Beware of five common diseases when raising sheep in spring

The climate changes greatly in spring, with frequent alternations between hot and cold. These will have a bad impact on the growth of the flock. Our sheep-raising friends should not be relaxed and should still be vigilant. Here are five common diseases that should be guarded against when raising sheep in spring.

1. Skin fungal diseases

1. Dermatophyte disease is an infectious skin disease caused by fungi, commonly known as hair loss ringworm and ringworm, which often occurs on the neck, shoulders, chest, back and upper side of the anus of sheep. At the beginning of the disease, there are pea-sized nodules. In the later stage, the boundaries are clear and covered with grayish white or yellow ringworm spots of varying sizes. The scabs are thickened and the hair is easily broken or falls off. The course of the disease is long-lasting, affecting health and appearance.

2. Prevention: Keep the sheep's skin clean and hygienic, regularly check for ringworm spots and scales on the body surface, wash the fur in time, and isolate sick sheep in time.

3. Treatment: Clip the hair of the affected area, then wash it with warm soapy water to remove the softened scab, apply 5% iodine tincture or 10% salicylic acid ointment, nystatin ointment, 5% sulfur ointment, Daktarin cream, etc. to the affected area, apply once a day until healed. Animal houses, feeding troughs, etc. contaminated by sick sheep can be disinfected with 10% formaldehyde solution, 1% peracetic acid solution or 5%-10% bleach solution.

2. Pasteurellosis

1. Pasteurellosis is an infectious disease caused by Pasteurella multocida, which mostly occurs in lambs. Endogenous infection is prone to occur when it is cold, humid, rainy or snowy, when the climate changes drastically, when the pens are poorly ventilated, when there is nutritional deficiency or feed mutation.

2. Prevention: Strengthen feeding management at ordinary times, protect sheep from cold, and do a good job of environmental disinfection. For lambs that have already become ill, the cause should be identified, the feeding and management conditions should be actively improved, and they should be isolated immediately. The pens and utensils should be disinfected with 10% lime milk , 3% Lysol and 5% bleach solution.

3. Treatment: Mix 800,000 international units of penicillin and 1 million international units of streptomycin and inject intramuscularly once, twice a day for 3 consecutive days. For severe cases, tetracycline or sulfathiazole sodium can be used in combination with 5% or 10% glucose injection intravenously. After the symptoms are relieved, other drugs can be used to continue treatment.

3. Infectious abscesses

1. Sheep contagious pustulosis, commonly known as sheep mouth sore, is an infectious disease caused by a virus, characterized by the formation of papules, pustules, ulcers and tumor-like thick scabs on the skin and mucous membranes of the lips and other parts of the body. The disease can often continue to cause harm in sheep flocks for many years.

2. Prevention: Strictly prevent trauma infection and get vaccinated regularly. After the onset of the disease, the sick sheep will be isolated and treated, the entire flock of sheep will be thoroughly inspected several times, and the sheep houses and utensils will be thoroughly disinfected with 10% lime milk or 2% sodium hydroxide solution.

3. Treatment: Rinse the wound with 0.1%-0.2% potassium permanganate solution, then apply 2% iodine glycerin, gentian violet or 5% oxytetracycline ointment, 1-2 times a day. Symptomatic treatment should also be given to seriously ill patients.

4. Pseudotuberculosis of goats

1. Pseudomotuberculosis of goats is a contact, chronic infectious disease caused by pseudotuberculosis bacteria. The sick sheep gradually become thinner, weaker, breathe faster, cough from time to time, and finally die.

2. Prevention: The sheep flock should be kept clean at ordinary times and skin injuries should be treated in time. Sick sheep should be isolated and treated promptly.

3. Treatment: Pseudomonas aeruginosa is highly sensitive to penicillin, but the efficacy is poor due to the thick skin of the abscess. In the early stage, 10 ml of 0.5% yellow pigment can be injected intravenously. If used together with penicillin, the efficacy can be improved. Abscesses should be treated according to general surgical routine. When the skin is not broken and the abscess is mature, cut it open with a knife, drain the pus, and disinfect it with concentrated iodine. Stuff the wound with gauze soaked in iodine. The ground should be disinfected with Baidusha and the discharged pus should be deeply buried.

5. Influenza

1. Sick sheep show symptoms of not eating or loss of appetite, depression, rapid breathing (about 120 times per minute), and body temperature of 40.5℃.

2. Treatment: Use 20 ml of compound aminopyrine in the morning and 20 ml of analgin in the afternoon for intramuscular injection for two consecutive days, plus 10 ml of dexamethasone injection. After treatment, the patient can recover on the third day.

3. To prevent secondary infection, 10 ml of long-acting penicillin and 2.5 million international units of kanamycin can be injected intramuscularly twice a day per 100 kg of body weight.

That’s it