Wasting disease in sheep.

Wasting disease in sheep. 

Case example 

A farmer has brought a 3 year old, female mule ewe to the practice because she has been ‘wasting away’. The farm reports the ewe seems lethargic and has had bouts of pneumonia throughout the autumn. The farmer has brought her to the practice for you to have a look at because he has noticed a few other ewes going the same way and would like to get to the bottom of what is going on. The farmer performs regular faecal egg counting and worms accordingly. All ewes have heptivac P yearly 6 weeks before lambing. 

Things to consider: 

·     What clinical signs is farmer reporting? 
Wasting – what does the farmer mean by wasting? Muscle loss? Weight loss? Both?
Pneumonia- again what does the farmer mean by pneumonia? Nasal and ocular discharge? Coughing? Raspy throat? Trouble breathing? Increase respiratory effort? Increase respiratory rate? 
Lethargy- describe lethargy? Is the ewe taking herself away from the main group? Does she straggle behind when he is moving the group? Is she not standing up and grazing? 

·     Is the problem a group or individual problem? 
In this case the problem seems to be affecting a number of ewes within the flock therefore is likely to be a group problem. 

·     Additional information you are given by the farmer that is helpful. 
Regular worm egg counting & subsequent treatment- this piece of information means that wasting disease secondary to an endoparasite (worm) burden is less likely. The main endoparasite that causing wasting in the  autumn / winter time is liver fluke. 
All the ewes have had heptivac P yearly which protects them against a degree of protection against clostridial disease and pasturella pneumonia. 

The vet performs a clinical exam on the ewe and finds the following abnormalities: 

BCS of 1.5/5 

Explanation: BCS is graded 1-5 with 1 being the thinnest and fat being the fattest. It is determined by assess the cover of fat and muscle over the vertical process and transverse process. You would expect a mule ewe to have a body condition score of 2.5 – 3 in the autumn as they going to be getting ready to go to the tup therefore a BCS of 1.5 is much lower than expected.

Increased respiratory rate 

Explanation: Increased respiratory rate means the animal is taking more breaths per minute than normal. Always keep in mind that sheep are a prey species therefore small increases in respiratory rate can be related to fear however in this case the respiratory rate was significantly increased. 

Abnormal respiratory auscultation 

Explanation: Respiratory auscultation is where you listen to the lung field using a stethoscope. In this ewe the vet could hear a crackling sound as the ewe breathes in and out. 

What’s next?

The vet suggested performing an ultrasound examination of the lungs. Below is a video of Iolo White demonstrating how to perform a thoracic ultrasound scan to look for Ovine Pulmonary Adenocarcinoma (tumours of the lung tissue). 

 
In this case the ewe is positive for OPA. Other possible causes of these signs are: maedi visna, pleural abscess and pulmonary caseous lympahdentitis.  

Ethical dilemma

Another method of determining if a ewe has OPA is the wheelbarrow test. The tumours in the lungs produce fluid known as exudate which gives the lungs their crackly sound. This exudate can sometimes be seen a froth coming from the nostrils. The wheelbarrow test involves lifting the sheep’s hindlimbs in the air and seeing if fluid comes out of the nose. If fluid pours out of the nose this means they are suffering with OPA. 

 Questions you would be expected to answering during a vet school interview.

·     Is this an ethical test to perform? 

·     What are the pros and cons of performing this test? 

·     What is your opinion?

The story behind the Pre Vet Course

The Pre Vet Course was set up to help those who are struggling to farm farming work experience. Before I (Becky) went to vet school I it found in incredibly hard to find farmers willing to have me on farm for work experience. Not being from a farming background and living in South East England (where there are very few farms!) I became disheartened by the endless phone calls and unanswered messages. I left for vet school with limited farming work experience and felt like I was playing catch up for the first year of my degree.

