importance of MV acr.?

Boso · Jun 6, 2019

I am a parttime grazier. Contemplating about becoming MV free.
Currently only my rams (terminal sires from studbook flocks) have an MV status, which they also lose by being used in my flock.
I cull hard but have never tested for MV in my ewes.
How important do you think it is to be (oficially ) MV free?
My sheep are usually Just sold dead per kg/lb.

Do you feel being MV free is worth the effort and beneficial to your enterprise?

Tim W · Jun 6, 2019

Try screening your flock 1st?
Test 12 of the older/poorer ewes for MV , this will give you an idea of where you are (you may want to do more than 12 depending on the size of your flock and how confident you want to be that you have/haven't got MV ...see attached PDF for link to some labs offering this service)

But getting return on your money will be difficult if you aren't selling breeding stock

We are encouraging our customers to discover their flock health status because we think it's important to know what your health status is and to try and raise awareness/stop the spread of MV before it has a chance to become endemic in the UK flock

neilo · Jun 6, 2019

Everything here is Mv accredited, purely as it makes life a lot simpler on farm with several flocks running and some sheep moving between (ET recips & rams).
If you want to take sheep to Mv accredited shows or sales then it’s obviously essential. Otherwise, there is no benefit above knowing your flock status, which can be far more cheaply done by screening, as posted above.

You will be restricting where you can buy any replacements from, creating work double fencing (esp as a grazier) to isolate your sheep from others, and restricting your ability to adjust numbers in a tough time.

Smudge · Jun 6, 2019

What's the rough cost of screening and accreditation? And how wide does the double fence need to be?

Tim W · Jun 6, 2019

Smudge said:
What's the rough cost of screening and accreditation? And how wide does the double fence need to be?

There's a link to the SRUC website & Axiom labs on the PDF attached ---roughly £40 (+sampling fees if your vet does it) to test 12 ewes ---make sure you sample the poor doers
Accreditation works on a membership fee + testing all animals the twice initially and then a %age of the flock every 2 years ---so plenty of variables but it ain't cheap

neilo · Jun 6, 2019

Smudge said:
What's the rough cost of screening and accreditation? And how wide does the double fence need to be?

To get a flock accredited, you need to have two clear tests on every animal, six months apart. Budget for a fiver (conservatively) a sheep each time, assuming you get set up to do them efficiently & quickly (with vet time at £100/hr), x2.
After that, you obviously need to abide by the rules & restrictions, then test either all, or a proportion (depending on flock size) every 3 years, all rams every year and all bought in accredited animals within 12 months of arriving.

From memory, double fencing needs a 2m gap. A hedge with a fence on either side is generally that, or could be made to be. Alternatively, don’t graze the fields adjoining non-Mv neighbours when their sheep are in those fields.

It’s certainly not cheap to get into.

andybk · Jun 6, 2019

i wouldnt think its worth it for a commercial flock ,but i have seen the quiet devastation MV causes on a commercial flock of 5000 sheep , nothing to note except poor conception rates ,poor post weaning recovery ewes only lasting 3 or 4 years at best , poor milking , endless list of problems ,, probably brought in by a few sheep , ending up selling whole flock straight to kill (with resultant poorer values ) to start again was expensive job . in your case prob better to leave MV alone just be very careful what you buy in and from where .

neilo · Jun 6, 2019

andybk said:
i wouldnt think its worth it for a commercial flock ,but i have seen the quiet devastation MV causes on a commercial flock of 5000 sheep , nothing to note except poor conception rates ,poor post weaning recovery ewes only lasting 3 or 4 years at best , poor milking , endless list of problems ,, probably brought in by a few sheep , ending up selling whole flock straight to kill (with resultant poorer values ) to start again was expensive job . in your case prob better to leave MV alone just be very careful what you buy in and from where .

At least they didn’t sell them as breeders, which I have known done, so spreading it further.

importance of MV acr.?

Boso

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neilo

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