By Dr Clive Dalton PART 9 Getting the best from a ‘Dag-Free’ and ‘Worm-Free’ ram This is an outstanding Romney ram. He was named ‘The Colonel’. Every time he has been tested he has had zero FEC, and had a FCS of 1 (marbles). Consequently, he has always remained clean regardless of the feed he … Read more
By Dr Clive Dalton PART 6 Selecting male replacements from the A team nucleus Remember the aim: Docking ram lambs Drenching lambs at docking – the very worst thing you can do! Avoid this like the plague! Tag lambs at docking if you have enough helpers Weaning ram lambs Ram hoggets Dag and worm status … Read more
By Dr Clive Dalton PART 8 Life cycle of main species of sheep worms Faecal Egg Counting (FEC) Larvae being incubated in lab Limitations of a FEC FEC sampling tips Paddock (composite) samples Finger sampling Probe rectal sampling Faecal Consistency Score (FCS) When to do it? Scores used Photo 1: ‘Marbles’ Photo 2: ‘Hand grenades’ … Read more
General hygiene, methods, subcutaneous, intravenous, intramuscular, intramammary, how to fill a syringe. By Dr Clive Dalton & Dr Marjorie Orr General – hygiene Subcutaneous injection (under the skin) Intramuscular injection (into the muscle) Intravenous injection (into the vein) Intramammary injections (into the udder) Filling a syringe Disclaimer This material is provided in good faith for information … Read more
By Dr Clive Dalton PART 7 These are the last two pathways where emphasis is on the males. Pathway 3: Selecting males to breed females.Pathway 4: Selecting males to breed males. Pathway 3: Selecting males to breed females Pathway 4: Selecting males to breed males Inbreeding: Final points to ponder What to do if you hit a worm crisis?
By Dr Clive Dalton PART 5 Two-tooth ewes from the A team nucleus Planning the two-tooths’ matingDecision needed: What rams are you going to join with these top two-tooths? They deserve very special consideration after all the work you’ve put into them. Ram options Option 1: Stud breeders rams at pubic auction but few FEC records … Read more
By Dr Clive Dalton PART 3 Getting started Essential features First: To keep the job simple and avoid getting bogged in paper.Second: To keep costs to a bare minimum. Genetic theoryThomas Bakewell in the 1700s used the principles used in this exercise to improve Longhorn cattle and Leicester sheep, so they’ve been well tested! He … Read more
By Dr Clive DaltonCastrating lambs with rubber ringsUsing rubber rings is the best way to castrate lambs in both large and small flocks. It is bloodless and research has shown that the intense pain only lasts a short time. Lambs should be castrated using rings before they are 6 weeks old – the younger the … Read more