What diseases of sheep exist

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Sooner or later, any sheep breeder is faced with such a problem as sheep diseases and their symptoms. They negatively affect the productivity and profitability of production, increasing the rate of death of livestock, and therefore it is vital to be able to cope with such troubles.

Sheep Disease Symptoms

Next, we will consider what diseases of sheep are most common, what types of ailments exist and their characteristics, what are the symptoms and treatment, and what prevention includes. Let's start our story with a description of non-communicable, that is, non-communicable diseases.

Non-contagious group of diseases

The category of non-communicable diseases includes those that cannot be transmitted to another individual by contact. Digestive problems are among the most common problems. So, for sheep, a disease such as rumen flatulence is characteristic.

Scar flatulence

The reason for this disorder is an error in the feeding system, more precisely, poor-quality feed, which provoke malfunctions in the stomach, that is, in one of its chambers. How can a disease be detected? Signs of rumen flatulence are as follows:

violation of appetite;
noticeable bloating;
the abdomen is hard and painful on palpation.

To help the animal and start the stomach, it is necessary to mechanically cleanse its cavity from an excessive amount of gases; for this, veterinarians use a special gas outlet tube. If this does not help, minimally invasive surgery is indicated.

Poisoning

Poisoning should also be classified as a non-communicable disease. Despite the fact that most of the sheep's food is made up of fresh greens in the pasture, even there the animal can find something that will disturb the work of the digestive tract and lead to poisoning. The symptoms of the disease are as follows:

violation of appetite;
frequent vomiting;
diarrhea or diarrhea;
bloating;
weakness and fever.

Usually, poisoning is diagnosed without the help of a veterinarian, because its symptoms are quite specific. The first thing to do is to remove from the food the product that provoked the poisoning, and then immediately proceed to gastric lavage, you can try to do this yourself by pouring vegetable oil dissolved in the same volume of special Glauber's salt into the oral cavity.

Pulmonary non-communicable diseases

A serious illness of the respiratory system that is not transmitted by contact is pneumonia or pneumonia. Usually, the accompanying factors in the development of the disease are the following:

the presence of drafts in the sheepfold;
damp rooms;
inadequate sanitary maintenance of premises;
Sheep shearing too early in the cold season.

Usually pneumonia is diagnosed in young animals, that is, in young lambs, even in newborns, since they do not yet have a formed stable immunity to diseases. The symptoms of the disease are as follows:

a sharp rise in temperature up to 41-42 ° С;
breathing is heavy and noisy;
purulent discharge from the nose;
weakness and lack of appetite.

The disease can be defeated only if the treatment was carried out urgently. For more accurate and targeted treatment, it is recommended to pass basic tests, this will identify the pathogen and prescribe the correct antibiotic. Usually, veterinarians prescribe one of the following drugs: streptocide, streptomycin, sulfonamides, neomycin, or norsulfazole. More specifically, this will depend on the individual case of the disease.

It is worth talking in more detail about the diseases associated with cough, because this symptom is diagnosed quite often in rams and sheep.

Cough in rams and sheep

As mentioned earlier, coughing is a common symptom in sheep, most often it is a sign of an infectious disease, so the first thing to do is to isolate a sick animal from healthy ones in order to stop the disease. Let's move on to a description of the conditions that cause the development of cough.

The cough caused by dictyocaullosis can be classified as a parasitic disease. This parasite is called Dictyocaulus filaria, it parasitizes on the surface of the trachea and bronchi. On the upper respiratory organs there are a huge number of parasite eggs that irritate the mucous membrane, causing a painful cough. You can get infected with them on pastures, the peak incidence occurs during the warm season. If you delve into the statistics, then most often the disease is diagnosed in young animals and overweight rams.

Another upper respiratory tract disease called rhinotracheitis has similar symptoms. However, in this case, the cough will not be triggered by parasites, but by a virus.

Symptoms accompanying a cough

The accompanying symptoms will vary depending on the specific disease. So, dictyocaullosis provokes a cough only on the 20th day, this is exactly how long the incubation period lasts. The first attacks occur at night, triggered by minimal movement of the sheep. In addition to coughing, you can see that the sheep is dramatically losing weight, and in the mucus secreted when coughing, you can see worms and their eggs.

