Veterinary Medicine Commons^™

Starvation/Mismothering : A Major Cause Of Lambing Losses, Stanley M. Dennis

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

RESULTS of the preliminary survey into the infectious causes of perinatal lamb mortalities carried out last year by the Department of Agriculture showed that starvation/ mismothering was the most important single cause of death.

Tales From Dead Lambs : Results Of A Survey Of Lambing Losses, Stanley M. Dennis

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

During the past year the Animal Health Laboratory has been conducting a preliminary survey into the infectious causes of abortion in sheep and perinatal lamb mortalities. This work was prompted by:

* The diagnosis of vibrionic abortion for the first time in Western Australia in 1961, and

* The estimate that 30 per cent, of all ewes mated in Australia each year may fail to produce a viable lamb that survives to marking time.

This enormous lamb wastage is due to a variety of causes and the role of infectious agents has yet to be evaluated.

A Simplified Mulesing Crush, G T. Halpin

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

DURING the last two years Mr. Tom Flanigan, a mulesing contractor in a large area centred at Katanning, has performed the mules-tailstrip operation on many thousands of lambs and sheep.

Mules And Tailstrip Lambs At Marking Time, R J. Lightfoot

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

THE mules and tailstrip operation is basic to fly strike control and should be routine practice in all flocks in the same way as other accepted management practices like marking and crutching.

Oedema Disease : A Cause Of Death Of Pigs In W.A, J Armstrong, P. Meyer

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

Within the last two years Oedema Disease ("Gut oedema") has been diagnosed as a cause of pig mortality in this State.

This article describes the nature, symptoms and methods of control of this disease.

Horse Problems In The Kimberleys, M R. Gardiner

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

A review of current horse disease and ill-thrift problems in the Kimberley region of Western Australia, with emphasis on the "Kimberley horse disease".

DISEASES and other conditions affecting the health and working capacity of the horse have long had an important bearing on the economy of the cattle and sheep industries of the northern part of Western Australia.

Under present conditions it is impossible to muster stock on the large pastoral leases in the Kimberley districts without the aid of horses, and many other operations would be more difficult if stockmen were denied their services.

Ram Management, J Craig

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

REALISING that good rams play an important role in flock improvement, the wise flock owner selects his rams after careful consideration of their breeding, type, production and fleece characters or potential meat-producing qualities.

Good ram management can have a major effect on lambing percentages. In this article Senior Veterinary Surgeon J. Craig outlines methods of achieving the best results from rams.

Contagious Ophthalmia (Pinkeye) Of Sheep, C R. Toop

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

CONTAGIOUS OPTHALMIA, better known to the sheep owner as "pinkeye", is a common disease of sheep particularly during the summer months.

It is known to occur in most countries where sheep are kept and is prevalent in Australia throughout the sheep-raising areas.

Piglet Anaemia : An Iron Deficiency Disease, F C. Wilkinson

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

PIGLETS are born usually with only about 40 mg. of iron in their bodies and the sow's milk only supplies about 1 mg. of the 7 mg. needed each day by the piglets.

This means that if the piglets do not get additional iron, the body stores soon become depleted and anaemia occurs at about one to three weeks of age.

Vermin Control This Month, Department Of Agriculture, Western Australia

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

THE effects of the very wet winter are no longer being felt in vermin control activities in most of Western Australia and they have returned to normal.

Poison Plant Problems, T E H Aplin

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

A POISON plant may be defined as a plant which, when eaten by humans or animals, exerts harmful effects or causes death by virtue of its toxic substances.

Liver Cirrhosis : A New Poultry Disease, P Smetana

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

A new poultry disease which is apparently peculiar to Western Australia is causing losses in some commercial poultry flocks in this State.

The cause of the disease has not been isolated and no reliable treatment can yet be recommended.

The Control Of Infectious Abortion In Sheep, Stanley M. Dennis

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

Infectious abortion con be an important cause of lambing losses in some flocks.

