What are the symptoms of pica in sheep, and how can it be prevented?

Nowadays many farmers in rural areas raise sheep, but it is not hard to notice when sheep are brought into the household. A flock of sheep sometimes, besides eating normal feed and forage, will also continue to be interested in non-feed items outside of feed that have no nutritional value and cannot be digested, for example some sheep eat plastic sheeting, eat hair, eat *, rags, etc. In fact this is pica in sheep, a syndrome of multiple symptoms caused by abnormal taste buds due to metabolic dysfunction. It mostly occurs in housed sheep, and they will eat random things. So what symptoms does pica in sheep have? What are the causes? How should it be prevented?

I. Symptoms

Pica in sheep generally starts with indigestion, then abnormal taste buds and pica symptoms appear. Sick sheep lick, gnaw, and swallow feed or bedding contaminated by excrement, lick walls, feed troughs, bricks, tiles, etc. Their sensitivity to external stimuli increases, then later becomes dull, the coat is dull and lusterless, there is anemia, and they become emaciated. Sheep can sometimes develop wool-eating behavior, commonly seen in lambs.

II. Causes

1. Mineral deficiency, especially insufficient acetate. Sodium deficiency can be caused by insufficient sodium in the feed, and can also be caused by too much potassium salt in the feed.

2. Vitamin deficiency, especially deficiency of B vitamins, because they are constituent components of many enzymes and coenzymes in the body closely related to metabolism. When they are deficient, it can cause metabolic disorders in the body.

3. Protein and carbohydrate deficiency.

III. Prevention measures

1. Ensure nutrition

According to the nutritional needs of sheep at different growth and production stages, supply the necessary amounts of energy, protein, minerals (calcium, phosphorus, sodium, potassium, sulfur), trace elements (zinc, copper, iron, cobalt, etc.) and vitamins (A, D, E) in a balanced way, feed a mixed diet, and ensure comprehensive, scientific, and effective nutrients. Ensure sheep can drink sufficient drinking water. For high-yielding sheep and pregnant ewes, attention should be paid to providing high-quality protein feed.

2. Innovative management

Feeding should be done at fixed times, in fixed amounts, and by a fixed feeder, and do not feed frozen or moldy feed. In spring and winter, while feeding silage and high-quality green grass, you can also add some vitamin-rich feed such as grain sprouts and maltose.

Scientifically arrange the density of a flock of sheep, and do a good job of cleaning and hygiene. In order to create sufficient living space, keep the pens and exercise areas dry and clean. Prevent sheep from suffering parasitic infections and avoid pica caused by tapeworm larvae. For a flock with a history of parasitic infections, carry out deworming on schedule. Let sheep exercise appropriately and get more sun to enhance disease resistance, and pay attention to preventing the occurrence of gastroenteritis, which helps the absorption of calcium and phosphorus. This is also a key measure to prevent this disease.

3. Remove foreign objects

Immediately remove plastic, rope ends, wood, nails and other foreign objects from pens, exercise areas, and grazing land, so as to prevent sheep from swallowing them by mistake and thus forming bad habits.

For indigestion caused by swallowing plastic film, stomachic and digestive aid drugs can be given multiple times to promote rumen and stomach motility, and through rumination the plastic can be brought back into the mouth to be chewed; or use saline laxatives to promote the excretion of plastic and harmful substances that remain in the digestive tract for a long time and rot. If treatment is ineffective and the sheep's physical condition allows, rumenotomy can be performed to remove the accumulated plastic mass.

4. Lamb management methods

For lambs, the nutritional needs of pregnant ewes should be considered to ensure normal fetal development. After lambs are born, they should be allowed to suckle sufficient colostrum as soon as possible, and improving the quality of ewe milk should be closely combined with strengthening lamb feeding management. On the one hand, increase feeding for lactating ewes; on the other hand, train suckling lambs to eat earlier to make up for insufficient suckling, and appropriately increase bone meal, trace elements, etc. in the supplementary feed for lambs. At the same time, lambs should also be given appropriate grazing and frequent sun exposure.

The above are the relevant measures for preventing sheep from eating random things. Once sheep eat random things due to pica, after eating rags, plastic bags, plastic film and other foreign objects, they will develop listlessness, reduced appetite, inactivity, drooling white foam, and plastic film, rags, etc. in the rumen, making rumination difficult. In the later stage, the sick sheep are restless, and when severe, the sick sheep gradually become emaciated and may die. Therefore, sheep farmers should pay attention to this.