In addition, symptoms such as fever and panting are increasing. As for the characteristic symptoms of dictyocaullosis, we are talking about the crusts that cover the area around the animal's nose. The quality of the meat of sick sheep also changes: it becomes watery, it is strictly forbidden to eat it.

With this disease, every second sheep dies, that is, exactly half. Moreover, the immediate cause of death is nutritional exhaustion: hunger, and dehydration, which occurs as a result of diarrhea.

How to treat a cough

Experienced breeders advise not to self-medicate a cough, it is better to seek advice from a veterinarian who can prescribe the only effective treatment. If, after laboratory tests, dictyocaullosis is found in a sick lamb, treatment should be carried out with the help of antiparasitic drugs. Most often it is alben or ditrazine, both drugs being administered by injection. In addition, antibiotic therapy should be carried out in parallel to prevent the development of complications.

Treatment and prevention of sheep diseases

If the cough is caused by pneumonia, then the sheep should be treated with penicillin, and the course of treatment lasts at least 10 days. In addition, it is recommended to support the sheep's body with intramuscular injection of vitamins.

If the test results confirmed rhinotracheitis, it is advisable to administer the serum of already recovered individuals to the sick animal. In addition, a standard course of antiviral and antimicrobial agents is shown. It is important to carry out treatment for exactly as many days as the doctor prescribes, and not to stop it even if the animal's condition returns to normal.

White muscle disease in sheep

White muscle disease is most common in lambs and is an abnormal muscle and skeletal structure. The reason for this condition is the lack of vitamin E, as well as some minerals: copper, phosphorus and manganese. It is worth saying that white muscle disease of lambs belongs to the category of non-communicable and incurable diseases, it is impossible to cure an animal forever. Despite this, it is possible to significantly improve the quality of life of a ram patient with white muscle disease by supporting vital activity with special nutrition and food additives.

Healthy lambs need proper nutrition

White muscle disease is much easier to prevent than cure. In this regard, it is recommended to take a responsible attitude to the nutrition of lambs, not to skimp on its quality, not to neglect vitamin supplements. Particular attention should be paid to the nutrition of the pregnant female, because the formation of the skeleton of lambs occurs already at the prenatal stage.

Bezoar disease of sheep

Bezoar disease in sheep is also classified as non-infectious, since it is not contagious. What is this disease? The fact is that a sheep, when licking wool, consumes a certain amount of it inside. As you know, hair and wool are not digested by gastric juice, therefore, when the content increases, the wool sticks together into bulky lumps, bezoars, which interfere with the normal digestion process. Most often, the disease is found in lambs. An insufficient amount of milk in a nursing mother contributes to the development of the disease.

You can suspect bezoar disease by the following signs:

lack of appetite;
restless behavior;
moaning;
the animal can sometimes vilify with blood.

In order to help the animal, it is necessary to resort to mechanical cleansing of the esophagus, that is, flushing. If the method is ineffective, even surgery may be indicated.

Hoof diseases

Ailments of the hooves should also be attributed to non-infectious diseases. In sheep, a bacterial lesion of the extremities is often diagnosed: pulp. Outwardly, you can see that the animal cannot stand on its feet normally, is limping and has difficulty moving.

The only way to help in this case is to trim the affected hoof and a course of antibiotics to eradicate the infection.

Group of infectious diseases

If we compare the danger of non-communicable and contagious diseases, then the second group is more dangerous, because not one individual can get sick, but the whole farm. Among the causative agents of this group of ailments, it is customary to distinguish the following:

viruses;
the simplest microorganisms;
bacteria;
mushrooms.

Among all possible pathogens, it is worth separately identifying zooanthroponoses, since they pose a danger not only to the animal, but also to humans.

Let's move on to a description of the most dangerous infectious diseases that affect sheep.

Listeriosis

Listeria, microorganisms that cause listeriosis, are distinguished by the fact that they survive long enough in the external environment, they are difficult to kill with disinfection. The extent of listeriosis can vary. For example, if the nervous system is also affected, nothing can help the rams, death is in this case 100%.