During the course of my degree I had so many amazing opportunities and I come to realised that production animal medicine was much more interesting than I initially thought. I met lots of farmers during my first few years of vet school and realised that most were happy to teach and impart knowledge; this made me curious as to why I found it so difficult before leaving for vet school? After spending a lot of time asking farmers across the country I realised that farmer main concern was safety. Almost all the farmers I spoke to were worried about students getting hurt because of their lack of experience; hurt by the animals (for those of you that haven’t been on the receiving end of a cow kick- its hurts!) and hurt by machinery. So that got me thinking about how we solve the impossible problem- farmer are reluctant to have inexperienced students on farm but students can only gain experience by being on farm. This is when the idea of the Pre Vet Course was first formed.

After a year of planning and discussion, in my final year of university we took the plunge and set up the course. The aim of the Pre Vet Course provides students aged 16+ veterinary work experience that bridges the gap between inexperienced students and commercial farms. With veterinary medicine entry requirements becoming increasingly demanding I feel it is essential that we give students from non farming backgrounds an opportunity to learn the key practical skills in a safe and relaxed environment. These skills will enable them to go on a thrive during future farm animal placements and at university.

We have had fantastic feedback from this years course attendees, with all students went away more confident and competent handlings farm animals and horses. Our main aim is to give those students who are struggling to find farming work experience an opportunity to learn and hopefully helping them on their way to their dreams of becoming a vet.

Inside a horses passport.

Like humans horses have passports. You identify a horse is by looking at its sex, colour, markings and microchip; all of which are recorded in the passport on what we call a ‘sketch’. Another key bit information found in a horses passport is its vaccination record which is particularly important given the recent outbreaks of equine influenza virus.

So what does a passport look like?

The image to the left is a photo of the front cover of an equine passport. Passports vary in colour and size depending on the breed of the horse; this passport is for a Welsh Cob and has been issued by the Welsh Pony & Cob society.

What will you find inside a passport?

• Sketch of the horses markings

• Written explanation of the markings present

• Vaccination record

• Microchip number

Sketch of the markings

The photo above illustrates the specific markings of an individual horse

Colour: Black

Head markings: large star and extending blaze involving left nostril. Flesh mark on upper and lower lip

Forelegs and hooves:

Left / nearside: white too three quarter cannon & white hoof.

Right. offside: white to knee and white hoof

Hindlimb & hooves

Left/ nearside: white too three quarter cannot. White hoof

Right/ offside: white too three quarter cannot & white hoof

Body: white line under belly.

Vaccination record

The primary course of vaccinations consists of three vaccinations and then horses require a yearly booster. Recently, some horses have been having 6 monthly vaccination if they are travelling to shows/ competitions to reduce the risk of contacting equine influenza.

Could a ham sandwich wipe out the UK pig population?

Could a ham sandwich wipe out the UK pig population?

 Pigs, like all other animals, get diseases. Some will resolve with time, some require treatment, and some sadly carry a grave prognosis. We are lucky to live on an island meaning we have a degree of protection from diseases that are rapidly spreading through Europe and elsewhere in the world. However, there is rising concern about a Notifiable disease called African Swine Fever.

 By this point you are probably curious about the connection between a ham sandwich, African Swine Fever and the UK pig population. African Swine Fever is a viral disease that spreads rapidly throughout pig populations. There are a number of ways in which the virus can infect pigs, these include:

·      Pigs coming into contact with infected pigs or their body fluids or faeces

·      Pigs coming into contact with contaminated items eg: clothing, vehicles, people.

·   Pigs ingesting infected meat products.

 The virus is able to survive for a long time in cooked or frozen pork. Pork imported from areas in the world where African Swine Fever is present could, despite the best effort of those working tirelessly to prevent the virus entering, contain African Swine Fever. This is where the ham sandwich comes in… Say you are visiting the Forest of Dean and you half eat a ham sandwich, containing meat from an infected pig, and you accidentally drop half on the floor and put your dirty sandwich into the a bin. Later that evening a wild boar rummages through the bin and eats the remaining half of your ham sandwich; there is a strong chance that wild boar could become infected with African Swine Fever. The wild boar the defecates on the road and the disease is then on the tyres of cars belonging to people visiting from far and wide and all of a sudden the virus is nationwide. 

