To act adequately in the case of (symptoms of) diseases we herewith provide guidelines for a number of common diseases.
Anaemia
Where cow colostrum is used for rearing, acute anaemia could occur due to antigens which attack or get attached to the red blood cells.
The lambs become pale, slow (inactive) and die if they are not treated in time.
Treatment consists of a blood transfusion. The chance of anaemia as a result of feeding cow's colostrum can be prevented by asking a veterinary surgeon to check the colostrum for anaemia and/or by mixing the colostrum of several cows. It is safer though to use a colostrum substitute.
Enterotoxaemia
Enterotoxaemia occurs mostly in the case of rapidly growing lambs, where mortality occurs unexpectedly.
The disease is the result of toxins being produced by bacteria in the intestine. It is common that these bacteria are present in the sheep's gut, but at a certain level of intestinal volume these bacteria will multiply and start producing toxic substancese.
This often happens in the case of extreme changes in ration, with an excessive level of protein. Usually, treatment is not possible due to the rapid progress of the illness.
However, the disease could be well prevented through preventive vaccination of the ewe during pregnancy.
Feed related diarrhoea
When lambs change over to milk replacers in their first week of life, excessive intake can lead to diarrhoea.
The diarrhoea per se is not very dangerous and will disappear after one to three days. However, the infection rate will increase strongly during the rearing season.
Pay attention to secondary infection of the lamb.
In such cases it is recommended to feed electrolytes (EMIX) to the lambs, instead of milk, for one day.
Listeriosis
The Lester bacteria may cause a number of diseases at various ages:
- abortion at the end of pregnancy
- mortality of young lambs due to toxaemia (blood poisoning)
- brain symptoms, diarrhoea and toxaemia in older lambs and fully-grown sheep
Diseased animals generally can be treated effectively at an early stage - in consultation with a veterinary surgeon - .
Lung infections
Problems with lung infections in lambs happen quite frequently and can lead to considerable damage and sudden mortality.
Often, the cause is a viral infection, where a bacterial infection arises as a complication. As a result the lambs will die soon.
Treatment mainly should be directed at the bacterial infection, which can be suppressed with a treatment of antibiotics.
Pneumonia / Respiratory diseases
Respiratory distress is a lung disease which develops slowly in fully-grown sheep. Symptoms are hindered breathing and weight loss, eventually with fatal consequences.
The virus stays in the body of the sheep lifelong and is especially transmitted to the lamb through colostrum and milk. The disease cannot be cured and vaccination is not possible.
Lambs must be isolated and reared without sheep colostrum. Therefore they are isolated at the time of birth and should not be brought in contact with the mother in any way.
The lambs are reared with a colostrum substitute or cow's colostrum and Sprayfo Lamb.
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