Start of an abortion storm or just a passing squall?

[yellowbelly]

The first 120/130 early lambers have been in about 2 weeks. We don't vaccinate for abortion. Due to start on the 22nd. It's not unusual for us to have an odd abortion before we start.
Starting last saturday, we've had 4 abortions - 1set of triplets, 2 sets of twins and a single this morning.
We've also had 2 sets of twins born alive, one lot at less than 140 days (best guess) and the others at 144 days (first one tupped, so know exactly)
After the third abortion I sent samples for analysis. No results back yet. Not pinning too much hope on this as whenever we've had tests done before they always seem to come back 'inconclusive'.

Just hoping the old saying "Bad start, good finish" holds true. But a jittery few days ahead........

 

[milkloss]

Finger crossed for you that's it's just those first few. At least you've got some testing in progress, good move imo.

 

[Yale]

I suppose vet advice would be a blanket antibiotic treatment however we generally sweat it out and generally it fizzles out.

You are always going to get abortions close to lambing as it is the nature of pregnancy that some will fail.

 

[gatepost]

If it comes back as Enzo then antibiotics as prescribed will help to save your bacon, but any ewe that picks up infection now even if she doesn't abort, will next yr even if you vaccinate, takes a year or two to work your way through it.

 

[neilo]

If it comes back as Enzo then antibiotics as prescribed will help to save your bacon, but any ewe that picks up infection now even if she doesn't abort, will next yr even if you vaccinate, takes a year or two to work your way through it.

+1 The same applies for campylobacter, with blanket ab's being about the only thing you could do. If Toxo, then all you can do is get a bigger dead box think.

Here's hoping there won't be any more though, and it was just a handful that got knocked at the feed trough.

 

[sticky]

A start like that always makes you nervous but i think nearly everyone has a jittery start and then they just seem to get going.

 

[MJT]

Had our first abortion today, always get wary of it but as fast as it starts it stops and the ewes get back to behaving themselves. A few more and I would start to worry a bit .

 

[Northeastfarmer]

My arse ususally blows like a wind sock in a tornado when we get a couple at the start then usually dies down

 

[Purli R]

If you vaccinated for every possible abortion you could think of & several you couldn"t...............some sheep would still abort???!! Fingers crossed,best of luck

 

[Gator]

Not a good start mate, fingers crossed for ya

 

[RushesToo]

Keep records and you will know when to worry when it is worse than the year before - this is also known to get worse with age, through memory rather than reality. I have my fingers crossed for you.

If your an adrenaline junkie don't keep any records - you'll get your fix every lambing.

 

[bovine]

+1 The same applies for campylobacter, with blanket ab's being about the only thing you could do.

No evidence that blanket antibiotic treatment does anything for campy. I don't use it any more.

 

[Wolds Beef]

I'II be sat at the Lincoln Red Luncheon thinking about you on Sunday!!. We always would get a few at the start, It will pass, good luck, @yellowbelly I start calving on the 29th!! The last crop of calves from Walmer Joburg will appear.

 

[neilo]

No evidence that blanket antibiotic treatment does anything for campy. I don't use it any more.

The last proper campy storm we had was 2010 (IIRC). We had had 15% of the ewes aborted before we got a definite diagnosis from the vet lab. They had been vaccinated for Enzo & Toxo for years anyway, so we'd sort of ruled that out already. On vet advice, and knowing that there is Oxytet resistant campy about, we went through and jagged everything with Alamycin LA. Within 2 days, the abortions stopped.

Those ewes were all in one mob, outdoors on roots, without feed troughs or ring feeders (normally blamed fro it's spread) and having a fresh patch of land every 4 days or so. Nothing else was done, or could be done, over removing each ewe that slipped to an isolation field. They were slipping 3-4 weeks out, so couldn't even foster anything on, as no milk, so most didn't stay in the flock.

That was evidence enough for me to justify doing it again, particularly when the only other option is counting the losses and praying. Begun vaccinating young stock this year, so hopefully it won't be a significant issue again.

 

[yellowbelly]

Begun vaccinating young stock this year, so hopefully it won't be a significant issue again.

So you are currently vaccinating for Enzo, Toxo and Campylobacter?
Same old story with sheep - you just get on top of one thing and something else rears it's ugly head

 

[neilo]

So you are currently vaccinating for Enzo, Toxo and Campylobacter?
Same old story with sheep - you just get on top of one thing and something else rears it's ugly head

I dropped Enzo 2 years ago, in order to trim some costs. Being a closed flock, there 'should' be less of a risk of it.....

Toxo is a must IMO, having always farmed sheep near housing estates and the wandering cats that come with it. Campy has had a flair up here every 10 years or so, but wonder if it has always rumbled on in the firs time lambers, until they get immune to it through contact. Campy vaccine is only 30p/dose, which makes it an easy pill to swallow.

 

[gatepost]

I stopped Enzo, got about 20yrs out of it, closed flock etc, now vaccinating again, got bitten

 

[yellowbelly]

I stopped Enzo, got about 20yrs out of it, closed flock etc, now vaccinating again, got bitten

Hmm. I won't 'like' that.

 

[gatepost]

Hmm. I won't 'like' that.

Only stopped when for some reason vac wasn't available and never started again, still don't know were it came from, but I have plenty of carrion using the farm and now, thanks to new fashions, plenty of neighbours busy buying in lots of outdoor lambing ewes of various pedigrees and origin, plenty of lambing debris about.

 

[bovine]

The last proper campy storm we had was 2010 (IIRC). We had had 15% of the ewes aborted before we got a definite diagnosis from the vet lab. They had been vaccinated for Enzo & Toxo for years anyway, so we'd sort of ruled that out already. On vet advice, and knowing that there is Oxytet resistant campy about, we went through and jagged everything with Alamycin LA. Within 2 days, the abortions stopped.

That was evidence enough for me to justify doing it again, particularly when the only other option is counting the losses and praying. Begun vaccinating young stock this year, so hopefully it won't be a significant issue again.

It's the same pattern the disease follows without treatment (and I did used to treat). I suspect there is a common point of infection and those infected either go on and abort or not. Using a 'treatment' and observing an effect, without a control group, is why homeopathy seems to work