Sheep diseases: types, causes, symptoms and treatment

2024 Author: Howard Calhoun | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:16

Know what diseases are in sheep, should all breeders involved in the breeding of these mammals. Recently, the popularity of sheep breeding has increased, as the benefits of such an activity have become obvious. True, an inexperienced person, without paying enough attention to the prevention and treatment of diseases, can easily be left without all the livestock at once. To prevent this from happening, you need to know what are contagious and what are non-contagious diseases of sheep, how you can prevent them, how you can cure them.

General information

All diseases of sheep, goats and other animals are divided into infectious, caused by parasites, non-infectious and provoked by mycoplasma. Insects are known that initiate diseases in representatives of the flock. Infectious arise due to exposure to microorganisms, a variety of pathological agents that penetrate from the outside into the animal's body. Infections are spreadinginside the flock between individuals, can cause disease of the entire livestock, mass mortality. Non-infectious are more often caused by a lack of diet, poor living conditions.

Infectious diseases often become a problem for a sheep breeder who has just acquired a new individual, which turns out to be a carrier of the disease. There is a risk of infection through the equipment used in the work. If a person was first on the territory of an infectious farm, and then came to another area, he can bring the disease with him, as he becomes a carrier. When planning to increase the flock or visit other farms, you need to follow the general rules to prevent diseases.

About prevention

In order not to experience the most common diseases in sheep, it is necessary to buy new sheep strictly from farms known for their well-being in terms of animal he alth. Each copy obtained in this way must have a veterinarian's certificate demonstrating the level of he alth. New individuals on your farm should be kept in quarantine for the first time. You should regularly inspect them in order to notice something was wrong in time. Separate maintenance and checks by a doctor are needed for early detection of manifestations of dangerous diseases, potential risks. This will help reduce the risk of losing your entire herd due to disease.

Infectious diseases are known to have a long incubation period. There are also diseases that occur without any symptoms. This makes quarantine especially important.an event that allows you to save the existing livestock.

Disease Prevention

To prevent parasitic diseases of sheep, it is necessary to treat all livestock from worms at least twice a year. To do this, use the drugs recommended by the veterinarian. The optimal period for the first event is the spring months, shortly before the flock moves to open grazing. A second procedure should be carried out in the fall, as the period of residence of the sheep in the stalls approaches. To prevent parasitic invasion, you need to water the herd with clean liquid. Water must be of the highest quality. You can not draw water from puddles, use reservoirs in which there is stagnant water. It is also recommended to rotate pastures regularly. The rays of the sun are dangerous for helminth eggs, larvae that have penetrated the soil with the secretions of diseased specimens. By leaving the contaminated land alone for a while, the owner gives it the opportunity to cleanse itself and become safe.

It is equally important to pay attention to sheep diseases that affect the limbs. To eliminate such problems in the economy, it is important to introduce mandatory requirements for cleanliness. Floors, bedding available in the stalls must be extremely clean. One of the main tasks of the livestock breeder is the regular inspection of the entire livestock. If some individual limps, it is isolated, a group is formed from such animals. For their maintenance, a closed corral is assigned. It is believed that diseases of the hooves are well prevented with a formalin solution or a 10% solution of copper sulphate. Chemicals are used to prepare water for a water treatment. Baths are placed atentry every 10 days. All rooms, platforms, pens must be processed, removing the remains of feces, bedding. Dampness caused by them is highly likely to lead to hoof diseases.

Infectious and intestinal

One of the serious problems of modern animal husbandry is infectious diseases of sheep. They spread from the mother to the gestating fetus at the birth of the lamb. You can get infected during a natural abortion. If the cub died, it is necessary to burn or bury the body. The area where the birth took place is cleaned after normal lambing. It is important to change the bedding.

Mastitis is quite common. To prevent this disease, you need to care for the udder. If an individual is sick, it is kept separately from the others.

To exclude diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, they control what individuals eat, what they drink. Of particular note are female specimens during the period of gestation and feeding of the lamb. Such animals are given special food, enriched with mineral inclusions, carotene. In winter, they are regularly walked and treated with ultraviolet radiation.

Sheep are afraid of lung diseases. To prevent them, it is necessary to exclude drafts. The stall must not be gassed. Otara should walk regularly in winter. For prophylactic purposes, animals are given antibiotics, sera.

Smallpox

Infectious diseases of sheep are traditionally considered the main problem of the flock. If it is not possible to identify the problem in time, the disease quickly spreads amonglivestock. There are frequent cases of mass death. There is also danger for humans. The classic representative of especially dangerous diseases is smallpox. It is initiated by a viral agent. When infected, an individual has a fever, appetite worsens or disappears, rashes form on the skin and mucous membranes. The rash is more often seen in areas where there is no hair: nasal wings, labial surface, areas near the eyes, udder, legs. The bubbles that appear in these areas burst over time, crusts appear. After some time, they fall off, thereby leading to the further spread of a dangerous virus. On average, the duration of one case is three weeks. For treatment, it is necessary to transfer sick individuals to a separate room. Antibiotics are given regularly. To combat smallpox use penicillin, terramycin. Serum, caprina are shown as a prophylactic.