In this article Senior Veterinary Pathologist Dr. S. M. Dennis describes the symptoms of infectious abortion diseases and gives some recommendations for their control.

Lice On Cattle, Department Of Agriculture, Western Australia

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

Lice can cause serious financial losses through reduced growth rates and loss of production in beef and dairy cattle.

This article describes the main species and recommended control measures.

Pullorum Tested Poultry Flocks : 1964, Department Of Agriculture, Western Australia

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

PULLORUM disease has been virtually eliminated from breeding and hatchery poultry flocks in Western Australia by the annual blood-testing of all birds and the destruction of reactors.

Recent Advances In Lupinosis Research, M R. Gardiner

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

BECAUSE of the important role which lupins play in light land development, flock losses from the effects of lupinosis must inevitably continue to be a matter of serious concern.

However, research carried out during the last four years has considerably advanced our knowledge of the fundamental nature of this disease and of the way in which it may be prevented or controlled.

Vermin Control This Month, Department Of Agriculture, Western Australia

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

Vermin control activities need to continue to avoid a build up later in the year.

Udder Preparation For Milking, W G. Robinson

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

REGULAR routine methods of preparing the udder for milking hare long been recognised as essential for good "let down" of milk.

The biggest problem so far has been to combat the spread of disease, in particular mastitis from udder to udder by the milker's hands or the udder washing cloths.

Precautions For Day Old Fowl Pox Vaccination, P Smetana

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

DURING 1962 day old vaccination was widely adopted as a preventative measure against fowl pox.

From June, 1961, until mid-June, 1962, this procedure proved to be highly successful, but from this date onwards a proportion of treated flocks became affected by breakdowns accompanied by mortality and retarded growth.

In some cases the losses were disturbingly high.

Bracken Fern Poisoning In Cattle, P B. Lewis

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

ONE of the major problems facing farmers in the South-West of Western Australia is the hazard of bracken fern poisoning.

Avian Leucosis And Fowl Paralysis, M R. Gardiner

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

I N all poultry raising areas throughout the world leucosis accounts for a greater loss of birds than any other disease.

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.

Marker Dyes In Antibiotics, K Needham, N. Ingleton

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

'For some years the presence of penicillin in milk has been a serious problem for the dairy industry.

When cows are treated for mastitis with antibiotics some residue finds its way into the milk.

Unless the milk from treated cows is withheld for at least 72 hours after treatment this residue enters the bulk milk supply.

Now Is The Time To Poison Emus, John L. Long

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

The best time to poison emus is during the winter, from May to August.

Once natural grasses and the crops start coming to head in August-September, the chances of a successful poisoning are not good.

Acetonaemia In Dairy Cows, F C. Wilkinson

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

ACETONAEMIA is a common disease of newly calved cows in the dairying districts of Western Australia.

Affected cows practically dry off and lose a lot of body condition; these are the main causes of loss to the owners.

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.

Pullorum Tested Poultry Flocks : 1963, Department Of Agriculture, Western Australia

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

PULLORUM disease has been virtually eliminated from breeding and hatchery poultry flocks in Western Australia by the annual blood-testing of all birds and the destruction of reactors.

Only 222 reactors were found in a total of 170,474 birds tested this season—an incidence of infection of only 0.13 per cent.

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.

Day-Old Fowl Pox Vaccination, P Smetana

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

FOR many years the standard procedure for fowl pox prevention on West Australian poultry farms has been to vaccinate young stock at 12 weeks of age. Although most farmers have used this system successfully it has a number of weaknesses which can be overcome by day-old vaccination.

A new day-old fowl pox vaccine now on the market has many advantages over the normal vaccine, which is used at about 12 weeks old.

In tests at the Poultry Research Station it gave satisfactory results.

Hints On Chicken Rearing, P Smetana

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

For the next few months poultry farmers will once again be concerned with rearing chickens.

A good brooder, ample space, good sanitation, plenty of water and a balanced feed are still the essentials of successful chicken raising, says P. Smetana, B.Sc. (Agric), Acting Officer-in-Charge of the Poultry Branch.