 This blog is by no means is supposed to discourage people from enjoying a ham sandwich and is a gross oversimplification of the pathogenesis of the disease. However, it is important that we work together to ensure our commercial, wild boar, and pet pig population do not have access to pork or any other kitchen waste to prevent the introduction and spread of nasty disease such as African Swine Fever.  

Mind your head!

Mental heath in farming is a topic that is being promoted this week by the Mind Your Head campaign. The aim being to raise awareness of the pressure farmers are under and impact it has on mental health. To support this campaign and raise money for the DPJ Charity Matt, along with his brother in law George, will be climbing 9 of the highest peaks in the UK. Day one will involve climbing three of the highest peaks in the Lake District, day two will involve three Welsh peaks including Snowdonia, day three will end on Scotland in the top of Ben Nevis.

Farming can be a tough job; you are constantly at the mercy of the weather and disease however most farmers will tell you they couldn’t imagine doing anything else. Farm vets are often the people that see the highs and lows of the farming year. It is important to remember we are still tacking diseases like Bovine TB. Vets are often delivering bad news; cows that tests positive for Bovine TB it must be sent to slaughter. For farmers this is a heartbreaking event as most farmers know each and every one of the cows on their and think of most of them as friends, if not family (as silly as this may sound).

What can you do to support your local farm?
If you know a farmer who may be having a tough time take timeout and spend half an hour having a cup of tea and a chat. We are big believers in the saying “a problem shared is a problem halved”. There are lots of charities ready to help out those who are struggling and their details can be found at the bottom of this post. Other things you can do to support UK farmers are:

• Find you local milkman. The local milkman is making a come back! Not only do they supply consumers with British milk which is coming from local farms (so it hasn’t travelled country wide before it reaches your fridge) and is often delivered in glass bottle which supports the increasing movement to cut down on our plastic consumption.

• Try not to judge what you see online. With the increasing popularity of social media farming seems to be one of the many sectors coming under fire. It is easy to see an image and think the worst however it is important to remember that these images are often taken out of context. If you are worried about anything you see online; speak to a farmer and find out more. Most farmers are happy to tell people about their farm, they actually love to have visitors and speak to people who are interested, so make sure next time you see something your uncomfortable with or confused by interact with your local farmer and ask the question.

• Buy local/ British produce- British farmers work incredibly hard to ensure that British meat, eggs, and milk is produce by high welfare, healthy and happy animals. By buying British you support the great work our farmers and doing and pump money back into the British economy- its a win win! :)

Charities that can help those who are struggling:

• RABI (Royal Agricultural Benevolent Institution
  Website: https://rabi.org.uk
  Helpline: 08082819490

• Tir Dewi
  Website: http://www.tirdewi.co.uk/en/homepage-1/
  Helpline: 08002124722

• DPJ Foundation
  Website: http://www.thedpjfoundation.com
  Helpline: 08005874262

Advice for Veterinary Medicine applicants (and parents!)

Applying to vet school can be an overwhelming process for both parents and students. However these are some bits of advice that may help you during the process :)

Top tips for students applying to Veterinary Medicine:

• Start at the bottom and work your way up. Many student become frustrated that they cannot secure any work experience at vets practices; however learn the basics of animal husbandry and then try again. Go to work in a cattery, kennels, stables or farm and learn how a normal animal looks and how to handle animals before approaching the vets. Once you have done this ask the people you have been working with what vets they use to treat their animals and if they would be happy to write you a letter of recommendation. Obtaining a placement on recommendation is ofter a lot quicker and easier than writing heaps of emails to people you don’t know.

• Always think about both sides of every argument. There are lots of controversial topics in veterinary medicine and farming and it is important that throughout work experience you try and consider both. For example: an owner ask your to put a healthy dog to sleep without expanding on the reason why. Now most peoples immediate reaction would be to ‘I don’t want to put this animal to sleep, i’m going to rehome it'- which is very reasonable however it is important to delve deeper into the topic. Often people want to put animal to sleep because they have shown signs of aggression (which can be due to pain, changes in environment or it can be genuine aggression) or the owner has had a change in circumstances and can no longer afford to keep the animal. It is also worth considering what will happen to the animal if you refuse to put it to sleep; will the owner let it out onto the streets out of desperation? Doing this on work experience will help you prepare for the ethical and welfare questions that may come up during interview.

