring Lambs

I don’t need to remind you that this winter has been colder and longer than those of late. In general cattle and sheep do well in cold conditions as long as the ground doesn’t get too wet. There are some worm eggs, in particular Nematodirus battus that will go through a phase or arrested development in a cold winter. All of the eggs that were deposited by lambs on you pastures last year will still be there as they are triggered by rising temperatures after a cold spell to develop into the infected larval stages. In mild winters some larvae will hatch out on warmer days so that the growing lambs have a chance to react to an increasing challenge from the parasite. This year all of the eggs will hatch out at the same time and there is a chance that they will overwhelm the immune system of the lambs. When nematodurus strikes you will need to react quickly as there is a rapid build up of larval numbers in the bowel of your lambs. This will lead to protein loss and dehydration. Some lambs with nematodirus will die from renal damage rather than scouring from damage to their gastro intestinal system.

Treating Nematodirus

At the moment there has been no reported drug resistance to this type of worm infestation. All of the wormers will work, you might like to use a white wormer to combat this infection because of the shorter meat withhold requirements. It can be difficult to guess the weight of growing lambs so it would be better to weigh a few and get the dose right. Nematodirus is most prevalent when lambs are three to six weeks of age. This is the age that coccidiosis can become troublesome so you might need to treat both conditions at the same time.

Neonatal Lamb Infections

It has been so cold for most of you it has been difficult to get ewes and lambs out to the fields. This has in turn put more pressure on the lambing accommodation. No matter how much straw you have the buildings get contaminated and you can expect more problems with the late lambing ewes. It is important to keep the ewes as clean as possible before they lamb. Some lambs will suck on wool before they find a teat for the first time and they will struggle if they take in dirt before they take in their first dose of colostrum. We find that the antibiotic tablets still work well if you give them to every lamb when you first see them. They will stop watery mouth developing. They are absorbed through the wall of the stomach into the blood stream to prevent navel and joint infections. The tablets contain an antibiotic that we use to treat pneumonia in pet animals so they should help against respiratory infections as well.

The Bluetongue Story so Far

This time last year all of the talk was about Bluetongue and how it was going to have a devastating effect on farmed livestock. As it turned out that was far from the case and there were no new cases in the Great Britain and a much reduced number on the Continent. We were fortunate that the whole of France was declared a Bluetongue serotype one protection zone so they were unable to export any stock last year. Much has been said about the success of the vaccination policy here at preventing the re emergence of the disease. There has been no official monitoring, but I fear we fell far short of the 80% uptake desired to stop the spread of infection. The chances are now with the cold winter and the dwindling incidence of infection in Europe last year that Bluetongue will continue to fade away. There is probably more of a risk from sero type one this year, we have no vaccine licensed against this infection and the reports are that symptoms are usually mild compared to serotype eight infection.

Vaccination Decisions

BTV8 vaccine will be readily available this year. There is a sound argument for vaccinating stock that you are likely to sell during the year as inoculations will give you a trading advantage in the sale ring. In practical terms should there be a serious outbreak of the Bluetongue this summer it will almost certainly start in the south east of the country and there will be time to react if you vaccinate promptly to protect livestock before the infection gets to Shropshire.

Preventing Staggers

Often after a cold winter when grass growth has been checked there will be a rapid change as temperatures rise, this can lead to an increased risk of adult and growing cattle developing staggers. Magnesium is an essential element, cattle do not need a great deal of it, but they are unable to store it in their bodies so they rely on a small daily intake. This element has a calming effect on the electrical activity in the central nervous system, when there is a shortage control is lost and animals will start to have a series of fits. The risk period for staggers is in the next four months. It is usually better to build up the levels of magnesium in the blood stream now either with extra minerals in the concentrate feed or use the magnesium buckets and keep them at the feed barrier.

Zoonotic Disease

Q fever has been a notifiable disease in America since 1999, but there is no requirement to report it here. It is caused by a bacterial infection called Coxella burnetti that infects the faeces, urine and milk of farm animals. It is a particular problem at parturition as it is present in large numbers in the placenta and foetal fluids. Q fever does not usually make farm animals ill it will sometimes be responsible for abortions in goat herds. In humans the infection can cause a high temperature leading to pneumonia and sometimes hepatitis. Last year 2,300 people were diagnosed with the disease in the Netherlands there were six deaths. Most of the severe cases have been reported from people who were working with infected animals.

Desperate Control Measures

There is a vaccine available to stop the infection developing in farm animals, but supplies are limited. Last year 35,000 goats from 55 different farms were slaughtered to control the spread of infection. Because of the danger from the placenta all breeding of goats in the worst affected region of the country has been banned until July of this year. This is a serious problem fortunately it is not established here yet. There are no import controls on goats from the Netherlands we just have to hope that nobody would be foolish enough to import animals from that country. There is a slight risk that you will come across this disease. Always take care to wash your hands and arms thoroughly whenever you have been involved with lambing or calving just in case.

Minsterley Bridge

The long awaited work has now started on the Minsterley Bridge. So far the telephone cables have been moved under the footbridge and a temporary bridge for light vehicles has been put in place for the duration of the work. Please park on the Church side on the road when you visit the surgery to ease the congestion in the village.                    

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