The symptoms of listeriosis are as follows:

refusal of food and water, the lamb does not eat well even delicacies;
violation of coordination of movements, the appearance of paralysis and seizures is possible

Unfortunately, there is currently no cure for listeriosis.It is recommended to stop the suffering of the animal and to slaughter it before the onset of physiological death.

Brucellosis in sheep and rams

Among livestock, a disease called brucellosis is quite common. The disease occurs as a result of brucellosis entering the body of a sheep, usually after contact with a sick animal. A characteristic feature of the disease of lambs is that the symptoms are blurred and mild at the very beginning. The first thing that affects brucellosis is the reproductive and motor system. In addition, females are often diagnosed with problems with bearing offspring, spontaneous abortions occur, or lambs are born with defects.

An important feature of the treatment of brucellosis in sheep is that it is strictly necessary to declare quarantine for the entire period of treatment. Usually, due to the fact that it is not possible to detect the disease at the stage of inception, there is no choice but to kill the sick individual. All remaining individuals are under the strictest control of the Sanitary and Epidemiological Service. It is necessary to make sure that they are not carriers of the disease.

Bradzot

Bradzot belongs to the category of characteristic sheep diseases, in which there is an acute intoxication of the body, it is almost never possible to save the animals. In addition to general poisoning, there are also signs of hemorrhagic syndrome, which manifests itself on the mucous membrane of the nose, mouth, and also on the internal organs.

Bradzot can be infected by direct contact with a sick individual, as well as if the pathogen is in the soil, which is quite common. The disease is spreading at an astonishing rate, so the first thing to do is to isolate animals that are showing symptoms of the disease. The only thing that will help protect the livestock from infection is the timely vaccination.

Sheep hyperplasia

Hyperplasia is also called pulmonary adenomatosis. The disease is classified as a virus. The symptoms of this disease are as follows:

discharge with foam appears from the nose;
dry, tearing cough;
breathing becomes noisy and heavy;
weight drops rapidly until it becomes critically small.

There are cases when all these symptoms can appear, and those in which we are talking about an atypical form of the disease. If a case of hyperplasia has been confirmed on the farm, it is imperative to report this to the appropriate veterinary authorities, as there is a high probability that the disease can spread far beyond the farm.

Smallpox in rams and sheep

Smallpox, or anthrax, occurs in every member of livestock, but it is sheep that carry the disease especially hard. From the symptoms, a high fever appears, as well as purulent discharge from the sinuses and from the eyes. Often, against the background of the disease, conjunctivitis occurs - inflammation of the mucous membrane of the eyes. If smallpox is diagnosed in a pregnant female, then she is likely to lose the fetus due to spontaneous abortion. Another option is that the lamb will be born dead.

In addition to the above symptoms, characteristic symptoms arise: it is a rash or blisters. Usually they are located on mucous membranes: on the inner surface of the mouth, less often on the udder. In almost 100% of cases, smallpox cannot be cured; routine vaccination has been the only defense mechanism for many years.

Udder diseases

Speaking about the diseases of lambs, one cannot fail to mention the ailments that relate to the milk organ. The most common udder diseases are infection-induced agalactia and mastitis. The first disease of sheep is caused by mycoplasma and usually develops against the background of untreated mastitis, that is, it acts as a complication. If the animal's immunity is lowered at the time of infection, it is most likely that it will not be cured, and agalactia will end in death.You can suspect its presence if there are such signs:

local increase in body temperature on the udder;
a noticeable increase in the size of the udder, redness and soreness on palpation;
milk changes its texture and even taste.

As a treatment for both mastitis and agalactia, it is necessary to give the female antibiotics of a wide spectrum of action, which can restore the normal microflora in the organ, if it was started in a timely manner. If ulcers and neoplasms appear on the udder during the course of the illness, they may need to be removed using surgical methods.

Diseases of the nervous system

A sheep, like any other animal with a brain, can suffer from various disorders of the nervous system. A lot of reasons can contribute to this, but most often nervous disorders in rams and sheep are the result of a special type of microbes entering the body.

