Sheep and Goat Science Commons^™

Lice And Keds In Sheep, C R. Toop

Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 4

BODY LICE and the so called ticks or keds are the most serious of the external parasites which infest sheep in Western Australia.

Unless they are controlled by systematic dipping, these pests can cause considerable financial loss to flock owners.

Infectious Abortion Diseases In Sheep, Stanley M. Dennis

Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 4

There are increasing signs that infections causing abortion in sheep are an important source of lambing losses in Western Australia.

The organisms responsible may cause losses at any time from the 60th day of pregnancy to a week after birth.

This article discusses the symptoms, effects and control of infectious abortion and associated losses, and outlines a research project started this year to investigate them.

Ovine Listeriosis : A Newley Diagnosed Cause Of Infectious Abortion And Lamb Losses In Western Australia, Stanley M. Dennis

Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 4

LISTERIOSIS is an infectious disease occurring in animals and man and is caused by the bacterium Listeria monocytogenes.

It is worldwide in distribution and has been reported in 28 species of animals and 11 species of birds.

This disease was recently diagnosed in Western Australia for the first time when it was found to be a cause of abortion and perinatal lamb losses in sheep.

Oxalate Poisoning. 1. The Effect Of Oxalate-Containing Plants On Ruminants, M R. Gardiner

Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 4

Poisoning by plants which contain salts of oxalic acid may be a more common cause of stock losses in Western Australia than was previously thought.

This article describes the effects of these plants on ruminants and outlines an experiment in which the toxicity of soursob was examined.

An article in next month's Journal of Agriculture will describe the most important oxalate-containing plants found in Western Australia.

Grow More Wool, W L. Mcgarry, R. J. Lightfoot

Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 4

THE amount of wool that each sheep grows is determined by many things, including the amount and quality of pasture available or how the sheep are fed, the stocking rate, the general health and thrift of the sheep and other management considerations such as cropping and the time of lambing.

Selenium And Sheep Health : A Review Of White Muscle Disease Investigations In W.A, M R. Gardiner

Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 4

SELENIUM, the latest trace element to be investigated in medicine, biology and agriculture, has been found to be essential in the prevention of a wide variety of animal diseases in various parts of the world.

Select On Fleece Weight And Cull The Low Producers, W L. Mcgarry

Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 4

EFFICIENT calling of maiden ewes before they join the breeding flock is an essential part of any policy of flock improvement.

Removal of the low wool producers should be one of the first considerations when culling the flock.

Weaning And Weaner Management, R J. Lightfoot

Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 4

MOST of Western Australia's Merino flock owners wean their lambs in the months of August, September and October.

Too often this is done indiscriminately to fit in with other operations, or lambs are left on their mothers for long: periods until the ewes are remated.

Urea For Sheep And Cattle On Dry Feed, Laurence C. Snook

Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 4

Urea can be a valuable supplement for ruminants which have to depend on dry feed low in protein.

It is not a substitute for good quality conserved fodder.

Urea is extremely poisonous if eaten in excess and great care must be taken when feeding it to stock.

There are a variety of ways in which urea can be fed and these are outlined in this article.

The Department of Agriculture's Animal Nutrition Laboratory is now carrying out trials to determine the most convenient and safest method.

Urea is most effective as a fertiliser; when used in this way it results …

Cobalt : Its Use To Control Wasting Disease, Laurence C. Snook

Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 4

FOR many years it was assumed that in Western Australia cobalt deficient areas were restricted to a coastal fringe which rarely extended more than 20 miles inland.

This has proved a costly false assumption. During recent years cobalt deficiency has been diagnosed over extensive areas of inland country.

Weaner Feeding Practices Need Review, W L. Mcgarry, R. J. Lightfoot

Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 4

Many fanners feed large amounts of grain to their weaners over summer and autumn, in the belief that this is necessary for high lifetime production.

The economics of this are open to doubt; in fact, the results of a recent experiment at Wongan Hills Research Station suggested that weaner feeding practices need review.

Mulesing And Tailstripping : For The Prevention Of Fly-Strike, W L. Mcgarry

Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 4

MULESING and tailstripping are basic to fly strike control.

During emergencies and bad fly waves they may need to be supplemented by temporary protective measures such as jetting and crutching.

Facial Eczema In West Australian Sheep, M R. Gardiner, M. Nairn

Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 4

SINCE 1894 when the disease was first described in New Zealand, the term "facial eczema" has been used to describe a specific photosensitization of sheep in that country.

Ovine Vibriosis : A New Cause Of Sheep Infertility, M R. Gardiner, M. E. Nairn, I. J. Miller

Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 4

Vibrionic abortion of sheep has caused heavy losses in a number of wheatbelt flocks. In several flocks up to 50 per cent, of the ewes aborted as a result of this newly reported disease.

This article gives the history of the disease in this State, and describes the symptoms for the benefit of other farmers whose flocks may be affected. Ewes become immune after the first attack.

Mulesing At Lamb Marking Time, M Butler

Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 4

REALISING that mulesing and tailstripping of sheep is the most effective system devised to counteract the loss and damage caused by blowfly strike in their sheep, many farmers and pastoralists are now incorporating it as standard practice in their system of sheep husbandry.

Mulesing Pays, W L. Mcgarry

Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 4

THERE is little doubt that the combined mules and tail strip treatment is still far ahead of all other blowfly control measures.

This treatment can and should be carried out as farm or station routine practice in the same way as are other accepted management practices, such as lambmarking, drenching, etc.

