An Expert’s Explanation of Internal Parasites
Powerpoint slides from a presentation by Dr. James Miller at the 2012 National Sheep Symposium
Sheep
Sheep Industry Review
Every 3 months, experts from ASI (American Sheep Industry Association) produce this review for the American Lamb Board. It’s public information that can also be found on ALB’s own website (www.americanlambboard.org)
Parasite Control (from England)
A link to a British educational review of on sheep de-worming issues and practices. It includes information on peak infection times, when and when not to de-worm and how it should be done. We’ve included it because it makes a complicated subject unusually easy to read and understand.
Superior Farms Market Report
Mr. Powell’s article was taken from a Superior Farms newsletter. It’s in the Guide because it makes two important points. That the very high lamb prices of 2011 were actually counter-productive to the US lamb industry because they reduced lamb demand—which, in turn, resulted in the sharp drop in lamb prices in 2012.
A commercial lamb producer’s system in NE Iowa
In order to know your profit, you have to keep excellent records. That is how Clint Auderer runs his commercial sheep farm and feedlot outside Holy Cross, IA.
Advantages of Rotational Grazing
Rotational grazing is the practice of moving grazing livestock between pastures (often called paddocks) as needed or on a regular basis. There are many approaches and types of grazing that fall under the broad umbrella of rotational grazing. The simplest is moving livestock between paddocks every set number of days: two days one week one […]
Drench sheep in a handling chute
There are two main styles of chutes used for handling sheep—the treatment chute and the sorting chute. Handling setups for larger flocks (500+) often have both types of chutes. Smaller flocks do their treatment within the sorting chute.
Collect fecal samples
Collecting fecal samples for analysis is a dirty but necessary job. An analysis is used to identify and determine the number of parasite eggs present in an animal’s feces. Higher counts indicate a higher worm burden. The decision of whether or not to worm and what wormer to use is based on a fecal analysis.
Parasite Prevention
Parasites are largely thought of as a limiting factor in sheep production, especially on pasture. According to the SID Sheep Production Handbook, larval development on pasture and the subsequent ingestion of the infective larval by sheep is affected by many factors, especially temperature and moisture.
Captain John’s Lamb
Seven years ago, Robert Pope left a flyer on the door of a local North Carolina restaurant. His message was simple: he had fresh lamb available and he thought they should include it on their menu. It worked!