Sheep producers have been warned to monitor stock closely for pregnancy toxemia and hypocalcaemia as drought conditions take a toll on lambing and lactating ewes.
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Cold weather has exacerbated problems according to North West Local Land Services district veterinarian Judy Ellem.
She said LLS staff had been responding to cases of ewes going down and dying.
“Pregnancy toxaemia and hypocalcaemia look similar,” she said.
“There’s not much ground cover at the moment, and the dry grass that is present doesn’t have much feed value, so sheep are getting their full nutrient requirements from other feed sources.
“Ewes on the point of lambing or currently lambing have very high energy requirements that may not be being met each day.”
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The long period of drought feeding and scarcity of quality feed makes it difficult for producers to stay on top of the situation.
Dr Ellem stressed the importance of seeking advice.
“Pregnancy toxaemia also known as ketosis occurs when the animal uses its own body fat reserves for energy , producing a toxic by product, ketones.
Farmers are working hard to look after their stock, but some times they just can’t do it with the available feed or they don’t realise how much energy the sheep actually needs, particularly if it is carrying twins or triplets, reducing the space for the rumen to fill with feed.
“Seek advice to work out what they need and account for energy requirements going up at the end of pregnancy, during early lactation and in cold weather.”
Lactating ewes, or those carrying multiple lambs, require three times the normal energy intake and some producers who may be relying on poorer quality hay and cottonseed are seeing issues.
Cottonseed alone does not provide enough energy for pregnant and lactating ewes as the oil limits how much the ewes can eat.
Cereal grains are ideal and can make up to a large percentage of the diet, Dr Ellem said. Pulses and peas also provide good energy levels, but like cottonseed, they have dietary inclusion limitations.
Dr Ellem said symptoms of hypocalcaemia – a lack of calcium (Ca) – can appear very similar to pregnancy toxaemia.
Calcium was a critical mineral during pregnancy and lactation and ewes draw Ca from their bones, however, if not enough is available animals can go down and die if untreated.
“Grains, cottonseed and pulses are all low in calcium, so long-term feeding of these can lead to hypocalcaemia,” she said.
One of the best sources of calcium was ag lime, she said, and the addition of ag lime to the feed ration will help prevent hypocalcaemia.
