What are the opening hours?

Monday 7am - 5:30pm Tuesday 7am - 5:30pm Wednesday 7am - 5:30pm Thursday 7am - 5:30pm Friday 7am - 5:30pm Saturday 8am - 12pm

Premier Sheep-Goats

Home
United States
Washington, IA
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.

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.)

01/13/2025

Question:
I am having a lot of problem with lameness since wet weather set in. Most of them are sore up between the toes.
What is the difference between foot rot and foot scald? What causes either and what is treatment for either? What can you tell me about using Zactran? What other things should I consider? (Mineral, too much grain, etc.)

Veterinarian Response:
First footrot vs. foot scald. Infectious, contagious footrot in sheep if much different than cattle. It is caused by a co-infection of two anaerobic bacteria. The bacteria work together to undermine the hoof wall and cause a liquefactive necrosis. This presents as a moist severe lesion in the hoof wall with a noticeable, distinct odor. Cleaning and aggressive trimming of the hoof is necessary to expose the lesion to air which will kill the bacteria. Even with aggressive trimming and antibiotics it may take 2-3 weeks for the hoof and sheep to be normal.

Foot scald is a white to grey milky type lesion between the hooves. The hoof wall itself is sound and there is no odor. While foot scald will appear contagious in that multiple sheep will be affected. The real cause is that all of the sheep are exposed to the same wet, organic bedding, soil or mud. Getting the sheep into a dry pen/lot/paddock will clear up the infection. Treating with an antibiotic such as Zactran and/or running the sheep through a formaldehyde or zinc footbath will speed the improvement in the lesion.

Based on your description it sounds like foot scald. I do recommend that you do some trimming looking for lesions in the hoof wall and odor. I cannot adequately describe the odor, but believe me you will know when you find it as it is very profound and memorable.
– J. L. Goelz, D.V.M.

01/08/2025

Question:
I’m a bit confused about what size umbilical tape I’d need to fix a re**al prolapse using a re**al ring and what size I’d need to fix a pr*****ed uterus with a S needle. Could you possibly help?

Veterinarian Response:
I generally use the smaller umbilical tape with the re**al rings as you can get it tighter to cut off the blood flow. Alternatively, you can use an elastrator band if you can get it large enough. For suturing a vaginal or umbilical prolapse I will use the larger size. This is because I do not want it to cut through the tissue.
– J. L. Goelz, D.V.M.

12/13/2024

Question:
We are having a problem with several ewes prolapsing several weeks prior to lambing. Is there something we can do to avoid this, are they lacking some nutrition or what is the cause of this?

Nutritionist Response:
Normally vaginal prolapses is created from excess hay fill. The most common flock problem is with ewes being fed big round bales and uncontrolled intake. I know big rounds are easier and cheaper. One can limit the time ewes have access to big bales to 2 or so hours per day. Adequate bales must be out to all ewes can easily get around the bale to feed. Otherwise somebody may be trampled or they do not get their share.

In terms of deficiency, I would start with calcium. Late gestation ewes need 8 to 10 grams of calcium. Good grass hay only provides around 4 grams. A basic sheep mineral provides another 3 grams of calcium. I would add 2% limestone to the grain mixture. Even with 10% lamb balancer in the grain mix the calcium is still a little short. You should also consider add 2 pounds of ADE premix to the grain mix. Vitamin E is not probably involved in the vaginal prolapses but extra E is beneficial to lamb survival. I would add enough E to get at least 100 IU of E per head per day. I routinely feed 200 plus IU of E to late gestation and lactation ewes.
– Dr. Dan Morrical, Production Expert - Premier 1 Supplies

12/05/2024

Question:
I am having issues with thiamine deficiency what can I add to my feed to resolve this deficiency?

Nutritionist Response:
You can add 5-10 grams of thiamine per ton of grain mix. You can also make sure lambs are getting some long stem hay to increase chewing and reduce acidosis. You also need to increase the particle size of the corn so that it digests slower. You can also add a buffer to the diet ie sodium bicarbonate at 25 pounds per ton.
Lastly consistent feeding times and amounts are also important to reduce acidosis which can lead to thiamine deficiency/polio.
– Dr. Dan Morrical, Production Expert - Premier 1 Supplies

12/03/2024

💡Tuesday Tip: How to Tube Feed a Newborn Lamb or Kid

Tube feeding can be a lifesaving skill for weak or orphaned newborn lambs and kids. Here’s how to do it safely:

1️⃣ Prepare Your Supplies
Use a clean, soft, flexible feeding tube (16–18 inches for lambs/kids).
Have warm colostrum or milk ready (about 105°F).
2️⃣ Position the Animal
Hold the lamb or kid securely upright, keeping its head slightly elevated and neck straight.
3️⃣ Insert the Tube Carefully
Dip the tube in warm water or lubricant for easier insertion.
Gently guide the tube down the left side of the animal’s throat.
Ensure the tube goes into the esophagus, not the windpipe. If you feel resistance or hear rasping, stop and reposition.
4️⃣ Check Placement
Lightly press the throat; you should feel the tube, not air movement.
The animal should not cough or struggle excessively.
5️⃣ Feed Slowly
Attach the syringe or feeding bag and slowly let the milk flow. Never force it!
6️⃣ Remove the Tube
Gently remove the tube in one smooth motion.
👉 Pro Tip: Ensure the milk temperature and cleanliness to avoid scalding or infections.

