CARING FOR YOUR LIVESTOCK IN SUMMER
During the hot summer, facial eczema, flystrike and heat stress are real risks. However, there are several ways you can manage it.
Facial eczema
Facial eczema (FE) is caused by a toxin produced by the spores of a fungus which actually grows on pasture year-round. However, the toxin becomes an issue in warm, moist conditions when spore numbers explode. Despite the name, FE is a disease which affects the liver and results in lack of appetite, weakness, photosensitivity and potentially death. FE can be hard to detect, which means affected stock numbers may be higher than just those with visible signs. Depending on your region, animals can get FE as early as November and December to as late as May.
What can you do to protect against FE?
Monitor grass and pasture regularly. Your local vet can provide instructions on what to do and will be able to spore-count grass for you. When counts rise above 30,000 spores per gram of pasture, it’s time to start treatment.
Prevent FE by administering zinc supplements. Zinc can be toxic, so wait until you know there is a risk of FE before treating your animals. The most practical way to prevent FE in smaller numbers of animals is using zinc bullets once a month. Having supplementary feed on hand can help avoid grazing the pasture very low, where more facial eczema spores will be present.
Flystrike
Flystrike in sheep is a serious disease that needs to be treated early. It is caused by blowfly maggots burrowing into the skin and can cause nasty sores, increased heart and respiratory rates and even death of infected sheep. Warm temperatures combined with recent rain, together with dirty, wet or injured skin are the ideal conditions for flystrike. Detection can sometimes be difficult; affected sheep may not show any signs of fly strike until the maggots are causing damage, so prevention is more preferable than treatment. Keeping your sheep clean and dag-free are key to controlling the disease.
Heat stress
Look out for any animals that are panting, drooling, excessively thirsty or eating less during summer – they may be suffering heat stress. Have adult sheep shorn prior to summer and ensure fresh water is always available. Ensure easy access to water troughs and provide shade. If you have animals with pink noses or newly shorn sheep, zinc-based sunscreen can help protect them against sunburn.
These are your legal responsibilities
Under the Animal Welfare Act 1999, you must provide your animals with:
• proper and sufficient food and water; • adequate shelter;
• the opportunity to display normal patterns of behaviour;
• appropriate physical handling;
• protection from, and rapid diagnosis of, injury and disease.
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