Vaccinations: When, What, & Why?

 

In this day and age, things have become complicated. We used to think all vaccinations were a good thing. Now, we have the “anti-vaxxers. “ Essentially, people who feel that vaccinations are not needed and may cause more harm than good. While, I’m not going to discuss human vaccinations, I will discuss sheep and goat vaccines. In particular, when to vaccinate and what to vaccinate for.

 

There is not much controversy in the sheep and goat community about the validity of vaccines. Most farmer/ranchers agree vaccines are a good thing. If vaccines are not used, it is because the disease causing pathogen is not prevalent or the vaccine is not effective at preventing disease, or the vaccination schedule is not feasible. But there has been some dispute as to when to vaccinate. In particular, can we vaccinate a lamb too early in life?

 

A recent journal article has been submitted for review in Translational Animal Science. This is a new research journal publication site that allows for public review and comments. The authors are Drs. Lewis, Taylor, and Wang and the research was conducted at the US sheep experiment station. The research is investigating when is the best time to vaccinate lambs for overeating, but has implication for other pathogens. Lambs are born without a fully functional immune system and require antibodies via the colostrum for protection for the first few weeks of life.

 

This research confirmed vaccination of ewes during gestation was effective at supplying antibodies to their lambs. This research also showed vaccinating these lambs at one day of age reduced antibodies in the lamb. The vaccine was likely tying up the antibodies provided by the mother via the colostrum. This could reduce the lamb’s ability to fight a disease. The day one vaccine with a booster two weeks later was effective at simulating the lamb’s immune system to develop its own antibodies. The research also confirmed a booster vaccine at weaning (5 months of age) was effective at increasing antibodies of previously vaccinated lambs. Interestingly, the booster response was higher for lambs previously vaccinated at 28 and 42 days of age versus 1 and 15 days of age. This open review research article can be found at: https://www.animalsciencepublications.org/publications/tas/open-review Give it a look and a review if you like.

 

Based on this, I’d recommend vaccinating ewes during late gestation and vaccinating lambs around one month of age with a booster at weaning. Don’t vaccinate lambs during their first week of life, because this is a critical time for their survival and vaccinating may reduce passive immunity in the short-term.

 

This research is primarily referencing vaccination for overeating or Clostridium perfringens. Overeating, plus tetanus, is the most common vaccines used for sheep and goats. There are a wide variety of other diseases to vaccinate against. I’ll touch on a couple of them that are common in Texas.

 

Sore mouth vaccine is a live virus. It is normally given to sheep and goats at marking/docking. Since it is a live virus, there is no need to provide a booster. Humans can develop the disease, so wear gloves when vaccinating animals or treating infected animals. The vaccine should not be used on farm/ranches that have no history of the disease. It does not transfer immunity from dam to offspring, so vaccinating females during gestation does not help the offspring.

 

Caseous lymphadenditis, CL or cheesy gland, is a disease common in sheep and goats. Animals develop internal and external abcesses in the lymph nodes. It is highly contagious and causes chronic issues when the disease advances. The pathogen does not cause acute disease symptoms, so often animals are culled and the flocks/herds are not vaccinated. There is an effective vaccine for sheep, produced by Colorado Serum, and goats, produced by Texas Vet Labs. The vaccine should be given to replacement animals to prevent them from acquiring the disease. The vaccine does not help infected animals.

 

Aborting diseases are another common issue for sheep and goats. The top aborting diseases in sheep and goats that can be vaccinated against are Chlamydia, Vibrio (EAE), and Leptospirosis. These diseases typically occur when new females are brought into an operation and naïve animals are exposed to the disease. The vaccines tend to be strain specific.

 

I’d be remiss if I did not discuss vaccination methods. First of all, vaccinations should be given in the label-approved route of administration. Most vaccines are to be used as a sub-cutaneous injection.   Avoid intramuscular injections, if possible, because they could result in meat abscesses. Consider changing needles between animals or groups of animals, especially for adults. It is counter productive to give a vaccine for one disease but spread another disease (like ovine progressive pneumonia or caseous lymphadenitis) in doing so. For large operations, I realize that it may seem impractical but it may be cost effective to use a needleless (pneumatic) vaccination device.

 

As we discuss animal health and vaccines, it is very important managers of sheep and goats develop a relationship with their veterinarian. Veterinarians are excellent resources for animal health. In addition, small ruminants can be limited to what products are available over the counter. Extra-label drug use is common for sheep and goats but your veterinarian must prescribe it.

