Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
(Luckily, vets work far cheaper than people doctors. As a rule they really love
animals, and that's what directed them to their calling.)
Most veterinarians prefer to help you establish a program that keeps your
fl ock healthy from the get-go, rather than have to respond to 2 a.m. emer-
gency calls where everything around them is dying or dead (though most
veterinarians will show up for an emergency at all hours of the day or night
on any day of the year).
MORE RESOURCES
It is a good idea to get a couple of topics on health care, particularly
if you are going to be mostly on your own due to the dearth of sheep
veterinarians. This is a big topic, and no one book can do it justice.
The more you educate yourself, the better off both you and your
critters will be. I'd defi nitely recommend you get copies of both Dr.
C. V. Spaulding's book,
A Veterinary Guide for Animal Owners,
and Dr.
Bruce Haynes's book,
Keeping Livestock Healthy.
(See the Resources
section, pages 402-404, for more on these topics and others.)
Three resources on the Web are places you defi nitely want
to familiarize yourself with: Susan Schoenian's site (
www.
sheepandgoat.com
)
is the best place to visit for the layman's
explanation of sheep health issues. The alphabetical list of sheep
diseases is an excellent resource for all shepherds. Susan also
keeps an up-to-date listing of all vaccines that are recognized for
use in sheep and lots of other health-related information.
The second resource is the online Merck Veterinary Manual.
This is aimed at veterinarians and scientists, so the information
may seem daunting at times, but it is worth visiting. There is a
searchable database for every animal illness, with information on
etiology (the causes of a disease), clinical fi ndings and diagnosis,
and control and treatment. They often have color photos that show
conditions.
The fi nal site is the American Association of Small Ruminant
Practitioners. There's a searchable database to fi nd veterinarians
who deal with small ruminants, as well as a resource library of
documents on small-ruminant health. (See Resources for more
information.)