Brucellosis

Another dangerous sheep disease for humans is brucellosis. It proceeds especially brightly in a pregnant female, can cause abortion, endometritis with the generation of pus, slowing down the discharge of the placenta. In the chronic form, the disease is accompanied by chronic inflammation, articular deformity. In the male, the testicles become inflamed. Infection can occur through mucous membranes, skin, gastrointestinal tract, birth canal, during mating. The only way to fight the disease is through prevention. All sheep must first be checked for the presence of this infection. If such a sheep is found, it should be kept separately. After the abortionit is necessary to check the miscarriage in the laboratory. Rooms used for keeping individuals should be disinfected regularly. It is necessary to check the he alth of personnel working with specimens. There should be no skin lesions present on human skin. Do not eat food obtained from sick individuals. If a person works with an infectious (potentially sick) animal, special vaccines should be administered regularly.

Necrobacilosis

An experienced livestock breeder should be aware of these sheep diseases and their treatment. Necrobacillosis belongs to the category of infectious diseases. Lesions can be seen on the skin, mucous membranes. In most cases, hooves are affected in sheep. Infection occurs if there are wounds on the hooves, the dense layer has softened due to some factors. In this case, the disease first spreads into the gap of the hooves, affecting the skin, then provokes swelling in this area, then covers the horny wall. An increased risk of disease in individuals forced to graze in a wetland.

Before starting, based on the symptoms of diseases in sheep, their treatment, you need to study the condition of the hooves. Sometimes it becomes necessary to cut off the affected areas. After that, the limbs are carefully processed. Use zinc or copper sulfate. If the infection has become massive, group treatment is necessary. To do this, organize baths with a solution of potassium permanganate or copper sulfate. A fairly effective remedy is biomycin. It is prescribed in a dosage depending on the weight of the individual: 0.02 mg / kg. Durationtherapeutic program - 4-7 days. The drug is administered twice a day.

FMD

FMD is a fairly dangerous and widespread disease of sheep. It belongs to the category of infectious, proceeds acutely. FMD can be suspected if aphthous foci of ulceration appear on exposed skin areas. Hooves, mucous membranes can be affected. To get rid of the symptoms of the disease, use tripaflavin, copper sulfate. If foot-and-mouth disease has struck the hooves, clay baths must be done. In the trench, mix the creolin (or formalin) mortar and clay.

Pasteurellosis

Pasteurellosis is a disease of sheep from the infectious category. Because of it, the intestinal and respiratory mucous membranes become the area of localization of hemorrhagic lesions. Often the disease is accompanied by pulmonary inflammation, pleuropneumonia. The infection penetrates from infected individuals and those who have recently been ill. The secondary source of infection is objects that have come into contact with the secretions of a sick sheep. The disease can proceed at lightning speed, there is a possibility of an acute, subacute or chronic form.

About development options

The lightning variant of the course is more often observed in young animals. An infected specimen suddenly weakens, trembles, falls to the ground, dies - all this takes only a few minutes.

Acute course lasts up to five days. A sick individual becomes weak, she does not want to eat, she is thrown into a fever. On the second day there is a runny nose,at first mucous, then with discharges of pus. Gradually, it is supplemented by a cough, loose stools with blood inclusions. High probability of death. Severe convulsions may occur.

Subacute course lasts up to three weeks, transforms into a chronic form. In a sick animal, the neck, jaw, and chest area swell. Over time, pulmonary, pleural inflammation, runny nose is fixed.

With the above symptoms of sheep diseases, their treatment involves the appointment of antibiotics. Most often, therapeutic serums are used. In general, prevention is considered more effective than treatment. To prevent infection, you need to monitor the cleanliness of the premises in which the flock is kept, and feed the individuals in a balanced way. Under such conditions, the body's ability to resist dangerous agents increases, as a result, the risk of getting sick decreases. You can use preventive vaccines.

Stomatitis

This term refers to inflammatory processes localized in the oral cavity of the animal. Forms are more often observed: catarrhal, ulcerative. The reason in most cases is injury, irritation due to hard, prickly food. The reason may be gross manipulation. This can happen when the owner injects drugs. The secondary form of the disease occurs when the gastrointestinal tract malfunctions, metabolism fails. It can provoke the occurrence of inflammatory processes of the throat, nasopharynx, nasal cavity. A possible cause is a lack of vitamin A.