 

Does every sheep and goat operation need to vaccinate? No. But vaccines are a cheap and effective method to prevent diseases that cannot be prevented with management strategies.

 

To provide feedback on this article or request topics for future articles, contact me at reid.redden@ag.tamu.edu or 325-653-4576.

Shedding Light on the Market

 

This month I’ll write about the market for sheep and goats. Specifically, I’ll focus on the factors affecting the prices received for lambs and goats at the auction. Fortunately, we live at a time when technology provides us lots of data.

 

To begin, I must state that sheep and goats are no different from any commodity that supply and demand set the market price. Simple right? No, not really. Mainly because we have an ever-changing supply and demand of a highly variable product.

 

At the auction, we have a supply of sheep and goats that weigh from 25 to 250 lbs. There is a wide range of breed types and grades (body condition). A wide range of management backgrounds; some animals are tail-docked, dehorned, tagged, tattooed, and/or castrated; others are sold at auction unmarked. Luckily, we have a market for all of them.

 

A recent study conducted by Texas A&M AgriLife reported on the factors affecting the price of small ruminants at Producers Livestock in San Angelo from 2010 – 2016. It can be found at: http://sanangelo.tamu.edu/extension/west-central-agricultural-economics/small-ruminant-mpa-project/. The figures below have been created from this dataset. Thanks to Producers Livestock Auction for sharing the data!

 

Figure 1 clearly shows the market for sheep and goats has improved from 2010 to 2016. Not surprising, meat goats have improved the most. Meat goats and hair lambs sold at auction in Texas will likely end up in an ethnic market. Wool lambs either go to an ethnic market or a lamb feeder.

 

 

Often the most important factor that affects auction price of lambs and kids within a given sale day is live weight. Figure 2 shows the price received for lambs and goats from 2010 to 2016 in varying weight groups. Similar to all livestock, younger animals tend to bring higher prices per pound because lighter animals can be fed to heavier weights at a profit. Unlike the cattle industry, sheep and goats have two differing markets. The ethnic market demands lighter weight carcasses (25 – 45 lb) and the traditional market demands heavier carcasses (65 – 85 lb). On average carcass weight is half the animal’s live weight.

 

 

Often, ranchers try to get the best price per pound for their animals; however, we must make sure we look at total price received and not just price per pound. In both lamb and goats, the 40 to 60 pound live weight range attract the highest price per pound. In Figure 3, you will see total value of the animal continues to increase. For net profit, ranchers must determine or estimate their cost of gain. Typically, if they are gaining weight on pasture with minimal supplementation, then net profit will continue to rise with increase weight gain. If lambs or goats are being fed in a drylot, it may or may not be more profitable to take them to heavier weights. Profitability depends on weight of animal, cost of gain, and season.

 

 

Another major factor that influences price received for lambs and goats is seasonal supply. Figure 4 shows the seasonal fluctuation of the sheep and goat market. Seasonal prices are inversely correlated with seasonal supply. The lowest supply is from November through February, which results in the highest prices. Fall lambing/kidding is the best option to be able to market animals at the peak of the market, though again, producers will need to determine or estimate their costs for an alternative production system.

 

It is common knowledge that ethnic holidays have an influence on the market; however, the influence of these dates was not a significant factor on the price of young lambs and goats. Had the data set included older animals, the data may have been different.

 

 

Quality is an important factor that influences the market price of lambs and goats. USDA-AMS produces a report of the San Angelo sale each week. https://www.ams.usda.gov/mnreports/sa_ls350.txt In this report, slaughter kids are sorted into groups by quality (Selection 1 & 2). Selection 1 goats will bring a premium over selection 2 goats. Selection 1 goats are typically the ideal goats for slaughter. They are heavy muscled, in good body condition and yield a heavy carcass. Selection 2 goats are typically lighter in condition, lighter muscled, and yield a lighter carcass. Lambs are sorted into quality grades (Prime, Choice, and Good) and selection grades (1, 2, & 3). The higher the quality and selection grade category the better the carcass and the better the market price.

 

To summarize, the market for lambs and goats is as good as it has ever been. However, there are numerous things sheep and goat producers can do to increase their chances of marketing their animals at a premium. If you have further questions regarding sheep and goat markets contact a local Texas A&M AgriLife Extension office near you.

 

To provide feedback on this article or request topics for future articles, contact me at reid.redden@ag.tamu.edu or 325-653-4576.

