Premier Sheep-Goats

Premier Sheep-Goats Equipment and advice from the folks that use it…Every Day! Premier has partnered with renowned veterinarians to provide our customers professional advice.
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Our on-staff sheep/goat nutritionist plus veterinarians have years of real-world experience. For this free service send us an email at [email protected]—they’re available during our regular office hours. (Note: We also strongly urge that all livestock owners establish a close working relationship with their local veterinarians.)

08/13/2024

Question:
I'm wondering about some rams we have. They were tested and a few are deferred due to bent tails. What we are wondering is if we turn them out as extras what are the downsides? Will they cause deformity in the lambs or failed pregnancies? Is there anything we can do to correct it?

Veterinarian Response:
No, they will not cause deformities in the lambs. Bent tails are a storage defect in s***m production. They are not indicative of infection and may improve with time. The defect in the s***m prevents the s***m cell from penetrating the outer coating of the o**m or egg.

While at first glance turning the rams out as insurance seem harmless, however I advise against that thought. If one of these rams is dominant he will isolate the ewes that he breeds from other rams. This may result in only this ram breeding the ewes. If he is subfertile this can result in delayed conception/lambing and/or a higher rate of open ewes. I would not turn them out with ewes until that pass a breeding soundness exam.
– J. L. Goelz, D.V.M.

07/29/2024

Question:
A few of my sheep are showing signs of pinkeye. Do you have anything available that I can administer?

Veterinarian Response:
Pinkeye in sheep is usually caused by a bacteria call Chlamydia. This is a separate strain than the one that causes abortion or polyarthritis. Usually the infection is self-limiting, meaning that it often clears up on its own without treatment. If there is persistent ocular discharge or if there is a white lesion in the cornea (the other surface of the eye) the sheep should be treated with tetracycline ophthalmic ointment or systemic (injectable) tetracycline. These are Prescription drugs and will need to be acquired from a Veterinarian or with a Prescription from a Veterinarian.
Any sheep with pinkeye will benefit from being housed in a dark barn as sunlight will make the infection worse.
– J. L. Goelz, D.V.M.

07/02/2024

Question:
When using ciders, the package says to leave in for 5 days, but many people do, 10, 12, or 14. Is there a be if it to leaving it in longer? Also some give pg600 when they pull. Either a full 5cc dose or a 3cc dose. Should pg600 be given, will it help bring them into esterous?

Veterinarian Response:
CIDR’s need to be in for a minimum of 5 days. I actually prefer longer. Any length up to 12 days. What I usually recommend is to place the CIDR’s in a group of ewes all on the same day and stagger the removal with giving the ram no more than 2 ewes per day if a young ram and no more than 3 per day on a mature ram. So, you pull them starting at day 5 and finishing at day 12.

Warning: if you do not stagger you will overwhelm your ram. I have experience with people pulling 50 CIDR’s on the same day and turning them out with one ram. Take my advice…it is a disaster.

Adding PG600 may improve the response by around 5%. However it is very difficult to find now as it is on manufacture backorder until December. If you cannot get it you certainly can synchronize for out of season without it by using CIDR’s alone. If you do have it you can ½ dose (2.5 mL IM) or full dose (5 mL IM). Inject at the time of CIDR removal.
– J. L. Goelz, D.V.M.

05/24/2024

Question:
Our ram lamb who is about 4 months old has a soft round mass on his neck…. I’ve read possible iodine deficiency, could this be? And if so best treatment for it.

Nutritionist Response:
I do not think it is goiter/iodine deficiency. The thyroid is located at the lower jaw neck junction. If it is one side or the other of the neck than definitely not goiter.
You can put 10 cc of iodine on the back between the lambs shoulders blades. Just shoot it on the skin. Lamb will absorb the iodine.
– Dr. Dan Morrical, Production Expert - Premier 1 Supplies

04/18/2024

Question:
Someone recommended setting up a mineral bar for my sheep to let them decide which minerals they need instead of using pre-mixed mineral. Are you aware of any research on this?

Nutritionist Response:
All the research shows that animals cannot and will not balance their mineral intake with cafeteria mineral feeding systems.