Selecting And Culling Sheep Flocks, H E. Fels

Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 4

SHEEP flocks are culled and selected for two main reasons—firstly to get immediate improvements in the present generation and secondly, to improve future generations.

Lambing Problems In Summer Rainfall Areas, H Suijdendorp

Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 4

LOW lambing percentages have become a serious problem in the summer rainfall areas in the North-West of Western Australia.

Largely as a result of poor nutrition of the lambing ewes, lamb marking figures have fallen to the stage where keeping up stock numbers is extremely difficult.

Post Dipping Lameness In Sheep, I J. Miller

Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 4

LAMENESS can be a most distressing feature at any time of the year, bat when It coincides with the early onset of hot weather and fall-off in nutritive level of the feed, results may have a far reaching effect on the flock.

White Muscle Disease Of Sheep : Symptoms And Pathology, M R. Gardiner

Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 4

WHITE Muscle Disease (WMD) was recognised for the first time in Western Australian sheep during the winter of 1960.

The first outbreak occurred on a property in the South Stirling district in the middle of July and this was followed by outbreaks in August, September and early October, at Mayanup, Kendenup, Mt. Barker, Duranillin, Kojonup, South Stirling and Pinjarra.

It's Dipping Time, Department Of Agriculture, Western Australia

Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 4

ANNUAL dipping is compulsory within six weeks of shearing.

Here are the main points to keep in mind for successful and trouble-free dipping.

Drugs For Worm Control. 1. Sheep Drenching Trials With Mk 360, M R. Gardiner, J. Craig

Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 4

DRENCHING sheep with drugs designed to eliminate parasites has become an established practice in the higher rainfall districts of Western Australia.

has been tested in many trials, and their is little doubt that drenching sheep clinically affected with worms—the so-called "tactical" drench—is valuable and necessary.

However, there is usually less general acceptance of the value of "strategic" drenching— the prevention of clinical parasitism by giving the drug at certain specific times, pre-determined by a knowledge of the numerical rise and fall of the various parasites within the animal body.

Fleece Weight : The Best Culling Guide, Department Of Agriculture, Western Australia

Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 4

Flock owners' thoughts are now turning towards culling.

Culling should remove the worst sheep and keep the best to fill the bales and breed replacements.

A valuable aid to this annual task is Culling by Fleece Weight during shearing

Can Worms Be Controlled By Correct Feeding?, Laurence C. Snook

Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 4

THE extensive losses which result from the ravages of internal parasites are a matter of serious concern.

Livestock owners realise this all too well and welcome advice concerning control measures which can be adopted. Unfortunately, it is not possible to give clear cut advice on the subject.

Much publicity is given to the use of drugs which will expel the worms. Various systems of strategic drenching have been developed.

It is well to remember, however, that drenching is only one of many methods which can be used to control worm infestation.

In this talk attention will be concentrated on experimental …

Some Notes On Worms In Sheep In Southern Western Australia, I W. Parnell

Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 4

DURING the last fifty or more years several surveys have been made of the worm parasites which occur in southern Western Australia.

In the 'fifties, thanks to the stimulus of Mr. H. McL. Gordon, supported by Dr. H. W. Bennetts, observations were made on the sequence of the infestations in autumn-born weaners in the country stretching from Moora to Cranbrook and Bridgetown, and later near Geraldton and Esperance.

Pickled Wheat Is Safe For Sheep : Feeding Trial, J Craig, H. P. Dwyer

Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 4

FARMERS are often left with a surplus of pickled grain from seed wheat supplies. Many would like to feed this to their stock, but do not do so because they think there may be a risk of poisoning.

This trial was designed to investigate the effects of feeding such grain to sheep.

A Grazing Management Trial For The Control Of Lupinosis In Sheep, H G. Neil, C. M. Ralph, A. W. Hogstrom

Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 4

A "WASTING" disease of sheep grazing on lupin stands, usually accompanied by heavy mortality, has become a serious problem in coastal areas between Perth and Geraldton in the past ten years.

Pinkeye In Sheep : Some Timely Comments, F C. Wilkinson

Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 4

DURING the summer months, it is almost inevitable that numbers of sheep in Western Australia will suffer from contagious ophthalmia—or pinkeye, to give the disease its more popular name.

As it can be quite a distressing disease which can cause severe setbacks, most flock owners, knowing that medicaments are available for the treatment of pinkeye, will feel that they should do something for the affected animals.

Teaser (Vasectomised) Rams : A Management Advantage, W L. Mcgarry, I. K. Stott

Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 4

WITH normal late spring-early summer matings (October-December) teaser rams, correctly used, will give a more concentrated lambing.

This has been shown under Western Australian conditions in trials conducted at the Wongan Hills Research Station.

In one experiment a group of 100 ewes which had one per cent, of teasers for 14 days before the fertile rams went in, dropped 42 lambs in the first two weeks of lambing, compared with 17 lambs from 100 ewes that were not teased.

The use of teasers in all Research Station flocks is now routine practice.

Drought Feeding Of Sheep, Laurence C. Snook

Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 4

WHEN this talk on drought feeding of sheep was suggested conditions were very serious over large tracts of pastoral country.

Many stations had not received a worthwhile rain for over 12 months and it appeared that grazing animals would have to be fed if they were to survive.

Requests have been received for advice on the cheapest way to keep sheep alive. Drought feeding in any form is a gamble. There is always the risk that the stock will eventually die despite the consumption of much costly feed.

It follows that if an effort is to be made to save …