High-Tech Sheep and Goat Breeding

 

Last month, I wrote about performance-based genetic selection. This topic is a rather complex concept to understand. Lets expand some on this. Specifically, I’m talking about the National Sheep Improvement Program (NSIP) and estimated breeding values (EBVs).

 

If you have any experience with the beef industry, you probably have heard of EPDs (expected progeny differences). For sheep and goats, NSIP performs the same services as beef breed associations but NSIP produces EBVs. They are very similar to EPDs. Multiply an EPD times 2 to get an EBV.

 

EBVs are incredibly complex to calculate, but simple to use. They are calculated by measuring the difference in an animal’s performance from the average of the animals it is raised with. Also, an animal’s EBVs are influenced by the performance of it is relatives and their correlated traits. And EBVs are corrected for factors that are not genetic, such as type of birth, age of lamb at weaning, age of dam, etc. In essence, this program finds animals that are above and below average and predicts how much above or below average the animals are compared to breed average.

 

NSIP is a program used by sheep and goat ranchers selling breeding animals to commercial ranchers. These breeders collect performance data on their animals for traits important to their customers. This data is used to calculate EBVs on their livestock. They then market breeding animals based on their EBVs. For instance, if Ram A has a weaning weight EBV of 10 (lb) and Ram B has a weaning weight EBV of 0 (lb). The offspring of Ram A would be 5 pounds heavier than the offspring of Ram B. To calculate this, measure the difference in EBVs between the two rams, then divide by 2 because an offspring only gets half the genetic potential from sire. Note: most EBVs are in metric units.

 

In the example above, if a ram sires 50 lambs annually for 3 years, 150 lambs that are 5 pound heavier at weaning would result in an additional 750 pounds of lamb sold. At current market prices ($2.00/lb), this trait alone could generate $1,500 of additional profit.

 

Below are a variety of traits that can be measured and EBVs calculated. Ranchers should identify the traits most importance to them and seek breeders with rams that excel in these traits. Personally, I buy rams that have high EBVs for reproduction and parasite resistance!

 

Growth Traits:

Birth Weight (Bwt) EBV (kg): Weight at birth.

Weaning Weight (Wwt) EBV (kg): Weight at weaning, ~60 days of age.

Maternal Weaning Weight (Mwwt) EBV (kg): Weight at weaning from milk production and maternal instinct.

Postweaning Weight (Pwwt) EBV (kg): Weight after weaning, ~120 days of age.

Yearling Weight (Ywt) EBV (kg): Yearling weight, ~365 days of age.

 

Reproduction:

Number of Lambs Born (NLB) EBV (%): Lambing rate or prolificacy

Number of Lambs Weaned (NLW) EBV (%): Weaning rate or lamb survival

 

Carcass Traits:

Loin Eye Muscle Depth (Pemd or Yemd) EBV (cm): Loin muscle depth at 6 or 12 months of age collected via ultrasound.

Fat Depth (Pfat or Yfat) EBV (cm): 12^th/13^th rib fat depth at 6 or 12 months of age collected via ultrasound.

 

Wool Traits:

Fleece Weight (Ygfw) EBV (%): Yearling greasy fleece weight.

Fiber Diameter (Yfd) EBV (um): Yearling wool fiber diameter.

Staple Length (Ysl) EBV (mm): Yearling wool staple length.

 

Parasite Resistance:

Fecal Egg Count (Wfec or Pfec) EBV (%): Fecal egg count at weaning or postweaning.

 

It takes time to understand this information. Don’t get discouraged if you feel overwhelmed with data at first. It took me many years of being around EBVs to get a good handle on how they work. Also, I had to stop thinking that I could look at a ram and tell which was the best. Not to discredit visual appraisal, livestock should be structurally sound. But a ram must have good EBVs before I even give it a second glance.

 

Much more information about this topic is available at http://nsip.org. You can also find breeders that use this technology on the webpage. Unfortunately, there aren’t many NSIP breeders in Texas. This was a major focus of at the Texas Sheep and Goat Expo (Aug. 18^th/19^th). There was ram sale specifically for performance-tested rams. Hopefully, it motived the Texas sheep and goat industry to start using this technology.

 

If used properly, this technology could have an enormous impact on the genetic potential of our sheep and goats. Let me know if you have any interest in NSIP as a seedstock producer or commercial buyer. Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service personnel are more than willing to help.

 

To provide feedback on this article or request topics for future articles, contact me at reid.redden@ag.tamu.edu or 325-653-4576.

