Dr. Brady Campbell, Assistant Professor, State Small Ruminant Extension Specialist
Continuing 
our discussion from last week, as we move beyond the first few critical days post lambing and kidding the nerves of new life on the farm dwindle as mother nature takes control. However, as lambs and kids begin to fill the barn, it is important to remain observant to ensure that we haven’t missed anything that management could have corrected for. One management task that is of utmost importance is ensuring that we maintain an up-to-date vaccination program. In more cases than not, the most skilled producers face young lamb and kid losses associated with a lack of timeliness when it comes to vaccination protocols. It’s understandable, life happens – let’s just not make a habit of it. As we have discussed in the past, vaccines should be considered when specific challenges present themselves with the only exception being with CD&T (we’ll talk about this one below). Once a vaccine has been used with your operation, boosters (using various time frames) are typically required.
Speaking of vaccines, I think it’s time for a little quiz and don’t worry, it’s not graded. Do you know how a vaccine is used by the body? Better yet, how long does it take for the immune system to develop in our young stock? What if you intend on vaccinating young lambs and kids, do you know when this vaccine can and should be given in order for it to be effective. According to Dr. Bret Taylor, in general it takes the immune system 3-4 weeks to mature. Therefore, it is critical that lambs and kids receive
Continue reading Small Ruminant Management: Pre-weaning Health Considerations – Part 2
Dakota State University (NDSU) Extension and University of Minnesota (UMN) Extension will host an “American Lamb and our Consumer” webinar on Monday, Feb. 28 at 6:30 p.m. CST. Sheep producers, 4-H and FFA members, and lamb consumers are invited to attend.
discussed a few weeks ago, abortion causing diseases can strike your operation at any time without warning. I hope that you don’t experience any of those types of hardships in your endeavors, but if you do, you now have a resource to reference when something goes awry. Being able to identify the current challenge your flock or herd is facing and having the tools to remedy the issue is key for success in any livestock enterprise. Of course, the management of your operation doesn’t stop at reproduction, or at least we hope not! Once you have hardy and healthy lambs and kids on the ground, it is important to remain vigilant to ensure success during the pre-weaning phase of production.
you surveyed your pastures? Do any areas need to be renovated? If you are reading this article around the same time period in which it were originally published it is too late to do any frost seeding in those areas. However, there is still time to use a no-till drill to plant grass or legumes in any “thin” areas needing more forage plants. Remember a legume in a pasture adds high quality forage and extra nitrogen for the grass.
(also known as lactic acidosis, grain overload, over-eating or grain poisoning) is a metabolic condition that most commonly occurs with lambs offered grain based diets, but can affect mature sheep. Over-consumption of grain causes excess production of lactic acid in the rumen resulting in pH levels falling below the threshold to maintain microbial bacteria populations and normal rumen function. Since acidosis is not an infectious or contagious disease, it is one of the easier conditions to control since it is dependent on nutrition management decisions.
species are your best bet, as is seeding in more loamy, clay soils.
those raising sheep and goats in the Midwest, lambing and kidding season is in full swing. As we enjoy the victories and contemplate the challenges our management systems threw at us this year, it is important to note and document everything that happened so we can evaluate our outcomes at the end of the season. An important statistic to keep in any livestock operation is death loss. This number is valuable to quantify the efficiency of your operation, but without recording a reason for a loss or death in your operation, this statistic ends here. I know that it can be stressful and deflating when we encounter a loss, but understanding why it occurred and the reason behind it will pay dividends as you move forward. Although this discussion is a bit gloomy to talk about, it’s an important one none the less. Below, I have outlined some of the common diseases in sheep and goats that are associated with pregnancy loss, abortions, stillbirths, and birth deformities. Be sure to read each of these and compare them to your operation. Even if you don’t have issues today, these diseases can rear their ugly head at any given time. Keeping this information tucked away in your farming tool box will be well worth the read.