Visit Premier 1 Supplies https://www.premier1supplies.com/p/stomach-tubes?criteria=tube+feeding
to purchase supplies you might need for tube feeding.
Save this tip for emergencies and share it to help fellow producers! 🐑🐐💪

10/09/2024

Question:
I have a 4yr old southdown ewe who continues to mount other ewes, she has been marked 3 times by the ram. Does she have cystics ovaries? Any remedies if so?

Veterinarian Response:
You are likely looking at a hormonal problem with the ewe. She may have cystic ovaries or it may be something different that is causing an increase in hormones causing her to exhibit ram like behavior. The great majority of these simply get culled from the flock and we never really know what the cause of the problem is. There is little that we can do other than treating her with a dose of GnRH (gonadotropin releasing hormone) to cause ovulation and regression of a follicular cyst if that is the problem.
– J. L. Goelz, D.V.M.

09/26/2024

Farm Manager position in Washington, IA.

Premier Experimental Farms is seeking a working farm manager to work along side our livestock manager (Fiona) in managing 900 acres of pastures, fences, crp, woodland, crops (hay/silage), buildings. Our farm consists of 700 ewes, meat goats and pastured chickens. It also field-tests products for Premier 1 Supplies (same owners), and assists with photo opportunities of products in use. The opportunity exists to assist Premier with developing new products. The ideal candidate will permanently relocate to Washington County, Iowa.

Premier Experimental Farms is equipped with modern farm machines and 50,000 sq. ft. of barn space.

Desired Skills and Experience:
• Management aptitude with the ability to manage two full-time farm staff
• Ability to operate farm machinery: Balers, mowers, loaders, truck, etc.
• Sheep and goat experience
• Basic mechanic skills
• Positive attitude
• Ability to work well with others
• Excellent pay and benefits including: 401K, health, vision, dental, and bonus opportunities. Relocation assistance will be considered.

Please email resume to [email protected].

09/10/2024

Question:
I have a question on bottle jaw in yearling sheep. When we woke up this morning she has a soft squishy lump that's pretty big on the bottom of her jaw and neck. She eats and drinks just fine so far this morning. Could bottle jaw develop overnight? I did look at her eyes and they are more pale pink with white. I read this is mostly parasite related. We move our sheep daily. They are always in fresh pasture. Is there something I can give her? Also should I be giving her a protein block? Or iron? There is a lot of iron in our water naturally.

Veterinarian Response:
Bottle jaw is fluid in the tissues due to low blood protein. The number one cause of low blood protein in sheep is a heavy parasite load. Bottle jaw may “appear” or “disappear” suddenly based on position of the head prior to observation. If the sheep was grazing the fluid will pool below the jaw due to gravity. If the same sheep had its head up for 10 minutes prior to observation the fluid will be in the base of the neck and unobservable. Once the parasites are killed it will take 1-2 weeks to replenish blood protein. Therefore, while bottle jaw can be used as an indicator of parasitism it should never be used to determine if deworming was successful or unsuccessful.

There are a number of dewormers available including ivermectin, dectomax, cydection, valbazen, prohibit (levamisole) that all work very well. They do not require a prescription from your Veterinarian. I would deworm this sheep and all pen mates. You will need to deworm 2 to 10 times a year depending on climate, rainfall, local weather, genetics of the sheep, pasture rotation, pasture stocking density and temperature. Rotation between 2-3 dewormers will avoid the development of resistance.

Supplementing iron is not necessary in ruminants. Ruminants will get all of the iron they will every need through the forage they consume. They do not become iron deficient and rate limiting step in red blood cell production is not iron like monogastric animals, it is time.
– J. L. Goelz, D.V.M.

09/06/2024

Question:
We have a ewe that is vaginal prolapsing during the times she is cycling to breed. I'm going to cull her but was curious if this would be a deficiency or something I need to test for? All I've read about online just talks about a heavy pregnant ewe doing it.

Veterinarian Response:
She is prolapsing due to the increased estrogen causing loosening of the tissues in the perineal area. This also happens in late gestation. It is uncommon to see when the ewes are cycling, however if you do see it now it will be way more severe in late pregnancy. Cull her now.
– J. L. Goelz, D.V.M.

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.

Address

2031 300th Street
Washington, IA
52353

Opening Hours

Monday	7am - 5:30pm
Tuesday	7am - 5:30pm
Wednesday	7am - 5:30pm
Thursday	7am - 5:30pm
Friday	7am - 5:30pm
Saturday	8am - 12pm

Website

http://www.premier1supplies.com/

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Premier Sheep-Goats posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Business

Send a message to Premier Sheep-Goats:

Shortcuts

Our Story

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!