Many of the individual minerals are not tasty and that is why most complete minerals have flavor enhancers and byproducts to get adequate intake. So by themselves they will not be consumed in adequate amounts.

Many mineral sources use some chelated minerals. This improves absorption but also increases cost. A cheaper approach is to increase the level of the specic mineral in the recipe. An example this zinc methionine (zinpro) versus zinc sulfate.
– Dr. Dan Morrical, Production Expert - Premier 1 Supplies

04/17/2024

Question:
I realize there has not been injectable or pour on dewormers for sheep for sometime. Is there any new products to consider. My rotational grazing and nutrition seems to work most of the time, but wanted to know if any new unlabeled (or labeled new) products could be used on sheep other than drenching.

Veterinarian Response:
Do not expect to ever see a pour-on formulation that will work on sheep. The pour-on formulation will not be able to pe*****te the oil layer in the wool and thus will not be effective. There are some option, but they are not new. SafeGuard (fenbendazole) can be used in the feed or mineral to deworm sheep without drenching as can Morantel (usually marketed to goats as a feed grade dewormer). These have different mechanisms of action than the avermectins (ivermectin, dectomax and cydectin). The newest dewormer for sheep is cydectin drench (approved about 10 years ago).
There is a combination of Levamisole and dormectin called Valcor that has been approved for cattle. I have not used it on sheep yet so I don’t have any experience. However if you have not used Levamisole in the past it will be effective as the resistance that develops is transient (it disappears when you don’t use it for about 3 years). Levamisole was approved for sheep about 50 years ago and is sold under the brand name prohibit. I should be in your arsenal of dewormers that you use.
– J. L. Goelz, D.V.M.

04/09/2024

Question:
When the goat is affected by the mastitis, how do we do the injection?

Veterinarian Response:
It really depends on what you are injecting. If you are injecting an injectable antibiotic this should be administered S.Q. (under the skin) either in the neck or behind the front leg along the ribs. If you are using an intrammary preparation (antibiotic mastitis tube) then you will want to hand milk out the affected side of the udder and administer the tube up the teat canal. Be sure to clean off the end of the teat with alcohol or disinfectant so that you don’t drag more infection into the udder.
– J. L. Goelz, D.V.M.

03/29/2024

Question:
I had a ewe prolapse a day after lambing a set of twins. I put sugar on the prolapse to reduce it, then washed it off and put on a prolapse harness. My question is how long should I keep the harness on and should I keep her in the jug to restrict movement - or let her out in the paddock with the other ewes and lambs?

Veterinarian Response:
I would leave the harness on for two weeks and keep her in a small pen so that you can observe. It doesn’t necessarily have to be a lambing jug with just her. Rather it can be a small pen with 3-8 other ewes/families. Often due to the strong flock instinct in sheep when they are isolated they tend to get anxious and are more comfortable with a few penmates.
– J. L. Goelz, D.V.M.

03/26/2024

Question:
I have been having trouble with my sheep losing their wool. For awhile it was just one of my sheep who was missing a patch of wool on their side. Now, it is happening with 2 of my other sheep as well. So three out of five of my sheep are missing patches of wool on their sides or back. Their skin doesn't seem irritated or anything like that. This started about a month and a half before lambing (mid January). What do you think could be causing them to lose wool?

Veterinarian Response:
There are four common causes of wool loss in sheep:

1. Lice – affected animals may rub on gates or posts. Generally the skin looks normal and pink but not reddened from scratching. The lice are very small and you will not see them with the naked eye. Treatment with pour-on such as delice or ultraboss is very effective.

2. Wool Break or Wool Slip – this is 1-2 weeks post a severe metabolic event, such as a snowstorm, transport stress, lambing, severe illness/infection, feed or water deprivation. The wool shaft will have a weakness at the time of the event. At the time it is protected by the follicle. 1-2 weeks later the wool shaft has grown out of the follicle and will “break” or “slip”. Wool will appear to come off in patches with bare skin left. At this time the metabolic event is in the past and normal wool will grow and replace lost wool.

