Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
MILKING CONSIDERATIONS
FOR EWES THAT HAVE HAD ABORTION
OR STILLBIRTH
When a ewe loses the lamb in the last few weeks of pregnancy or
has a stillbirth and there is no orphan to graft on her, she should
be milked out on the third day and again in a week if she has a full
udder. If the lamb was born dead due to a diffi cult birth rather than
disease, the fi rst milking should be done at once and the colostrum
frozen for future use. With a tame and docile ewe, you may want to
continue the milkings for a while and then taper off, saving all the
milk for future bummer lambs. When the apparent cause of death
is a disease, dispose of all milk.
Salmonellosis
Several species of
Salmonella
bacteria can cause abortion. The good news is
that the disease is pretty rare, but the bad news is that when it strikes, it's
highly contagious.
Affected ewes develop a high fever and severe diarrhea and tend to go off
feed. Most abort, and some may die from the disease. Those that give birth
don't have milk to raise the lambs, and the lambs are generally weak and die.
There is no vaccine against salmonellosis, and no approved antibiotics,
although your veterinarian may be able to provide an extra-label antibiotic
(see Unapproved Drugs, page 236). The infection often results from poor
sanitation, so keep feed and water clean.
Mastitis
An infection that results in infl ammation of the udder, mastitis usually
affects only one side. It can be caused by one of several species of bacteria
(
Staphylococcus
is the most common species) and sometimes by yeast. It can
be acute or chronic.
In the acute form, the ewe runs a high fever (105-107°F; 40.6-41.7°C)
and usually goes off her feed. One side of her udder is hot, swollen, and pain-
ful. She will limp, carrying one hind leg as far from the udder as possible,
and will not want the lamb to nurse. The milk can become thick and fl aky,
full of curds, or watery. Early detection and prompt treatment can minimize
udder scarring. One type of acute mastitis results in gangrene; the udder
