Northeastfarmer
Member
- Location
- Cleveland
If you’ve had a few barren it’s possible it’s toxo but a lab test is best
Abortions in sheep
- Thread starter Mc115reed
- Start date
What doesnt kill you makes you stronger but i think i would have been swinging from a beam with those losses. I lost 9 lumping 400kg calves to botulism once and the dread of checking for more each morning was awful.
- Location
- Montgomeryshire
@Mc115reed I certainly wouldn't be thinking about blanket jagging if I'd only had 5 abort and very close to starting lambing anyway, annoying as it is. Handling them to jag that close would likely make a few more spit out anyway.
Either test some lambs/afterbirth, or ask the vet about some (free) bloodtesting of aborted ewes, if you've not been sensible enough to cash them in.
Either test some lambs/afterbirth, or ask the vet about some (free) bloodtesting of aborted ewes, if you've not been sensible enough to cash them in.
40 barren out of 350 but I only ran tups for 3 weeks after teasers so put it down too that but did have 65% singles aswell which didn’t help... starting too think something more sinister going on though that’s caused the crap scanning and now this....
Why don't you sell all the sheep if thats correct
- Location
- Montgomeryshire
Definitely something going on. I wouldn't expect more 5% returns after the first cycle, using teasers and high ram ratios (up to 1:120 this year).
- Location
- Montgomeryshire
No! But a single gram of poo from an infected cat can potentially infect lots of ewes with toxo. Cats get immune to it quickly, so it's only juvenile cats that are an issue generally, hence advice to castrate farm cats, especially on sheep farms.
Northeastfarmer
Member
- Location
- Cleveland
I wont have any cats on the farm
- Location
- Devon
In many ways you're better off with a neutered farm cat or 2, as they won't present any risk, and will tend to see off stray cats.
Hilly
Member
- Location
- Scottish Borders.
Dose it cause abortion ? I’ve never had a cat only cat I have ever seen that I’d have belongs to apple squasher.
Northeastfarmer
Member
- Location
- Cleveland
They do if they are infected then shite about...can’t stand cats bloody awful things...give me dogs any day
Ceri
Member
Personally I wouldn't panic. I was worried for u at first with toxo but when u said u only ran the tups for 3 weeks and it was early then this could very well just be down to nature you've had 40 barrens. And to be honest the amount of ewes you've had cast wouldn't worry me atm. It's just feckin sheep & sometimes ur unlucky....... Oviously chat with ur vet but I'd jus be patient atm I definitely wouldn't go in jabbing them now.
Vets coming in the morning gonna take bloods off the ewes and off some ewes that haven’t aborted ... I don’t think it’s toxo or enzo really as the lambs are coming clean normally when it’s toxo or enzo the lambs are quite dirty or the cleansing is dirty
Vets coming in the morning gonna take bloods off the ewes and off some ewes that haven’t aborted ... I don’t think it’s toxo or enzo really as the lambs are coming clean normally when it’s toxo or enzo the lambs are quite dirty or the cleansing is dirty
Stw88
Member
- Location
- Northumberland
Always hate the week/10 days before there due, always something slips them for no reason. Had a handful 1 year, vet tested ewes. Everything was clean and clear. Just 1 of them things. Once the due date came everything was plain sailing.
- Location
- Cheshire
Can't like this enough. Its just nature. a ewe gets so far through pregnancy, something is wrong so she aborts. Nothing we can do about it. Like you say the 10 days prior too kick off is crap. always get 5/6 throw their lambs out (out of 850/900) they get kicked out straigt away and a month later they get loaded up and away they go. Usually at a damn good price too!
One of my grandads very good friends just over the hill from us has everything vaccinated too the hilt. costs him a fortune, only buys tups so fairly closed in that respect. shoots any cats that even looks over the wall at him, never mind goes near the sheep. He has more barrens than us every year, a lower scanning % and more abortions than us. Every year complains about the vets bill because he's had 2 abort and had the full works done by the vet on them for the results too all come back clear...
Then there's us.... only vaccines used are Bravoxin & Ovivac P, 4 spayed farm cats, buying in breeding sheep every year. always get a handful of abortions. Grandad always maintains our abortion is low though because we lamb our ewe lambs in the same sheds as the main flock so they pick up all our bugs and become immune to them by the time they come around to shearlings and away they go for the rest of their productive lives. We had one do of bad abortion in a bunch of shearlings I bought for myself. I'd have been 15/16. when we scanned 1/2 were empty of the half left half of them were losing their lambs. I culled everything that didnt have lambs took the smack in the wallet and swapped to buying ewe lambs and touch wood nothing stupid has really gone on. Could just be luck, but we run and mix a lot of sheep for luck too do it all by herself?
- Location
- Montgomeryshire
A farm without cats (& dogs of course) is a barren place imo.
Pointing to the cats when the FA inspector calls also means you don’t need to fill out lots of silly forms about poisoning sites and dead rat disposal...
- Location
- Montgomeryshire
It’s known as ‘suicide fortnight’.
All forgotten once you get into the thick of it.Make sure they test for Campylobacter too, although may need to test abortions/afterbirth for that? Certainly getting more common and vaccine not licensed in UK (but one of the standard jabs in NZ iirc).