Disease Prevention Methods for House-fed Meat Sheep
In recent years, the sheep industry has developed rapidly. Apart from some large enterprises that have implemented standardized, normalized breeding, rural backyard farmers are in the early stage of transition from extensive feeding to modern, intensive feeding. In the process of sheep production, infectious diseases and parasitic diseases are the greatest threats to successful sheep raising. They can affect the expression of sheep production performance, and in severe cases can cause the death of sheep. In addition, some are zoonoses, and diseased sheep may also transmit pathogens to humans, harming human health. Therefore, doing a good job in the prevention and control of infectious diseases, parasitic diseases and other types of diseases can not only ensure the smooth progress of meat sheep production and reduce the occurrence of sheep diseases, but also protect human health.
1. Strengthen scientific feeding and management, improve the overall health level of the flock, and enhance the body's disease resistance. If raising sheep intensively, it is essential to raise large and small sheep, rams and ewes in separate groups, and to raise them separately by breed, age, feeding purpose and physical strength, with dedicated management. In addition to paying special attention to ventilation in the sheep house, sanitation of the pens and rational feeding must also be strengthened. Attention should be paid both to the hygiene of feed and drinking water and to not feeding moldy, spoiled or pesticide-contaminated forage, and not letting sheep drink stagnant or polluted water. The types of feed used should be as diverse as possible, and concentrated and roughage should be reasonably matched and reasonably prepared so that the nutrition is rich and complete. At the same time, keep the sheep house clean and dry. When introducing breeding sheep from other places, do not buy them from epidemic areas, and after purchase they must be isolated and quarantined for 1 month; only after confirming they are healthy and disease-free may they be mixed with the sheep already on the original sheep farm for feeding. During the isolation and quarantine period, special vigilance is required when purchasing from farmers or farmers' markets, and the following main infectious diseases that commonly occur in sheep should be vaccinated against:
1. Lamb dysentery aluminum hydroxide vaccine. This vaccine prevents lamb dysentery. It is injected once each at 20-30 days and 10-20 days before the pregnant ewe gives birth, with the injection site on the inner side of the two hind legs subcutaneously, and the vaccine doses are 2 milliliters and 3 milliliters per animal respectively. Immunity develops 10 days after injection. Lambs can obtain passive immunity through suckling, and the immune period is 5 months.
2. Meat sheep tetravalent vaccine or pentavalent vaccine. The meat sheep tetravalent vaccine is the vaccine against braxy, sudden death, enterotoxemia and lamb dysentery; the pentavalent vaccine is the vaccine against braxy, sudden death, enterotoxemia, lamb dysentery and black disease. It is vaccinated twice each year in spring and autumn. At vaccination, regardless of the size of the sheep, each animal is injected subcutaneously or intramuscularly with 5 milliliters, and immunity develops 14 days after injection of the vaccine.
3. Sheep pox chick embryo attenuated vaccine. To prevent sheep pox, vaccinate each spring, with an immune period of 1 year. At vaccination, regardless of the size of the sheep, each sheep is injected intradermally with 0.5 milliliters of vaccine on the inner side of the tail base.
4. Tetanus toxoid to prevent tetanus. One month before the pregnant ewe gives birth, one month before castration for fattening of lambs, or when a sheep is injured, inject 0.5 milliliters subcutaneously in the neck of each sheep; immunity develops after 1 month, and the immune period is 1 year.
5. Meat sheep abortion chlamydia oil adjuvant yolk inactivated vaccine. To prevent abortion in meat sheep due to chlamydia infection, inject subcutaneously before pregnancy or within 1 month after pregnancy, 3 milliliters per animal, with an immune period of 1 year.
6. Foot-and-mouth disease vaccine. It is for preventing sheep foot-and-mouth disease. Regardless of the size of the sheep, inject 2 milliliters intramuscularly per animal each spring and autumn. 7. Meat sheep infectious pleuropneumonia aluminum hydroxide vaccine. Inject subcutaneously or intramuscularly, 3 milliliters per animal for those under 6 months of age and 5 milliliters per animal for those over 6 months of age, with an immune period of 1 year.
8. Meat sheep streptococcus aluminum hydroxide vaccine. To prevent sheep streptococcosis. Vaccinate once each spring and autumn subcutaneously on the back of the sheep, with an immune period of half a year; the vaccination dose for meat sheep under 6 months of age is 3 milliliters per animal, and 5 milliliters per animal for those over 6 months of age.
Immunization is the main measure for preventing and controlling sheep infectious diseases, and immunization can be divided into two types: preventive vaccination and emergency vaccination. In production practice, a specific immunization program suitable for the situation of the flock should be flexibly grasped and formulated according to the occurrence and patterns of infectious diseases in the local area (farm, flock), antibody levels, animal age structure and vaccine properties. Do not apply the same approach to all cases. Do a good job in vaccine preventive injection and drug prevention, maintain the overall health level of the flock, and enable the flock to display good production performance.
2. Do not slaughter or dissect dead diseased sheep in the production area or sheep house, and still less may dead sheep be casually discarded in the production area, so as to reduce the occurrence of diseases in the flock.
3. Regularly carry out preventive disinfection of the sheep house, tools and exercise yard, etc. This is a necessary and important measure to eliminate pathogens in the external environment, cut off transmission routes, and prevent and control the occurrence of epidemics. Pay attention to promptly cleaning, piling up and fermenting the manure inside and outside the sheep house, so as to promptly kill pathogenic bacteria and parasites or eggs in the manure. In addition, for the sheep house environment, commonly used disinfectants may include 3% lysol, 20% lime milk, and 1%-2% caustic soda. The sheep house environment should be disinfected frequently to keep the environment clean and hygienic. Generally, thoroughly disinfect the sheep house, tools and exercise yard once each in spring and autumn every year, and disinfect once a month as well under normal conditions. When a certain epidemic occurs, caustic soda can be used for thorough disinfection to stamp it out.
If the sheep industry is to show good development, the above measures should be followed as far as possible. While ensuring the health of the flock, the flock can display an ideal production level and obtain considerable economic benefits.