The Texas heat and unrelenting winds are drying things out in the San Angelo area. Luckily, at my house, we received some heavy rains, which we were very thankful to receive. Prior to that large cracks in the ground were starting to show up. These rains have been very spotty. Hopefully, you were lucky enough to get some, as well.

 

This month, I’d like to take a break from parasites and discuss another topic I have rather strong opinions about (backed up by science, of course). The topic is performance-based genetic selection.

 

In Texas and for most of the U.S., selection decisions of sheep and goats are based largely on visual appraisal. In contrast, significant genetic advancements have occurred in other livestock species, such as beef cattle, dairy cattle, poultry and swine, through performance-oriented selection.

 

Not to discredit visual appraisal of livestock, it is important to breed animals that are sound. Hence, the reason we have stock shows and livestock judging as part of our Texas 4H youth programs. However, I think the competitiveness of these events have over-emphasized visual appraisal of livestock as it pertains to commercial production.

 

There are numerous traits that are commercially important we cannot assess without performance information. For instance, reproductive rate and parasite resistance are difficult to see. Growth rate, carcass merit, and fiber production can be estimated visually but are strongly influenced by management, which is quite often unknown when purchasing from other breeders. Therefore, even the traits we can visually estimate are better deciphered if we measure them.

 

There is one exception of performance testing that has been used extensively in Texas. Texas A&M has had a centralized ram performance test for well over 50 years. It started in Sonora and now is in San Angelo. In general, the test measures the growth potential and wool production of finewool ram lambs from September to February. This test has had a large impact on breeding finewool sheep that are larger, grow faster, grow more wool, and grow higher quality wool. This test cannot, and was not designed to, measure reproductive traits, parasite resistance, or fitness to environment. All of which are extremely important for ranch profitability. Performance recording at the ranch is the best place to get this data.

 

So, why has much of the Texas sheep and goat industry overlooked performance-oriented genetic selection? I think it is a combination of many things. But let’s not dwell on the past but learn from how others made it successful. Then we can begin to move forward as an industry.

 

The breed associations were largely responsible for the adoption of this technology in beef cattle. In the 1980s and 1990s, breed associations encouraged their registered breeders to collect performance information, such as birth and weaning weights, and processed this information to generate Expected Progeny Differences or EPDs. Registered breeders then used these EPDs to market bulls to commercial ranchers.

 

Sheep breed associations did not have the financial resources or staff to provide this service to their breeders. Therefore, industry organizations and university folks got together and created the National Sheep Improvement Program (NSIP) in 1986. This program provides a similar service to sheep and goat breeders of any breed. Sadly, some 30 years after its creation, this program is still an unknown entity to most of the Texas sheep and goat industry. One of my career goals is to bring awareness and understanding of this program to this historic industry.

 

Like many of you, I too was unaware of this program until I began my PhD program in Montana. Dr. Rodney Kott, my PhD Advisor and Fredericksburg native, introduced me to this technology. He worked with many registered breeders, who sold rams at the Montana Ram Sale. Most of the sheep breeders raised Targhee sheep and the Targhee breed association was very supportive of their efforts.

 

The thing that impressed me most was the commercial ranchers that came to the Montana Ram Sale. They pored over the data in the ram sale catalog and found the rams they wanted to bid on. Then they went to the pens and took a look at the rams. Once bidding started, it was clear that if the rams had good data, they sold at a significant premium compared to rams without data or with below average data.

 

This year at the Texas Sheep and Goat Expo (Aug. 18/19 in San Angelo), we will have a session to make folks more aware of how this technology works. Dr. Dan Waldron, Texas A&M AgriLife Research San Angelo, will present on “Why is performance data important in selecting breeding animals?” and Dr. Joan Burke, USDA, Agricultural Research Service in Booneville AK, will present on “Using genetics to combat parasite issues.”

 

A highlight will be a ram sale at the conclusion of the Expo (2 p.m., Aug 19) with 15 Rambouillet and 8 Katahdin rams that have been selected using centralized ram tests or NSIP. Rams must be in the top 50 percent of the breed or test to be eligible.

 

The 2016/2017 Texas A&M Ram Test winner and top-indexing rams will be offered in this sale. NSIP Rambouillet breeders from Texas, Kansas, South Dakota, and Montana are bringing some of their best yearlings.

 

NSIP Katahdin breeders from Arkansas, Missouri, and Wisconsin are bringing yearlings and ram lambs selected for growth, reproductive rate and parasite resistance. The average EBV of the Katahdin rams consigned for number of lambs weaned and weaning fecal egg count are 15 and negative 66 percent, respectively. This means that daughters of these rams will wean 7.5 percent more lambs and have a 33 percent lower parasite load than the average Katahdin.