Infectious disease of the secondary type is common inyoung individuals. Numerous rashes are formed near the nose and mouth, increasing both in size and in quantity. Gradually, the bubbles burst, scabs appear. After a few weeks, they fall off, leaving in their place areas without hair, overgrown with hair after a few days. Antiseptic preparations are used to exclude secondary infection. Then the stomatitis will stop at the rash step and will not harm the individual. A relatively severe course is characteristic of lactating sheep, in which the rash often affects the udder and teats. This forces the cub to be isolated and fed artificially. When in contact with an infected individual, the ease of transmission of the disease is taken into account. This forces the use of protective gloves. To prevent a viral disease in sheep, a vaccine is administered that initiates the activity of immunity - this leads to the production of special antibodies. To remove the inflammatory focus, disinfectants are used. It is necessary to exclude coarse food from the everyday life of a sick individual.

Listeriosis

This disease of sheep is caused by microorganisms entering through the mouth. Sick, recently ill specimens, new individuals act as a source. It is possible to infect the premises in which sheep are kept. A typical manifestation is an unpredictable abortion. The owner must send the embryo for laboratory testing. It is strictly forbidden to eat the milk of a sick animal for food, since the bacterium survives in the liquid for several days. If the pathogen enters the human body, there is a high probabilitymeningitis, spontaneous abortion in a woman.

Often, listeriosis indicates itself by symptoms that also occur with encephalitis. A fever is fixed, the sick individual does not eat, cannot coordinate movements normally. Her ears are lowered, her head and neck muscles are tense. Often, the individual clogs into a corner and bleats non-stop. It can also rotate randomly in a circle. The likelihood of the disease appearing in late winter or early spring is higher. Symptoms may appear with a slight increase in outside temperature. Barely noticing the manifestations of the disease, you need to isolate the sheep. Sulfonamides and antibiotics are used for treatment.

Malignant serous edema

Such an infectious disease can occur if the animal has a wound that has been infected with Clostridium. This is often observed during lambing, surgical procedures without sufficient sanitization. Infection can occur through the udder touching the dirty bedding. Death occurs two days after the onset of symptoms. Symptoms are: loss of appetite, fever, swelling of the wound edges, swelling of tissues near. An individual can be cured if a sufficient amount of antibiotics is immediately administered. In practice, the animal is most likely to die.

Enterotoxemia

The symptoms of this disease in sheep are almost unknown, most often diagnosed posthumously. The lethal outcome is unpredictable and sudden. An adult animal loses the ability to coordinate actions, suffers from severe diarrhea, and dies a few days later. Lambs haveconvulsions, appetite disappears, diarrhea occurs, death occurs in a couple of days. An increase in susceptibility to a pathological agent can occur with poor feed quality. To prevent the disease, they use vaccines, antibiotics in small dosages.

Trichophytosis

A livestock breeder needs to know about various sheep diseases and their symptoms. Trichophytosis, also known as ringworm, will not be an exception. This disease manifests itself on the skin: on the head, near the ears, in the eye area. Rounded spots appear in these areas. Most often, the disease is formed in unsanitary conditions. If at least one sick animal appears among the herd, it is necessary to allocate it to a separate room, and all stalls should be thoroughly cleaned and treated with disinfectants. Sick individuals are treated with drugs. It is necessary to change the nutrition program, introduce more food rich in trace elements, vitamins. The lack of these compounds is one of the factors that provoke the disease.

Since trichophytosis is a disease of sheep that is dangerous to humans, you need to work with infected individuals in gloves and special clothes that protect the skin well. Sick animals are treated by removing the affected areas, after which an iodine alcohol solution is used to clean the skin areas from harmful microorganisms. To prevent combing of the diseased area, iodine is mixed with glycerin and applied to the affected areas. It is advisable to start drug therapy from the first days of the appearancesymptoms. Treatment is continued until symptoms disappear completely.

Fascioliasis

Sheep's liver is especially affected by this disease. Pathology belongs to the class of parasitic. It is more often observed in animals grazing in wetlands. Young individuals are more susceptible to the disease, the parasite lives in the bile hepatic ducts, where it generates eggs that penetrate the intestinal tract and are excreted with feces. In puddles and other shallow water bodies where water stagnates, larvae infecting snails are hatched. As the development cycle is completed, the pathological organism again enters the external environment - on grass, in water. When a sheep enters a grazing area, it receives a parasite along with food, which travels through the bloodstream to the liver and develops into an adult.

Sick animal eats poorly and loses weight. Noticeable indigestion, swelling of the sternum, abdomen, eyelids. To cure a sheep, carbon tetrachloride is used, intended for injection into muscle tissue, a scar, or under the skin. A sick animal is kept in a separate pen, the litter, excretions infected with parasites are disposed of. To minimize the risk of spreading the disease, pastures are checked from time to time. If hay is infected, it is first stored for six months, only after that it is used as feed.