MV possibility

[Sou’wester]

Hi everyone, new to the forum, was suggested by a friend I post on here for advice and peoples experiences .

Out of 800 ewes I Have the odd 4 or 5 ewes per year that go down with pneumonia type symptoms... which coupled with the fact I’ve been lambing for a few weeks now, so far lambed 200 Texel x Mule ewes, have had 7 or 8 ewes with solid quarters or completely solid udders, could this be a sign of MV problem, all ewes uddered and fine at tupping time and no clinical signs of mastitis just no solid plates in udder .

Any thoughts ? Plan on getting some ewes tested , but thought I’d ask on here first.

 

[neilo]

It could be, but it might also just be an outbreak of pasteurella and a few cases of mastitis.

It’s reasonably cheap to bloodtest a few for mv, so you’ll know for sure.

Good luck, I do hope for your sake that it’s not.

On that cheery note, welcome to the forum.

 

[Sou’wester]

It could be, but it might also just be an outbreak of pasteurella and a few cases of mastitis.

It’s reasonably cheap to bloodtest a few for mv, so you’ll know for sure.

Good luck, I do hope for your sake that it’s not.

On that cheery note, welcome to the forum.

Thank you for the reply , just the fact the mastitis wasn’t standard mastitis got me worrying . I’m guessing if it is positive it’ll be be a case of cull everything and start again.

 

[neilo]

It could just be an outbreak of a different type of mastitis, and a few cases of pasteurella from the awful weather....
You will just be guessing without bloodtesting tbh.

Yes, unfortunately clearing out and starting agin (with mv accredited stock) is your only way out of it, if positive. Or live with it and accept higher losses, of course.
You can snatch lambs at birth and rear artificially (not even having colostrum), but restocking would probably be more economic unless they are high value pedigrees.

 

[Tim W]

SRUC do 12 sheep MV test for £38 +vat
https://www.sruc.ac.uk/info/120144/farm_animal_diagnostics

I do this regularly (and test ALL bought in sheep ---even if they come from a accredited flock)
Ewes to test are the older ewes that have reared poor lambs for no discernible reason

If you do get positives for MV then you can just cull everything but it may not be necessary, i know of cases that have;
1) Tested a larger proportion of the ewes to see how far spread the disease is
2) If the results are mixed and you have the ability to split the flock you could test everything and split the flock.....
3) Infected animals get culled at an appropriate time over the next 12 months
4) Uninfected animals get re-tested every 6 months until everything goes all clear

To do this you must have separate handling facilities/geographically separate flocks /very high bio-security standards
The advantage is that you keep your present genetics (if you like them ) and you end up with a high health status flock

Culling everything can be an expensive option ----devalue 800 ewes from £100 to £50 = £40K !!

Hopefully it isn't MV but a bit of cheap testing will tell you where you stand -----speak to your vet (and if in the slightest doubt speak to a specialist sheep vet who has dealt with this kind of thing before)

Good luck

 

[Downton_shep]

What was your scanning %? MV sheep normally don’t scan well.

 

[Sou’wester]

What was your scanning %? MV sheep normally don’t scan well.

189% but 6 % drys

 

[andybk]

I would get some tested as tim said above , i know a flock that came down with it , good few thousand ewes , like you , nothing to amiss over the years , few more barren , few more pneumonia , many sheep aged early , luckily the flock was split in two , had to kill out one flock , were sold in normal commercial market but was specified had to go direct to abattoir , Commercial men have no idea of possible issues buying in a bit here and a bit there over time from markets MV is out there and by the time you know of a problem its to late .

 

[Downton_shep]

189% but 6 % drys

I wouldn’t lose sleep over it until you get the results back.

 

[Ysgythan]

On that cheery note, welcome to the forum.

Yes indeed, welcome.

By the way, your friend should be shot for that advice...

 

[neilo]

189% but 6 % drys

There are quite a few more empties about this year by all accounts. I scanned my (mv accredited) April lambers today and I had 4% empty, which is more than double what we normally see. No fluke (tested a few weeks ago) either, all bolused and vaccinated for Toxo, just a crap year for weather I suspect.