What to Do About Prenatal Paralysis in Small-Tailed Han Sheep? A Detailed Guide to Solutions
The Small-Tailed Han sheep is an animal under the Bovidae family and the Caprinae subfamily. It is a dual-purpose meat-and-fur sheep breed in China, characterized by fast growth and development, early maturity, strong reproductive capacity, stable genetic performance, and strong adaptability. It has been designated by the state as a famous and improved livestock breed, and is praised by people as China“national treasure&rdquo, the world“super sheep” and “long-legged sheep&rdquo. It has also been included in the National Catalogue of Livestock and Poultry Genetic Resources for Protection
When raising Small-Tailed Han sheep, you must carefully care for the lambs. For ewes in the grazing flock, they should be grazed nearby one week before lambing, and careful observation should be maintained day and night to prevent the ewe from lambing outside the pen. The lambing room should be located in a place sheltered from the wind and facing the sun, and its temperature should be kept at 8°C to 10°C. Within 1 hour after birth, the lamb needs assistance to suckle colostrum. For lambs that are frozen stiff due to inadequate care and cannot suckle because their mouths are tightly closed, they can be placed on a warm kang or put into warm water at 40 to 43°C, and once they have warmed up, they can be allowed to suckle. Small-Tailed Han lambs can leave the lambing room about 5 days after birth. During the day, the mother and lambs are raised separately and fed milk at fixed times, and at night they are raised together as a group. At noon on clear days, the lambs can be allowed to bask in the sun. About 15 days after birth, Small-Tailed Han lambs should begin creep-feeding training, and they can be fed some easily digestible seedlings or high-quality green hay.
Causes of prenatal paralysis in Small-Tailed Han sheep:
Prenatal paralysis is a common metabolic disease in Small-Tailed Han sheep during the 1 to 2 months before lambing. It occurs mostly in ewes in late pregnancy that are either too thin or too fat, especially high-yielding ewes. Once treated improperly, it often results in the death of both the ewe and the lamb.
Treatment methods for prenatal paralysis in Small-Tailed Han sheep:
1. First, correct acidosis and supplement glucose. This disease is characterized by low glucose and high ketones, and the body is accompanied by acidosis, so it is best to choose 250 milliliters of 5% sodium bicarbonate solution and 200 milliliters of 50% glucose for intravenous drip, to raise blood glucose concentration and correct acidosis as quickly as possible.
2. Do not neglect phosphorus supplementation. In the treatment of this disease, attention should be paid to supplementing calcium and phosphorus, especially phosphorus. Generally speaking, ruminants are not prone to calcium deficiency, and supplementing calcium alone has poor efficacy.
3. Induce labor in a timely manner. Because this disease occurs mostly in high-yielding ewes, pregnant ewes are often severely malnourished due to carrying too many lambs. If they lie down and cannot stand up, labor should be induced in a timely manner to reduce the burden on the ewe. Even if the lambs of this disease are delivered normally, their survival rate will be low due to weakness.
4. Supportive treatment. Because affected sheep develop movement disorders, vitamin B12 can be injected to prevent muscle atrophy. To appropriately excite the sheep, some central stimulants such as caffeine sodium benzoate can be used. If there is no urination 40 minutes after infusion, diuretics such as furosemide can be used. If urine is produced, potassium can be supplemented appropriately.
5. Pay attention to nursing. Once a sick sheep lies down and cannot get up, it should be placed alone in a place with thicker bedding grass to prevent the skin at the bony prominences from being worn broken by lying down, and it should be turned over in a timely manner to prevent bedsores, and fed with relatively good-quality forage, etc.