• Write a work experience dairy. When you are on work experience you can recall situations clearly however a year later at your vet school interview it may not be as easy. Make sure you write down your experiences and try and reflect on them. When you go home look up diagnoses that you have seen the vet give during the day and make sure you have a good understanding; this will make it much easier to recall during interviews.

• Writing a personal statement for veterinary medicine can be difficult. Before you start typing write down a list of characteristics that makes a good vet- e.g.: empathetic, able to prioritise, good communicator. Make sure that throughout your statement you are giving examples of you demonstrating these characteristics whilst on work experience or within day to day life. Avoid listing what work experience you have completed; the people reading you application will be reading you work experience form and will not appreciate reading the same thing twice.

Advice for parents who’s son/daughter is applying to Veterinary Medicine:

• Make sure all the deadlines are on the calendar. During A levels students are often so busy completing work experience, homework and writing their applications they sometime forget to double check submission dates. Make sure the UCAS application date (which is earlier for veterinary medicine applicants than normal UCAS applicants) and the due date for work experience forms is in bold on the calendar. Missing the deadline for the work experience forms can often result in the application being immediately dismissed so make sure they are in on time to avoid disappointment.

• UCAS, UCAS, UCAS… UCAS is portal in which student submit their applications to vet school. You can make 5 applications though UCAS however only 4 of these can be for Veterinary Medicine. This may seems silly however the 5th application should be for a subject with lower entry requirements; this means that if your son/daughter does not achieve the grades for Veterinary Medicine on results day they still have the opportunity to complete a degree elsewhere. If Veterinary Medicine is the ONLY subject your son/daughter will consider it is worth looking at the pre-vet courses that run at some of the universities; these are a year long course that lead onto a Veterinary Medicine degree and can often count as the 5th (non Veterinary Medicine) UCAS application.

• Visit the universities. Vet schools are very different in their set up with each school having their strengths and weaknesses. It is important to try and have a look at the ones your son or daughter is planning on applying for; the last think you want is to turn up for an interview and dislike the location or the people.

We are happy to give help and advice to both patents and students regarding applications; if you would like some help please get in touch via contact page. If you are interested in gaining equine and farm animal veterinary work experience make sure you take a look at our Pre-Vet course running throughout August 2019.

Good luck with your applications :)

Lambing- tips and tricks for lambing placements.

For some, the lambing season is in full swing and for others the preparations are well underway. Before visiting a farm to help with lambing it is important to find out what the farmers goals are; are they aiming to lamb early so that they can sell their lambs for a premium price in the Easter market? Are they lambing later on in the season and lambing outdoors onto fresh grass to produce a lower input lamb? Do they sell store or finished lambs? These are some examples of the different approaches to producing a lamb and it is important to remember there is no right or wrong.

Sooooo… What do you need to know before going on a lambing placement?

View from a hill farm.

• What type of sheep farm is it? There are many types of farming systems; the broad categories are hill, upland and lowland. Each systems requires ewe with different traits. For example a hill flocks will look for a ewe with a strong mothering instinct that will protect her lambs from predators and the weather however, these ewes won’t be as prolific (meaning they won’t produce as many lambs- predominantly a single lamb). In a lowland flock the ewes will be very prolific (meaning they will normally be aiming to have twins) and will often be lambed indoors earlier in the season.

Indoor lambing with each ewe and her lamb/lambs in an individual pen.

• Breed of sheep: this is important to know because certain breeds of sheep are prone to specific problems during lambing. Dystocia is the term used to describe difficulty giving birth, some breeds of sheep are more prone to developing dystocia than others. Double muscled breeds such as Beltex and Texels, as well as any other breeds with large shoulders and rumps, are more prone to have difficulty giving birth. This is because the size of the ewes pelvis is too narrow for the lambs shoulders and hind quaters to pass through. These sheep sometimes require a caesarean section so it is important that you assess the width of the shoulder/ hind quarters and the size of the ewes pelvic canal before you attempt to assist lambing.