3. Bunk rub – If the sheep are feeding at a bunk or manger, they will have wool loss where they are rubbing to get more feed. This is usually on the neck or top and sides of shoulder.

4. Wool loss from overhead feed mangers – If sheep are fed hay in an elevated manger (over their heads) they will get leaves in the wool. Other sheep will pick at the wool and you will see wool loss on their back. This also happens if hay is thrown over the backs of the sheep into a hay manger as the leaves get in the wool on the back and flockmates will pick at it.
– J. L. Goelz, D.V.M

03/26/2024

Question:
I ususally vacinate with Covexin 8 when I band the tails and casterate with bands. Due to no availability what are my options?

Veterinarian Response:
Use Vision CD/T instead.
– J. L. Goelz, D.V.M.

03/18/2024

Question:
I had a few ewes go down last year with what appeared to be grass staggers - inability to walk, lack of coordination, tense legs, rolled back eyes, etc

Is there a magnesium supplement available that could prevent some of these issues? We're a grassfed operation, so I'd ideally be offering it as a standalone free choice or mixing it with their existing mineral.

Nutritionist Response:
Normally magnesium oxide is the product most commonly used for preventing grass tetany. However, it is not very palatable. Magnesium sulfate is way more palatable, but it contains less magnesium. I would suggest you mix your mineral with magnesium sulfate. Epsom Salts is magnesium sulfate. I would mix in 80:20. How much mineral the sheep are eating is dependent on the salt content of the mineral. You need to start the high mag mineral 2-3 weeks ahead of spring turnout. You can also get magnesium sulfate at your local feed mill. It will be cheaper than Epsom salts from pharmacy or Walmart.

If you are fertilizing your pastures you may want to split the applications doing half in spring and half in June. Or maybe only half as much put on in June. Manure does the same thing. Also you need to watch your potassium and avoid fertilizing with excess potassium.
– Dan Morrical, Production Expert - Premier 1 Supplies

03/06/2024

Question:
I was wondering if you have any thoughts on feeding fescue hay to sheep and goats? I've found very conflicting articles on the subject.

Nutritionist Response:
Sheep and goats are more tolerant to fescue than cattle. Generally sheep and goats are bred in the fall when temperatures are cooler where as cattle tend to be bred in summer heat for spring calves. Cattle have also been primarily converted to black hair and hides which creates even more heat stress. Sheep have wool insulation to help prevent heat stress.

Other than that information I am not sure what to add. Fescue tends to be dilution issue. So either feed some grain or other type of hay to dilute out the endophyte.
– Dan Morrical, Production Expert - Premier 1 Supplies

03/05/2024

Question:
We are using your trace mineral pack mixed with plain salt for our commercial flock. We are experiencing a few goiters this lambing season. Do you have any ideas was is going on? Thanks for your insights.

Nutritionist Response:
We all know the typical iodine deficiency of enlarged goiters and poorly developed wool covering of newborn lambs. Still births are also symptom of iodine deficiency. Iodine is required for hormones that set the basal metabolic rate of an animal. Thermoregulation is one of iodine’s involvement in the body.
Premier’s Sheep Trace Mineral pack is designed to fully meet the iodine needs of your flock with 545 ppm iodine. So, to evaluate other mineral sources you would need 125 ppm iodine with one ounce intake to equal our trace mineral salt. The 2007 Small Ruminant NRC set the iodine requirements at .5ppm for growth and .8ppm for lactating ewes. Very few studies have evaluated the iodine level in forages. We conducted a study of Iowa forages a few years before I retired. Our study found hay samples in Iowa averaged .35 ppm iodine and Dairyland Laboratories reported average Iodine levels of .25 ppm. So, we are short in Iowa and probably the Midwest. The last aspect of iodine requirements is
that they increase during cold weather. Some research indicates up to five times. Our formulation is set at almost 200% of NRC to account for cold stress and animal to animal variation.