 

I’m excited about the opportunities the sheep and goat industry will have heading into the future. I hope you are, too.

 

Future articles will address NSIP and performance recording in more detail. For more information or to provide feedback on this article or request topics for future articles, contact me at reid.redden@ag.tamu.edu or 325-653-4576.

Reid’s Ram-blings

 

As I am writing this, it is the second week of June and the high temperatures are predicted to be in the triple digits all week. The bad news is this will bring on heat stress for our sheep and goats. The good news is this will help with parasite problems that some of us have been dealing with.

 

Last month, I wrote about the biology of internal parasites and the natural defense system sheep and goats have. Then, I discussed how to use this information to defend your sheep and goats against them. In this article, I will focus on anthelmintics or dewormers and how to best use them to combat the barber pole worm (H. contortus).

 

Dewormers are a great tool to help combat parasites that affect sheep and goats. However, for many sheep and goat ranchers, these tools are not as effective as they used to be. Each time a dewormer is used a few parasites survive and reproduce. Overtime the population of parasites within your sheep and goat flock will become resistant to that dewormer. Here are ways of prolonging the effectiveness of dewormers:

 

Effective Dose: Read and follow label instructions for the proper dose according to animal body weight. Underdosing is a major cause of dewormer resistance. It is recommended to sort animals into groups of similar size and drench to the heaviest animal in the group. Also, deworming animals on an empty stomach may help increase effectiveness of the dewormer.

 

Worm Test: It is important to deworm animals at the right time. We don’t want to wait too long and let parasites get the upper hand for a couple of reasons. First, animals that become severely infected may die or require special care to fully recover. Second, high parasite loads in a herd/flock spread a lot of parasite eggs in the pasture, which increases the need for follow-up treatment. And finally, the higher the parasite load the higher the number of parasites that are not controlled by deworming, which increases resistance build-up. However, treating too often when parasites are not a problem is costly, time consuming, and increases parasite exposure to dewormers. The best method is to conduct a fecal egg count test on a flock or herd every couple weeks during the spring and summer. When the average fecal egg count rises above 500 eggs per gram, it is time to deworm the group or susceptible animals within the group, depending on management.

 

Drench Test: It is important to determine the efficacy a dewormer in your herd/flock. To do this, conduct a fecal egg count test on 10-15 animals at the time of deworming and conduct a follow up test on the same animals in 10 days. Dewormers should be 95 percent effective or higher. If a dewormer falls below 95 percent, it is advised to rotate to a new class of dewormer. Frequent or seasonal dewormer rotations should not be done. Also, if a dewormer is used until effectiveness falls below 50 percent, it reduces the chance of the dewormer working in subsequent years or in combination with other dewormers. In the US, we have 3 classes of dewormers labeled for sheep and/or goats. A chart is provided courtesy of Sheep 101 that has the different classes and their trade name products.

 

Refugia: Refugia is the term used when we intentionally allow some parasites to survive untreated. These parasites are susceptible to a drench and will breed with resistant parasites. There are numerous methods to accomplish this goal. A common method is the FAMACHA system. This system recommends to only deworm animals that are anemic, which is measured by an eye scoring system, and not treating animals that are not anemic. Another method is to run a group of animals that are not susceptible to parasitic infection and don’t require deworming, such as dry ewe lambs or yearlings, with animals that are susceptible and require deworming, such as lactating ewes. In contrast, treating the entire group and moving these animals to a clean pasture, creates a pasture of animals that are all carrying parasites that are largely resistant to the dewormer.

 

Combinations: Drenching with 2 or more classes of dewormers at the same time has shown to be an effective method. Two active ingredients provide an additive effect allowing fewer parasites to survive. It is not advised to mix drenches together but rather deworm with multiple products one at a time. In other countries, combination drenches are common in the marketplace but none have been approved in the US. Resistance development is likely to occur when dewormer combinations are used, so all the principles listed above still apply.

 

As a side note, we recently tested two dewormers on some lactating ewes in Sutton County. Product A was 85 percent effective, product B was 99.7 percent effective, and a combination of product A & B was 100 percent effective. We will no longer use Product A, except in combination with another dewormer.

 

In summary, parasite control is a complicated segment of flock/herd health. It is important to educate yourself on methods of parasite control and use fecal egg count testing to better understand your parasite management plan. Many sheep and goat ranchers will have effective but different parasite management plans. Sometimes, plans that work for your neighbor might not work for you. Find out what suites your land, livestock, and management best. In the coming months, I’ll write about natural products that are used to control parasites.