• Vaccination status of the Flock: There are two highly contagious diseases that are common during lambing- these are toxoplasma and enzootic abortion. Both these diseases can be vaccinated against however the vaccines are costly so vaccination status varies between farms.
  - Toxoplasma is caused by a protozoa. It produces a variety of signs however the two most common are a higher than normal number of barren ewes at scanning (because it causes reabsorption in early pregnancy) and lambing abnormalities such as: mummified foetuses, weak lambs, and stillborn lambs.
  - Enzootic abortion is a bacterial disease that can cause a variety of signs however the two main signs are premature still born lambs (normally 2 weeks before the due date) and a red, thickened placenta.

  If the presence of either disease is suspected the ewe showing clinical should be isolated from the main flock and placental and foetal contents should be removed straight away. Keep the foetus and placenta as clean as possible and the vet should be called to take samples and confirm the presence of disease. The area where the abortion occurred should be disinfected to minimise further spread.

Example of a ewe with a water bag

Hints and tips for lambing itself…

meconium staining on a lamb

Signs of lambing: if you have never lambed before spotting a ewe that is about to start lambing can be tricky. Often they will take themselves away from the main flock and stargaze (this basically means they lie on the floor, extend their neck and gaze towards the sky). They will also start nesting, this can be scratching at the ground and making themselves a comfortable place to lamb. If they are a bit further along you may see a waterbag; it can sometimes be confusing because ewes may have a water bag hanging out but they may still be munching on some hay and walking around- if this is the case DONT PANIC as this is completely normal for sheep! The final stages are lying down and straining. Straining can last for up to 20-30 minutes, it is important to give the ewe some time and space to try and lamb herself before intervening.

Lambing: you could write an entire blog on lambing alone but these are some of the key points.
- Meconium- what is it and what does it mean? Meconium is a brown/ yellow staining seen on the lambs when they become stressed during lambing. When lambs become stressed during lambing the poo… this is gives it the brown/ yellow colouring. If you see a yellow/ brown discharge coming from the ewe or a part of a lamb with meconium staining you should assist the ewe immediately.
- Malpresentation- ideally you want a lamb to come out with it too front legs forward and its head snugly position between the front legs… however this is not always the case. Lambs can be delivered back legs first. When delivering lambs backwards the lamb will normally come half way out of the ewe at which point you need to ensure the umbilical chord is still in tact and supplying oxygen to the lamb; as long as the umbilical chord is still attached it is safe to wait for the next contraction during which you can help pull the rest of the lamb out. If the umbilical chord has been severed the lamb should be removed as a matter of urgency. There are some great resources online to help you learn about all the malpresentation because there are too many variations to list in this overview.

Post lambing:
- Ensure the lambs airways are clear. This may sound obvious but often lambs have raspy breathing post lambing the this is because some amniotic fluid has been inhaled during lambing. Clear the fluid from their nose an around the mouth and rub the chest to encourage them to cough. Making the lamb shake their head can also help remove lodged fluid; this can be done by poking a blade of straw up their nose or in their ear (sound a bit mean… but it won’t hurt the lambs).
- Applying iodine to the naval should be performed ASAP after lambing, The naval is a connection between the outside environment and the body and is a great place for bacteria to enter. Iodine helps dry the naval and kill bacteria. If iodine is not applied lambs there is a high risk of developing joint ill; a disease in which lambs develop hot, swollen, painful joint. Once iodine has been applied some farms will give 1ml of spectam as a watery mouth preventative.
- Wait for the lamb to suckle. The first milk the the most important feed of a lambs life. Colostrum produced by the ewe is high in fats (for energy), immunoglobulins (to protect the lambs against disease) and is warm (therefore preventing against hypothermia). If the lamb is not suckling or the ewe has no/ little milk you should feed the lamb powered colostrum via a bottle or stomach tube.

Enougraging a lamb to suckle. this photo also show iodine staining around the naval.

If you are interested in sheep husbandry and handling and would like to come and learn more we will be running sheep courses all year round. Click below for more information.