One of the things we do not discuss very often is the individual variation in mineral intake by a group of ewes. Research has been done on mineral intake and one way of increasing intake is to ensure more feeder space such that shy, timid ewes have easier access to the mineral. Research under grazing conditions demonstrated that up to 19% of the ewes ate almost no mineral. They just do not read and follow the feed tag. Dry lotted ewes have more consistent intakes. Lastly to ensure intake try to keep
the mineral dry. With the Midwest drought that is easy right now. Spring rains will eventually arrive and Premier webpage has ideas on conditioners that you can add to help prevent caking. If one is
feeding a total mixed ration than including the flocks daily mineral needs in the TMR is the best way to insure uniform and correct level of mineral intake. Another option is to include their daily mineral needs in the grain mix.

There are two forms of iodine hormones in the sheep’s body, T3 and T4. An enzyme that contains selenium is necessary to convert T3 to the active form of T4. So, if selenium is short, you could see an iodine deficiency when it is actually a selenium shortage.

High levels of iron interfere with iodine absorption. Some hays have 300 or more ppm iron and would negatively impact iodine uptake. Try to keep mowers out of the dirt and control the gophers to decrease iron levels.
– Dan Morrical, Production Expert - Premier 1 Supplies

03/04/2024

Question:
I have a ewe lamb that just lambed. She has great colostrum on 1 side, but the other side is very dark red bloody. Appears to ne far more like blood than milk. What could be the cause of this, should it be treated, and do you expect this half of bag will ever be normal?

Veterinarian Response:
It is not infection. It is simply a ruptured blood vessel that has leaked into the milk cistern in the udder. It will clear up in a few days. The only risk is that because of the blood the lambs may refuse to nurse on that side. If so hand milk it and get the lambs to nurse that side of the udder or the ewe will get mastitis.
– J. L. Goelz, D.V.M.

02/27/2024

Question:
We have a ewe that seems to have swollen knees and was having a very hard time getting around. She had her lambs today which is helping but is there something that can be given to her when she is lactating?

Veterinarian Response:
The swelling in the knees on an adult sheep is from arthritis. This will be more severe when they are pregnant and will be less severe after lambing. There is nothing that we can do to cure the arthritis. Pain medication such as banamine, aspirin or meloxicam will temporarily minimize lameness but it will come back as soon as the drugs wear off. You will want to get her on your cull list after weaning.
– J. L. Goelz, D.V.M.

02/26/2024

Question:
Why does your ADE premix contain lower levels of Vitamin A and D compared to other sources.

Nutritionist Response:
Premier ADE premix was formulated to meet the fat soluble vitamin needs of sheep and goats without having to add extra E. Vitamin A and D are cheap relative to vitamin E so most ADE premixes are high in A and D and low in E. Sheep have a requirement of 30-40 IU per kg bodyweight for Vitamin A. So with a complete feed for lamb’s they need roughly 1 million IU of Vitamin A per ton. The requirement for vitamin D is set at 25% to 40% of the vitamin A requirement. Hays are excellent source of vitmin D and ewes and lambs can make their own vitamin D via sunlight on the skin. So our Vitamin D level was set at 10% of A. However, our A is close to twice the need of sheep and goat so are D level is really 20% of A requirement. Again, Vitamin E is the mostly likely deficient fat soluble vitamin for animals in drylot and being fed harvested feedstuffs. Growing, green pasture contains high levels of vitamin A and E, so grazing animals may not need any supplement vitamin A and E supplementation. Obviously, if grazing then animals have lots of exposure to sunlight and natural synthesis of vitamin D.
Vitamin E requirements for ewes are 50 to 300 IU of vitamin E per day. Green hays less than 6 months old contain around 15 IU of vitamin E per pound. So, with four pounds of hay intake, hay would meet a ewe’s requirements. Supplemental levels of vitamin E are beneficial for reproduction and helping overcome selenium shortages. Lastly high levels of vitamin E in late gestation and lactation increases milk vitamin E levels and helps prevent white muscle disease/selenium deficiency in lambs prior to their consuming adequate creep. Lamb rations need to contain at least 60,000 IU of vitamin E per ton. If one is counting on vitamin E in the mineral to meet the 50 IU of E requirement of ewes than vitamin E in mineral needs to be 1600 IU per pound of mineral with a .5 ounce daily mineral intake. Most minerals are way short of that concentration in terms of vitamin E.
– Dr. Dan Morrical, Production Expert - Premier 1 Supplies

02/21/2024

Question:
What would cause otherwise very healthy lambs being born blind? Please help there's 3 already! A single birth and now a set of twins!

