Shane McGettrick, the laboratory manager with the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine’s Regional Veterinary Laboratory in Co. Sligo, spoke to farmers at a recent Teagasc National Hill Sheep Conference.
One of the takeaways from his address was that the highest mortality rate in ewes was linked to respiratory diseases.
He shared that both he and his colleague established the common diagnosis to be respiratory issues. “After that, we have seen a good bit of parasitic diseases and enteric conditions. Furthermore, a good few issues related to metabolic issues coming up to lambing pop-up quite a bit.”
“Probably not as much on hill sheep farms, but sheep that are fed silage, particularly in the case of lowland farms, we see listeria and central nervous system (CNS) conditions popping up,” he said.
Other ailments that appear include clostridial diseases and poisoning on farms.
McGettrick also discussed iceberg diseases, including Ovine Pulmonary Adenocarinoma (OPA), Caseous Lymphadenitis, Border disease, Johne’s disease and Maedi Visna.
It seems that these diseases are increasing on farms, and that farmers will be encountering them more often in the near future.
LSL News.