 

For more information or to provide feedback on this article or request topics for future article, contact me at reid.redden@ag.tamu.edu or 325-653-4576.

 

A big part of my job is speaking at various meetings around the state. On average, I’ll have one or two speaking engagement per week. Parasites control is undoubtedly the most common topic that is requested. In this article, I will discuss the barber pole worm and methods to prevent it from negatively affecting your livestock.

 

If you own sheep or goats, you also have parasites. It is a fact! Eradication of internal parasites is not possible. The goal for farmers and ranchers is to keep the parasite load low enough that animal health is not compromised.

 

Before, we get too deep into parasite control strategies, it is important to know what parasite we are dealing with and how to recognize it’s a problem. The barber pole worm (H. Contortus) is the most damaging internal parasite to sheep and goats. It feeds on blood and causes anemia (low red blood cells), which leads to weight loss, depression, weakness, and could result in death. The most telling signs of this worm are bottle jaw (swelling under the jaw) and paleness of eyes and gums. The best method to properly diagnose the barber pole worm is to conduct a fecal egg count test. This test can be done by the farmer/rancher if they have the proper equipment or can be done by a veterinarian.

 

Often the barber pole worm is misdiagnosed. It does not typically cause diarrhea. Parasites that most often cause diarrhea are coccidia and the brown stomach worm. And the barber pole worm is not visible to the naked eye in the feces. Tapeworms are visible in the feces but they are not a major animal health concern.

 

To manage for the barber pole worm, it is important to understand its lifecycle. The majority of the time, the worm lives in the abomasum of the animal and feeds on blood. It then produces eggs that shed out of the animal in the feces. When temperatures are ideal (70 to 90 degrees Fahrenheit) the egg will rapidly hatch in the fecal pellet and develop into infective larva. It takes about a week for this to occur, depending on temperature. Rain or heavy dew is needed to help the larva move from the fecal pellet onto grass leaves. The cycle is completed when an animal eats the larva while grazing grass. As such, the barber pole worm is a major problem during periods of high rainfall in the spring and summer.

 

Larva can live on pasture for 3 to 6 months, depending on temperature. Once a sheep or goat consumes an infective larva, it takes 2 to 3 weeks before it develops into a blood-feeding, egg-producing worm. However, the parasite can remain in the animal without feeding on blood (hypobiosis) and wait until the animals defense system weakens to begin feeding on blood. This typically occurs after the animal gives birth.

 

The best defense against barber pole worm is the animal itself. Sheep and goats have the ability to defend themselves against the worm. Some animals are better at defending themselves than are others. Sheep tend to have a better defense system than goats. The animal’s immune system will build antibodies that will expel the worms or suppress them from feeding on blood. To defend themselves against the worms, they need a good quality diet to supply enough protein to build the antibodies. Lactating females are more susceptible to parasites because most often their bodily demands for protein exceed the dietary supply, which leaves them short on protein to produce antibodies to fight off parasites. In addition, young growing animals are susceptible because they too could have a deficiency in protein supply, plus it takes a couple weeks from the time a young animal is exposed to parasites until it is able to develop antibodies. Similar to how vaccinations work.

 

In some cases, parasites build up in the animals during periods of high rainfall; however, signs of parasitism are not seen because diet quality is high and the animal can fend off the parasites. But, when it stops raining, pasture quality drops, and temperatures heat up, and the animals will begin to show signs of parasitism.

 

Like all disease management, Prevention is the Best Medicine.

Body Condition: Maintaining the flock/herd in good body condition (not too fat or too thin) helps to keep the parasite load in the animals low, which in turn keeps parasite load on the pasture low. Low body condition females during lactation will have 2 to 3 times higher fecal egg counts than high body condition score females.

Pasture Management: The best method to breed for internal parasites is high stocking rate on continuously grazed pasture. Conversely, lower stocking rates and pasture rotation help to keep parasites in check. Ideally, rotate to new pastures weekly during parasite season (spring/summer) and don’t return to the same pasture for 6 months or longer; however this is often impractical for range operations. Nonetheless, monthly or quarterly pasture rotations will help to keep parasite load low.

Lambing/Kidding Season: Lambing sheep or kidding goats in the fall or winter helps to reduce risk of parasitism. This is due to fact that the barber pole worm does not efficiently complete its lifecycle outside the animal during cooler weather. If the animals carry a high load of parasite into the winter, they still can be affected by parasites. Especially, if the animals are short on feed in the pasture.