Veterinarian Response:
If the eyes are watery or if there is a discoloration to the cornea (outer surface of the eye) you need to check the lower lid for entropion (inverted eyelids) If they curl in the lashes are rubbing against the surface of the eye creating the blindness. In this case the lambs are normal at birth but the physical irritation causes the problem. The eyelid can be fixed with wound clips.

If the cornea is affected immediately at birth it is a bacterial infection in the uterus (neonatal opthalmia) and should be treated with antibiotics.

If the cornea is normal but the lamb does not have vision even though the eye look normal then we need to be thinking about vitamin A deficiency. In this case the optic nerve is being strictured as the lack of vitamin A prevents normal bone remodeling. Treatment with vitamin A injectable will usually restore normal vision.
– J. L. Goelz, D.V.M.

02/20/2024

Question:
I am using a new sire this year and have a small group of lambs sired by him. There are 6 ram lambs total, but 2 of them have an undendenced testicle/one testicle. One lamb I didn't catch until 30 days old and could not feel a second testicle in the body. The other is 3 days old and I can not feel a second testicle and can not get it to drop if it does exist when rubbing the area.

I have never had this happen before, so I'm thinking it is a result of the new sire. Does this make sense that is a genetic effect of the new ram or could it be something else I'm not considering?

The single testicle rams, I will sell as market lambs. I'm wondering what should be culled and is acceptable for breeding purposes (if genetically linked):
- The other sons- they present two normally developed testicles - okay for breeding purposes?
- Is there a concern with keeping daughters of this new herd sire?

Veterinarian Response:
Great questions...not great answers for you. There is a genetic predisposition in family lines for testicles that don't drop. I guarantee they are there, they are either tight against the outside of the abdomen at the neck of the sc***um or they are inside the abdomen. If they are inside the abdomen the lamb will behave like an intact ram.

So there is a genetic tendency and if you have never had it before the new sire is likely a culprit. It is possible that the breeder where you purchased it from may not have know. Normal two testicle half siblings to the affected lambs are potentially carriers but there is no way to know for certain, expect for using them and seeing if offspring are affected.
– J. L. Goelz, D.V.M.

02/16/2024

Question:
Is there any medication or feed supplements/additives that can help boost milk production? I have an older ewe who had twins and she just isn’t producing much milk this year. She’s never had this issue before and her udder seems healthy, just not full. There are no signs of mastitis and she is doing well otherwise. I realize it might just be a sign that her productive years are over, but just curious!

Nutritionist Response:
Unfortunately there is probably nothing that will work as well as you want. Since she had been a good producer in the past, I wonder if she has some undetectable udder damage that is impacting milk production. The other possibility is that she is just not eating well. This could be a broken mouth or an uneven molar that does not let chew her cud properly.

Increasing her energy and protein intake would be what I would try if her mouth looks fine. However do it slowly so as to not upset her rumen.
Be careful prying the mouth open to check teeth so you do not get bit.
– Dr. Dan Morrical, Production Expert - Premier 1 Supplies

02/15/2024

Question:
I have an 8 year old ewe that was due to lamb any day. Yesterday she had thick, vaginal discharge. I checked her and pelvic bones were open but cervix was not dilated. She was acting fine with good appetite so I let her be. Tonight she went into labor. I had to pull the lambs - both fully developed, large and appeared completely normal but dead. No sack on either. What would cause a full term pregnancy to end in dead lambs with no warning signs?

Veterinarian Response:
This is likely a full term abortion. My guess is that the ewe went into labor a few days early but already had dead lambs. The cervix didn’t dilate normally because the ewe had not released relaxin. Relaxin causes the cartilage to loosen which allows the cervix to dilate when oxytocin causes the uterine contractions.