Most often, veterinarians diagnose enterotoxemia, which disrupts the normal functioning of the animal's nervous system. This disease can be safely called seasonal, the peak incidence occurs in the spring, and it is during this period that the acute stage of the disease most often occurs.

In addition to disorders on the part of consciousness and the musculoskeletal system, symptoms such as increased salivation and mucus flow, as well as mild disturbances in the digestion and assimilation of food, such as diarrhea or constipation, develop.

Group of parasitic diseases

You can become infected with parasites on the street at a time when the sheep is peacefully grazing in the pasture. We will find out which diseases caused by parasites are most common in rams.

Estrosis

The first parasitic disease that will be discussed is estrosis. It is provoked by the ingestion of gadfly larvae. The female gadfly lays eggs in the nasal sinuses of a sheep, after which an adult hatches and spreads throughout the head area, and then to other internal organs: liver, stomach. Further, the already mature parasites in the sheep again enter the soil by falling out of the nose, this is the cycle of infection and transmission of the disease from one animal to another.

Scabies

Sheep disease is caused by a subcutaneous mite that takes root under the skin of the animal and can be dangerous even to humans. The symptomatology of scabies lives up to its name: a sick lamb experiences constant itching, which she cannot stop.

In those places where the parasite has crept under the skin, hair may fall out or areas of partial alopecia may appear. In order to rid the sheep of scabies, it will be necessary to treat the affected areas with special solutions and ointments for a long period, while sick individuals need to be urgently moved to quarantine.

Tick-borne Encephalitis

Encephalitis belongs to the category of viruses, but the tick is the carrier of the disease. Symptoms of encephalitis in sheep are as follows:

a sharp rise in temperature;
chills and fever;
weakness.

Later, as the disease develops, symptoms of damage to the nervous system join: paralysis, twitching, gait disturbances, the animal staggers from side to side, walks poorly. If you do not take timely treatment measures, the animal will most likely die, and this will happen 3-4 days after the first symptom appears.

Worms

Worms are usually located in the liver, lungs, brain, less often in other internal organs. Sheep are affected by worms such as echinococcus (usually located in the liver), hemonchoses, cenuroses, and so on. Their type can be determined only after laboratory analysis, after which effective treatment will be prescribed. In addition to the above diseases, sheep are also diagnosed with twirling, psoroptosis, moniesiasis, etc.

To prevent infection, you need to carefully monitor the hygiene of animals and their conditions, as well as carefully choose a place for grazing. It must be clean and fresh. Also, many livestock breeders add special preparations against parasites to sheep feed.This is an excellent preventive measure.

Disease prevention in sheep

Now you know how extensive the list of diseases common to sheep is. We also talked about the fact that many of the ailments cannot be treated at all.

In order to prevent infection, you need to take care of preventive measures and normal conditions of detention in advance, this will be discussed below.

The first thing to take care of is cleanliness and hygiene, and this applies not only to the sheepfold and pastures, but also to the animals themselves. The premises in which the animals are kept must be periodically treated with disinfectants (complete disinfection). This is usually done in the fall. This is a prerequisite. It is recommended to make such a floor in the sheepfold so that it can be treated with bleach or whiteness, the walls are usually painted with the addition of limestone.

In the summertime, care must be taken to minimize the risk of parasites affecting animals, including blood-sucking parasites and flies. To do this, you can use special catchers that operate at high frequencies. If the parasite does get on the skin, you need to remove it immediately, and treat the affected area with an antiseptic. In addition, periodic bathing and haircutting is an excellent prevention of damage by subcutaneous parasites.

For the prevention of many viral and infectious diseases, it is necessary to vaccinate sheep on time. Each newly acquired animal must be quarantined for a month, so it will be possible to make sure that it is not a carrier of any dangerous disease.

In order to minimize the risk of digestive problems, you need to monitor what the animal eats. A sheep's diet should be free of rotten or moldy foods. Also, proper and balanced nutrition will be an excellent prevention of diseases such as rickets and vitamin deficiency. It is necessary to strengthen the immunity of animals by adding vitamins to the diet, as well as temper the sheep. For example, it is quite normal for them to graze outside in winter, while they are driven into the sheepfold only at night and if the air temperature is below minus 10 ° C or less.