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  • From: Mark <mpludwig@facstaff.wisc.edu>
  • To: midwestpermaculture@yahoogroups.com, permaculture@lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: [permaculture] Fwd: [grazersedge] Sheep & goats, worms, & pasture management
  • Date: Tue, 13 Aug 2002 12:27:01 -0500

Interesting post from grazeres edge....
Mark L

Date: Tue, 13 Aug 2002 08:42:07 -0500
From: Lucky Pittman <Lucky.Pittman@murraystate.edu>
Subject: [grazersedge] Sheep & goats, worms, & pasture management
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At 01:04 AM 08/11/2002 -0500, Clay wrote:
> I have a neighbor who raises sheep and he contends that the worms become
>infective after 4 days but will mostly die if after 30 days. Is that the
>reason you choose to move the sheep every 4 days?

Folks,
Back in the Dark Ages, in my animal science courses & again, in veterinary
school, they impressed upon us the 3 Ps of sheep production in the
Southeastern US - Parasites, Predators, & People; Parasites kill the
majority of them, roaming dogs(this was before we had any coyotes) get the
next big chunk, and People are responsible for the remainder of deaths,
mainly due to their ignorance or obstinance. I find that even now, 25+
years later, it still rings true.

Here in western KY, we don't have all that many sheep, but we've
experienced an exponential expansion in the number of folks raising(or
attempting to) goats.
By far and away, intestinal parasites - especially the nematode, Haemonchus
contortus(barberpole worm), and various species of coccidia, claim the
majority of the animals. Our long, warm(hot) humid spring, summer, and
fall are ideal, in most years, for build-up of large numbers of infective
parasite larvae on pastures, and our winters are not cold enough to have
much effect on diminishing parasites, either.
I have rarely seen intestinal parasite actually kill a cow - yes, they'll
impact weight gain & other production parameters, but almost never will
they actually kill a cow, but sheep, goats, and bison are another story -
they just did not evolve to be enclosed on a small acreage where parasite
numbers often reach epic proportions.
In my area, many of the neophyte goat producers have had some experience
running beef cattle, but goats and sheep are NOT just small cattle - they
do pretty well when they're turned into rough brushy country(goats are
primarily browsers, not grazers) or out in the arid west where they're
ranging on large acreages where it's a long distance between blades of
grass, but here in the humid Southeast, if they put 'em on a predominantly
grass pasture - and they tend to overstock - and never rotate the pasture,
it's not long before the parasites start taking their toll.
Rotation of anthelmintics(dewormers) is very important, but unfortunately,
most producers and veterinarians alike, don't really understand how to do
it - proper, effective rotation of dewormers does NOT mean using a
different product every time you deworm. But, it's been done that way too
much, and as a result, we have a major problem with resistance to many of
the products available to us - particularly the benzimidazoles(Tramisol,
Safeguard/Panacur, Valbazen, etc.), and when we get resistance to one of
those products, for the most part, the parasites are resistant to all of
the other members of that class of products.

Linked below is a webpage I came across recently, that discusses, about as
well as I've seen it done, the life cycle and biology of H.contortus, and a
reasonable approach and the 'whys' and 'hows' of pasture rotation,
selection for innate resistance to parasites, etc. Not too terribly
technical, and I expect anyone on this list will have no trouble
deciphering it. Hope it's of some benefit to you small ruminant folks.

http://209.150.129.110/nematodes.htm



Louis L. "Lucky" Pittman, Jr., DVM
Veterinary Pathologist/Asst. Prof.
Murray St. Univ.-Breathitt Veterinary Ctr.
Hopkinsville, KY


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Mark P. Ludwig
Poultry Research Lab
University of Wisconsin -Madison
608-262-1730 WK
608-846-7125 HM




  • [permaculture] Fwd: [grazersedge] Sheep & goats, worms, & pasture management, Mark, 08/13/2002

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