I consider this a late term abortion. If you get more than 2% of the ewes that do this you may have an abortion pathogen present and you will want to submit aborted fetuses and placenta to a veterinary diagnostic lab to get a diagnosis.
– J. L. Goelz, D.V.M.

02/14/2024

Question:
Our wool ewes are due to lamb at any time. The last week its been real muddy and they are showing symptoms of foot scald. Can I run them through a foot bath now without affecting the lamb? Can I give them some kind of injection that would help the lameness? If I can do a foot bath what is the rate I should use?

Veterinarian Response:
Yes you can run pregnant and close-up ewes through a foot bath. I usually use either a 1:19 dilution of formaldehyde or zinc sulfate (8 # per 40 gallons of water). If you have not used formaldehyde it can only be used as a walk through footbath, not a foot soak as prolonged contact will cause chemical burns to the feet. Also the fumes are nasty so you will want it at the end of an alleyway as sheep tend to stop when they smell it and you need 4-5 behind them so they cannot back up. Also, you should have some distance between you and the formaldehyde as the fumes can make you nauseous.
Treatment with an antibiotics such as Zactran has great results in clearing foot scald up with one injection.
–J. L. Goelz, D.V.M.

02/13/2024

Question:
Had a lamb develop a softball sized hematoma at her CD&T injection site. Have seen small lumps before, but never anything like this in 40 years. Doesn’t seem to bother her a bit. Having been waiting for it to reduce on its own. Draining it is an option I would like to avoid. Any advice on next steps?

Veterinarian Response:
First of all I would leave it alone for at least 3-4 weeks. This will give it time to resolve on its own. If it is a blood clot it should gradually reduce in size. If it has not gone down in 3-4 weeks or is enlarging there is a chance that there is infection in there. The only way to tell is to pierce it with an 18 gauge by 1.5 inch sterile needle attached to a syringe (3-12 cc syringe). Try to suck any fluid out. If it is pus you will need to lance it and drain it. If it is blood or serum (yellow tinged fluid) do not lance it as it may bleed. If you do not get anything out of it you have two choices, leave it or have a vet remove it surgically.
The needle size is important as if there is blood it will leave a small enough hole that it will clot.
– J. L. Goelz, D.V.M.

02/06/2024

Question:
I use the shepherds choice goat mineral mix and I noticed there’s no phosphorus in it. Most literature I come across says calcium should be at a 2:1 ration w phosphorus. Am I missing something or does this mineral mix not contain phosphorus, and if it does not I wonder why not?

Nutritionist Response:
Most discussions on calcium and phosphorous does suggest a 2 to 1 ratio but that is only in regards to urinary calculi in males. Also that is with high grain diets as they contain more phosphorous than calcium and need calcium supplementation.

The actual requirements for calcium and phosphorous for ewes are closer to a 1.3 to 1 ratio. Cool season grass hay contains around .25% calcium and .2% phosphorous. And meets the ewes Ca and P needs except in late gestation and lactation.

The two to one calcium phophorous is not needed except for high grain rations. With alfalfa hay there is over 1.2% calcium which would require lots of expensive phosphorous supplementation to create the 2:1 ratio. It is okay to have high calcium with out high phosphorous.
– Dan Morrical, Production Expert - Premier 1 Supplies

02/02/2024

Question:
Hello, I was wondering if you are able to use the oral lamb strength oil on goat kids and what benefits it has to offer.

Nutritionist Response:
The baby lamb strength will work on baby goats. It provides some quick energy and vitamin E to the newborns. Vitamin E does not transfer across the placenta and lambs much get their E from milk or supplemental that we give them.
– Dan Morrical, Production Expert - Premier 1 Supplies

01/17/2024

Question:
We had a goat born today that appears to be blind. No cloudiness of the eyes but doesn’t seem to react to anything close to his face and doesn’t seem to have any sense of direction. He just stands there and screams. Not sure what it could be or what I could give him.

Veterinarian Response:
This does happen but is rare. You should try dexamethasone at ¼ mL daily for three days (about .5 mg) injected. If the blindness is cause by intracranial swelling he may improve. If you don’t see improvement you will want to euthanize the lamb.
– J. L. Goelz, D.V.M.

