Detailed Explanation of Key Technical Points for Spring Sheep Feeding and Management
Spring is the most difficult time of the year for sheep. After the long winter, they have consumed a great deal of nutrition and become thin; if feeding and management are done properly, sheep deaths can be minimized.
Regular Deworming
In spring, the flock should be dewormed once in a concentrated manner, except for pregnant ewes. Albendazole can expel multiple parasites from mixed infections; ivermectin can also expel various internal and external parasites. Both are relatively ideal deworming drugs.
Timely Selenium Supplementation
The commonly used drug is sodium selenite and vitamin E injection, at a dose of 0.5-1.0 ml per sheep.
Ensure Salt and Water Supplementation
Sheep grazing in spring should be given salt 2-3 times per week and drinking water 3-4 times per day.
Prevent Running to Green
Grazing should be done on shady slopes with better grass quality and more dry grass, and during grazing, the person should walk in front and the sheep behind, so that the flock moves slowly; only after the sheep are half full should they be released onto green pasture.
Prevent Eating Harmful Substances
Be alert to sheep accidentally eating toxic young plants, waste plastic, moldy feed, and so on, and take extra care during grazing. Grazing should also be kept away from newly sown farmland to prevent poisoning from accidentally eating seeds, chemical fertilizers, pesticides, or seed coatings; problems should be discovered promptly and treated promptly.
Timely Supplementary Feeding of Forage
In spring, sheep are in poor nutritional condition, and the transition from winter supplementary feeding to spring grazing requires a transitional period; daily grazing time should be extended, otherwise diarrhea and other adverse phenomena may be induced. In addition, ewes that bore winter lambs are nursing their lambs, while ewes that bear spring lambs have just given birth or are in late pregnancy, so they need more nutrition. Therefore, in addition to normal grazing, it is best to supplement each sheep daily with 0.3-0.5 kg of dry grass and 0.20-0.25 kg of concentrate feed, so that they remain physically strong and smoothly pass through the spring grass-scarce period.
Maintain Shed Hygiene
The principle of preventing disease early in a disease-free flock, treating disease early when present, and prioritizing prevention over treatment should be adhered to. There are many types of vaccines, including a triple vaccine (sheep braxy, sudden death, enterotoxemia), attenuated sheep pox vaccine, and others. Since there is more than 1 type of infectious disease in each region, and vaccine properties and the length of immunity periods vary, the intervals between vaccinations and the number of vaccinations must be reasonably arranged according to the immune characteristics of each vaccine. Only in this way can the occurrence of sheep infectious diseases be effectively prevented and controlled, so that the flock is protected from major infectious diseases throughout the year.