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BUY ING IN SHEEP
Feet:
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Footrot
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CODD
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Inspect all and treat
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Footbath weekly
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Footrot survives in the soil for
14 days
There are numerous other diseases
that could be brought in. Isolating
replacements for three weeks should
allow you to check for many of these, as
by the time all the other jobs are done,
the sheep will be handled regularly.
Some diseases can be vaccinated
against such as orf and enzootic
abortion, whilst accreditation schemes
exist to show that flocks are disease free
e.g. maedi visna, enzootic abortion.
Sheep coming from an accredited flock
can be safely assumed to be disease
free, as blood samples will be taken
regularly and checked.
Where sheep are sold as vaccinated,
it is best to ignore this and assume they
have had no vaccines. We all know
someone we wouldn’t trust to vaccinate
properly, so unless you personally know
the seller (and trust them to have given
the vaccine and done as good a job
as yourself), it is best to err on the side
of caution. Consequently, each flock
will need to draw up its own plan for
infectious diseases as the procedures
will vary depending on which diseases
are already present on farm.
Infectious diseases
Infectious diseases:
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Check sheep regularly whilst quarantined
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Accreditation schemes can be trusted
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Be very careful trusting somebody’s
word about vaccination
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Draw up a flock specific plan
In Summary
When buying in replacements, a good
quarantine procedure will prevent any
exchange of disease between the
existing flock and the new sheep,
whether it’s 500 breeding ewes or the
new pedigree ram. This plan should
be drawn up with your vet and tailored
depending on the diseases already
present. Remember always assume the
worst as everybody knows somebody
who ‘bought the disease in’.
Buying in safely
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Take care when sourcing sheep
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Quarantine all animals on arrival
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Treat to prevent the introduction
of resistant worms
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Treat for Liver Fluke
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Treat for Sheep Scab
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Treat for Footrot/CODD
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Treat for infectious diseases
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Develop a farm specific health plan
Quarantine yard and footbath in one.
AUTUMN 2011 ISSUE
LIVESTOCK MATTERS
10