GOATS and SHEEP

Recently, we have been experiencing significant endoparasite resistance in the Ohio Valley and surrounding areas. Parasite resistance is where your animal has evidence of worms despite administrating a dewormer. This resistance is due in part to a limitation of any new commercially available dewormers and the over-use of dewormers now on the market. It is important to break the life-cycle of the worm. For this reason, we are encouraging fecal analysis. For this service, a fresh fecal sample is collected from your goat or sheep and we will submit it for you to the laboratory for fecal parasite egg identification and counts. We use the University of Kentucky or Antech diagnostics to test most of our ruminant fecal samples. Our goals with a fecal analysis is to select the most appropriate dewormer for your animal, improve the over-all health of your herd, increase your herd’s productivity, performance, and profitability and finally, decontaminate your pasture of endoparasites (worms) so that future generations of animals grazing your land will have less problems due to parasite infestations.

Symptoms of parasite resistance in goats and sheep
The following symptoms are typical but not inclusive of parasite infestation in a small ruminant: pale gums and sclera “whites of the eyes”, decreased weight gain or weight loss despite adequate nutrition, unthrifty and coarse hair coat, diarrhea, lack of energy, decreased number of kids or lambs born to each mother, babies that are born weak and under-developed, decreased milk production in mothers, “bottle jaw” in does or nannys days or weeks after giving birth, decreased herd productivity and finally, unexplained death of an animal.

CATTLE

Parasite resistance is similar in cattle as in other small ruminants. Again, we encourage fecal sample submission to identify worm problems within your animal and on your farm.

GESTATION LENGTHS

(pregnancy days to full term)
These days are approximations and may vary within each species. Gestation tables are highlighted and linked to the Web.

1. Cattle – 279-292 days with an average of 283 – 285 days. Gestation length vary greatly between beef and dairy cattle with dairy having a tendency toward shorter gestation periods but this is only an expectation and not a rule. www.cattlevisions.com/gestation_table.htm

2. Goats – 145-155 days www.abga.org/gestation.php

3. Pigs – 112-114 days with an average of 3 months/3 weeks/3 days www.showtimesires.com/gestation.htm

4. Sheep – 142- 152 days with an average 147 days www.tvsp.org/gestation.html