Multi-Species Grazing: The parasites that affect small ruminants (sheep, goats, and deer) are shared among each species. However, the parasites that affect small ruminants don’t have as large an impact on cattle and horses. Multiple species grazing within a pasture or in a pasture rotation helps to reduce the amount of parasites on the pasture.

Genetics: Sheep and goats can be resistant or resilient to parasitism. Resistance is when the animals keep parasites from feeding and shed lower amounts of eggs. Resilient is when animals don’t inhibit parasites but are able to cope with higher parasite load before animal health is compromised. Parasite resistance in sheep and goats is a highly heritable trait; whereas, parasite resilence is a lowly heritable trait. The breeds of sheep that are known for parasite resistance were developed in the tropical regions; most notably the St. Croix, Florida Native, and Barbado Blackbelly. These breeds have been used to develop composite breeds that carry these traits, such as the Katahdin and Royal White. Dorpers are known for being more resilient to parasites. Recently, breeders have used the National Sheep Improvement Program to develop estimated breeding values (EBVs) for parasite resistance. The Katahdin breed has used this technology more than any other breed. The top 10% of the Katahdin breed selected for parasite resistance have a 70% reduction in parasite load. To learn more, there will be an educational session and ram sale regarding this technology at the Texas Sheep and Goat Expo on August 18^th/19^th.

 

In summary, parasite control is a complicated segment of flock/herd health. I only scratched the surface of parasitology within small ruminants; and, I did not even get to proper use of drenches. In the coming months, I’ll write about the different dewormers available, strategic drenching, and natural dewormers. But always keep in mind that parasites should be managed using multiple control strategies applicable to your operation.

 

For more information or to provide feedback on this article, I can be reached at reid.redden@ag.tamu.edu or 325-653-4576.

For those I have not had the good fortune to meet, I’m Dr. Reid Redden the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service state sheep and goat specialist. A little over 2 years ago, I assumed the position held by Dr. Frank Craddock. It is my pleasure to share my thoughts about sheep and goats in this column. But first, I’d like to begin with a little bit about who I am and what I do.

 

A little about us. Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service provides programs, tools, and resources that teach people how to improve agriculture and food production, advance health practices, protect the environment, strengthen our communities, and enrich youth. We have been around for over 100 years and I predict our agency is still around another 100 years. AgriLife Extension has local agents representing every Texas counties. County agents are the primary contacts for sheep and goat ranchers. State and regional specialists are their support staff to help them answer your questions. These agents host educational events in your area and I speak at these meetings about topics important to your community. Plus, I work with Texas A&M AgriLife Research to test and provide educational outreach for new technology. It is great job that allows me to do what I love and work with great people. Let us know if we can help with your sheep and goat operation.

 

A little about me. I grew up in Utopia TX on a sheep and goat ranching operation. My family, also operate a meat packing plant and restaurant. We were “Farm-to-Fork” before it was fashionable. Like many youth, my passion for sheep and goats was developed showing lambs. Naturally, I went to college at Texas A&M University. Then, I spent 10 years in New Mexico, Montana, and North Dakota in graduate school and beyond. All the while, I have been involved in small ruminant production; working with ranchers and tending to a flock of my own. Regardless of where you are, sheep and goat folks are some of the friendliest, most kind-hearted people you will ever meet. I am thankful for are all the great friendships I’ve developed along my path and look forward to making new ones.

 

A little about what’s to come. In this column, I will discuss topics that are relevant to sheep and goat ranchers. From things like “parasite control” to “nutritional management” to “predator management.” I also intend on writing about new and upcoming technologies, like “futuristic technology” and “promotion of agriculture.” Hopefully you will find the articles educational and entertaining and I invite your input.

 

Predation is arguably the largest issue for the Texas sheep and goat industry. Fifty years ago, the sheep and goat ranching community was much larger. Back then, ranchers kept predator populations at a manageable level. Today predators are densely populated and small ruminant ranchers are fighting a much more difficult battle. Given the situation, we are investing time and energy to learn and educate more people on how to use livestock guardian dogs to help with predator control.

 

If it were not for livestock guardian dogs, my family would not have been able to remain in the sheep and goat industry. I’ve seen them work in a variety of situations throughout my studies. However, in many parts of Texas, they have been under-utilized. They are not the silver bullet to predator management but I feel strongly they can be a major contributor to a sheep and goat predator management plan.

