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SHEEP AND GOATS
Protecting health
The majority of abortions in sheep are caused
by chlamydia (enzootic abortions) and a
parasite which causes toxoplasmosis.
Matt explains: ‘In flocks/herds with a known
history of these, then vaccination is highly
recommended.
‘Toxoplasmosis can be brought onto a farm
by cats which have eaten infected mice. They
will shed the toxoplasma parasite in their
faeces. So where cats are present on a farm,
take care to protect the biosecurity of forages
and feeds.
‘Ideally, it's best not to have cats around
pregnant ewes and goats at all. But that's not
easily done. However, if the cat population is
stable, then there's less risk, as once cats have
had toxoplasmosis, they tend not to shed the
parasite again.’
Good hygiene and
disease control
The cleaning and disinfecting of sheds and
pens before lambing starts is another essential
element of risk management. Good hygiene
practices need to be maintained through to
the end of the lambing period.
Coccidiosis and cryptosporidium are two
parasitic diseases which can have significant
impact on the survival of young lambs and
kids. Good hygiene, and in some cases, the
use of preventative treatments, are required.
Matt explains: ‘With cryptosporidium,
adults tend to shed low numbers of oocysts
throughout their life. But at lambing or kidding
times the rate of shedding increases
significantly, and all young animals will be
at risk of infection. The most susceptible will
be those that lack passive immunity through
insufficient colostrum intakes.
‘Where there's a history of coccidiosis and
preventative treatment is needed on top of
good hygiene, the timing of treatment is
important. The animal - and this applies for
calves too - needs to have been exposed to
the coccidial oocysts for seven to ten days,
before being dosed with a coccidiocidal
product, if immunity is to develop.’
Dairy goats
- the same rules and more
5
LIVESTOCK MATTERS
WORKING
TOGETHER
FOR A HEALTHIER FUTURE...
At
Pant Farm
near Abergavenny in Monmouthshire,
Gary Yeomans and his wife Jess milk 530 dairy goats,
with an average yield of 850 litres/goat.
CASE STUDY
Matt explains: ‘In principle, goat farmers
need to follow the same hygiene and
health management procedures as for
sheep, although there are some differences
between the species.’
Kid management
The herd is kidded down in three batches -
autumn, spring, and then the goatlings kid
in summer. Regulin and lights are used to
manage breeding out of season.
Adult goats are kept in a single shed, with a
bay at one end used as the kidding bay.
This is cleaned out every week - bedding is
removed and an anti-bacterial powder
applied and then fresh straw on top.
Gary explains: ‘With so many goats, and
only kidding at certain times of the year, the
actual kidding rate on a day can be very
high! Matt would like to see us remove kids
when 12-24 hours old, but it's not always
practical. So they are sometimes left on their
mothers for a few days.’
Kids are reared in a separate shed which is
emptied and steam cleaned after every
batch. Jess looks after all the kid rearing.
Both Gary and Matt agree that women tend
to be better at this: they pay more attention
to the detail and have more patience! Kids
are kept in pens of 10 to 15, and bottle-fed
for the first couple of feeds before being
introduced to the teats on the automatic
milking machine.
Matt adds: ‘Here, the early identification of
scours and runny noses is important, so that
remedial action can be taken promptly.’
Kids have access to barley straw from the
start and at seven to ten days of age are
given concentrates. They are weaned at
15kg - typically eight weeks of age - after
checking they are consuming adequate
levels of concentrate.
Gary adds: ‘We reared around 80 kids in
the autumn, but at other times numbers can
reach 150. So they are quite a challenge
to manage, and it gets very busy!
Gary and Jess Yeomans
Adult goats
Kid on teat