01/09/2024

Question:
I raise sheep in an area with very low selenium in our soil. I provide the Premier 1 GOLD Formula Sheep Trace Mineral Premix free choice to our flock. Many people in our area give a dose of BoSe annually to their breeding flock. Given the Trace Mineral has selenium in it, is a dose of BoSe for my adult ewes likely to cause selenium toxicity? Of course I can't be sure that every ewe has exactly the recommended mineral salt intake.

Nutritionist Response:
That is a very good question. Yes unfortunately the ewes do not read the label and follow the feeding directions. The first step is to monitor the trace mineral salt intake. In most cases I find ewes eat a touch more than the .25 ounce intake. However there are times when the group does not eat at that rate. I would calculate how much the group should eat in a weeks’ time. Weigh that out and offer it to them. See how many days that lasts. Once we have an idea on intake than we can see how much more selenium they might need. Second part is how many milliliters/CC of BoSe you give. The BoSe shots are part of old recommendations before FDA allowed us to triple the amount of selenium we could supplement per day. With the .25 ounce intake of the trace mineral salt mixture the ewes will be getting .65 mg selenium per day. Which meets the ewes requirements. However sheep on dormant forage or stored hay may be short on vitamin E. That is why we suggest producers also mix in ADE premix.
- Dr. Dan Morrical, Production Expert - Premier 1 Supplies

01/02/2024

Question:
For the 1st time in 15 years, I have a round of goat kids born with contracted tendons. Our embryo transplant set, born 1 week earlier and different genetics, had not issue. Our AI set, all by one new sire, seems to have the issue in about 25% of the kids, with different levels of severity. Is there a treatment? Is there a prevention, for the future?

Veterinarian Response:
There really isn’t a way to prevent as we do not know the exact cause. If it is truly contracted tendons you can splint the lower leg (from elbow down) such that the toe places correctly. As the kid bears weight the muscles and tendons will stretch and in a few days it will be normal.
This is completely different than arthrogryposis that can happen in newborn lambs and kids from cache valley virus. I that case the lambs/kids are born dead or dying and the extremity joints are fused.
– J. L. Goelz, D.V.M.

12/15/2023

Question:
I have had sheep for many years, but we switched to goats. My does were due this week.. We have 6 and three have aborted.about a month ago. Michigan State Lab detected toxoplasma. I originally thought they were wormy and had f***l count done. They were high and I wormed with safeguard and moxidectin. The abortions happened a day after worming.
Would wormers cause abortion? Can the does we thought had toxoplasma be rebred successfully? Is there an additive I can put in the feed to help prevent toxoplasma? We may have a stray cat occasionally. But do have groundhogs, mice and deer.

Veterinarian Response:
The wormer did not cause the abortion. It was coincidence that they aborted after deworming. Toxoplasma is a common cause of abortion in sheep and goats. Once they are infected their immune system will respond and they will have very good immunity (probably for life). If they are infected when they are not pregnant they do not show any signs.
Toxoplasma can be prevented by feeding rumensin or decox throughout gestation.
Toxoplasma can be transmitted to humans and can cause abortion in pregnant women.
– J. L. Goelz, D.V.M.

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Have a question about sheep or goats? Premier 1 Supplies has partnered with Pipestone Veterinary Services to provide our customers with professional advice. We now have an on-staff sheep/goat nutritionist plus Pipestone veterinarians with years of real-world experience. Post your question to our page, call or send us an email, they’re available during regular office hours. (Note: We also strongly urge that all livestock owners establish a close working relationship with their local veterinarians.)

Pipestone Veterinary Services has provided sheep production and health knowledge, feeds, supplements and supplies to sheep and goat producers throughout the United States for 75 years.

Both Premier and Pipestone have shared a similar mission for the sheep and goat industry. Premier will continue to focus on providing innovative products, including those previously offered by Pipestone. And we will expand our role as a world-class resource for up-to-date information and advice, with the same core values you’ve come to expect from both Pipestone and Premier. The future for our industry is bright!

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