 

San Angelo colleagues and I wrote an extension bulletin titled: “Livestock Guardian Dogs”. This factsheet was written to help ranchers better understand how these dogs work and how to manage them. This bulletin can be found on our website: http://sanangelo.tamu.edu. But we are aware we don’t know as much about how these dogs work in large pasture settings, as we should. Therefore, we are conducting research to better understand how they work and how to implement a successful management plan in these settings.

 

In 2015, we began a research project at the AgriLife Research Martin Ranch in Menard County. In 2009, the ranch weaned only a 20 percent lamb crop. Within three years of implementation of a livestock guardian dog program, lamb crops now exceed 100 percent. The guardian dogs on this ranch all have GPS collars and a percent of the sheep at the ranch have GPS collars. Predators are being actively monitored via game cameras and scat surveys. This project is designed to see how sheep, livestock guardian dogs, and predators interact. There will be a livestock guardian dog field day at the Martin Ranch on May 10^th. For more information, contact the AgriLife Extension office in Menard County at 325-396-4787.

 

In 2015, we attained a grant to worked with six cooperating ranchers. These ranchers had no experience with livestock guardian dogs and operated large, pasture-based sheep flocks. We monitored the successes and challenges of each operation, also monitoring predators via game cameras and the guard dog movements via GPS collars. These case studies will be available on our website soon.

 

In 2017, we partnered with the Texas Sheep and Goat Predator Management Board. They are providing two years worth of funding for a technician that will serve as a livestock guardian dog specialist. This person will serve as an educator and coordinator to help sheep and goat ranchers implement livestock guardian dog programs.

 

In closing, I am excited to be your sheep and goat specialist. Nothing would make me happier than to provide information and assistance to help you all remain in the sheep and goat business. Let us know if you have questions pertaining to sheep and goat production. It is the reason we are here! reid.redden@ag.tamu.edu or 325-653-4576.

Sheep producers serious about turning a profit should plan to participate in any of four upcoming free Production and Financial Benchmarking Workshops.

Four workshops, all with similar curriculums, run from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., with lunch included. They are provided through the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service offices in Gillespie, Edwards, Hood and Reagan counties and the Let’s Grow campaign of the American Sheep Industry Association.

“These workshops are dedicated to making sheep and wool producers better able to calculate and interpret key financial and production measures,” said Bill Thompson, AgriLife Extension economist in San Angelo. He and Dr. Reid Redden, AgriLife Extension state sheep and goat specialist at San Angelo, will conduct the workshops.

The workshops will be:

– May 18, Fredericksburg, AgriLife Extension office in Gillespie County, 95 Frederick Road.

– June 1, Rocksprings, Texas A&M AgriLife Research Station at Sonora, State Highway 55 between Sonora and Rocksprings.

– June 16, Granbury, AgriLife Extension office in Hood County, Annex 1, Room 22, 1410 W. Pearl St.

– July 11, Big Lake, AgriLife Extension office in Reagan County, 1430 N. Ohio St.

Shepherds for Profit flyer

To register use the link below.

http://agrilife.org/sheepandgoat/shepherds-for-profit/

Texas A&M AgriLife Shearing & Classing School

We are very excited to be hosting the second annual shearing and classing school in San Angelo on January 3rd-5th, 2017.  The Texas sheep and goat shearing industry has not kept up with innovation and technology that others in the national and international community have used to improve wool and mohair harvest efficiency.  To address this issue, we are hosting two schools: sheep/goat shearing and wool classing.  The two schools run contiguously and students cannot take both.

The shearing school will teach the basics of shearing technique, animal handling, and tools of the trade.  The goals is to develop industry professionals that utilize the most efficient technique, equipment, and tools to harvest wool and mohair.  The shearing technique taught will be the international shearing pattern that does not require tying or restraining the animals during the shearing process.  We advise against individuals that wish to take the school to learn how to shear their own flock.  Learning to shear take years of hard work and practice.  Small flock owners should consider hiring a professional or shear their animals on a blocking stand.

The wool classing school will teach participant to sort wool based on fiber quality.  This technique will sort like fibers into groups so that the wool will receive the most value in the commercial marketplace.

These two schools will complement each other.  And most importantly, provide learning and networking opportunities for ranchers and shearing professionals to improve the value and sustainability of the Texas wool and mohair clip.

For questions or comments, please send us an email (reid.redden@ag.tamu.edu) or give us a call (325-657-7324)

Shearing School Flyer

Wool Classing School

Online Registration

2015 Shearing and Classing School