September

www.lls.nsw.gov.au/riverina

RIVERINA LOCAL LIVESTOCK UPDATE

September reminders REMINDERSTREAT YOUR SHEEP WITH FLY PREVENTION NOWDistrict Veterinarian Courtney SimkinSpring is here and warm weather starting, it is time to consider fly prevention. Sheep blow-fly (Lucilla cuprina) has a life-stage in the soil. When soil temperatures drop over autumn and winter the pupa can go into a stage of arrested development.

There is a generally high overwinter mortality but significant numbers from the previous summer can survive. Once the weather begins to warm up and soil temperatures increase in spring the pupa can begin to mature again. If soil temperature remain above 11°C for at least 7 days or more and soil temperatures increase by 1.5°C daily for at least four days the pupa will resume development (De Cat, Larsen & Anderson 2012). This leads to a synchronised emergence of immature flies ready to find some sheep.

Treating sheep at this synchronised emergence will help to disrupt the life cycle of the fly. As the weather warms the fly’s life-cycle (egg to breeding female) will reduce to only 17 days. Therefore within a month of temperatures rising the sheep blowfly could have had two complete life cycles and your mob will have a high fly burden. Preventative treatment of your sheep with the first emergence this will stop this synchronised emergence in its tracks.

Visit www.flyboss.com.au/sheep-goats

GRAZING FAILED CROPS District Veterinarian Evie Duggan Last week I was involved in a discussion panel on managing animal health on grazing canola, held at Wallendbeen Hall organised by Phil Bowden (AOF/Pulse Australia) and Sandy Biddulph. The aim of the day was to develop a protocol to best manage the animal health risks in sheep and cattle associated with grazing canola. With over 80 people attending, it attested to the level of interest and current relevance of these issues. Following our discussions and with an increasing number of calls this week from producers wanting advice on how to safely graze failed crops below is a quick guide to reduce risk.

General rules that apply to all crops:• Put stock on full. Ensuring that stock have a full gut of hay reduces the risk of them gorging when they are first introduced.

In an ideal scenario stock should have access to straw/hay while grazing crop to increase roughage in the diet. • Introduce stock late morning/mid-day. Nitrate levels will be highest in the crop in the morning. Giving the plant time to

photosynthesise reduces this risk.• Up to date vaccination (5in1/6in1). As always, a change in diet, particularly one to a lush feed is a risk for clostridial disease.• Nitrate risk is lower in mature crops compared to young crops. If there is concern with high nitrate levels in the crop a slow

introduction over 3-5 days, starting with a half day and gradually increasing is ideal. • Consider when you last applied urea/high nitrate fertiliser? Keep in mind the rate of application and the last rainfall you had.

The larger the application rate, the higher the risk of nitrate if there has been recent rainfall.• Loose lick. On cereal crops the calcium in lime is required to balance out the inappropriate calcium:phosphorus ratio. On

canola the lime, salt and causmag act as a buffer in the rumen. Specifics for canola:• Flowering canola. Avoid grazing young stock on flowering canola. Ideally use older stock as they are less susceptible to the

toxic effects of the compounds contained.• There are anecdotal reports of the flower causing the fat to become yellow. A cheats way of assessing the safety of a crop is to introduce one or two ‘taste testers’ before introducing a whole mob. As always, the vets in our team are more than happy to discuss your plan with you.

PRE JOINING CHECKLIST FOR EWES AND RAMS District Veterinarian Emily Stearman It’s approaching that time of year again where we should be thinking about how we prepare for joining.

EWE CHECKLISTWe aim to join ewes in BCS 2.5-3/5 • Body condition score of ewes at weaning - in a year where Spring feed may be limited weaning is a good time to draft

ewes into two condition score groups - those to maintain and those to increase condition• 6 weeks prior to joining both mobs should be reassessed and additional, high protein feed provided for those still below

condition• Clostridial vaccination boosters are typically not required if ewes were vaccinated prior to lambing. If vaccinations for

Campylobacter are used on farm consider the recommended vaccination protocols for these products are observed• Assessment of other health conditions should be conducted. Heavy worm burdens and foot health can impact

significantly on fertility

RAM CHECKLIST 6 weeks prior to joining rams should be assessed for BCS:• Feeding a high protein diet in the 6 weeks leading into joining increased semen quality. Where rams are found to be

<BCS2.5-3/5 addition of high energy feed may be required concurrently.You also need to check the four “T’s”: • TESTICLES: Palpate the testicles to identify any lumps or variations in size or texture. If you are unsure about how to

palpate or concerned about lumps you have found, you should seek a veterinarian’s advice or assistance• TOES (FEET/LEGS): Visualise the ram walking to identify any lameness. Closely inspect the feet for signs of abscess or

footrot and examine the legs, especially joints for swelling.• TEETH: Especially in older rams. Consider culling any rams with a broken mouth as they may be less capable of

maintaining weight and achieving maximum performance during joining.• TOSSEL (PENIS): Examine for cuts and ulcers in a tipped ram, understandably this may not always be practical. At a

minimum, the prepuce should be inspected and the penis palpated through the prepuce to identify any obvious swellings or lumps.

Additionally: • If buying new rams, it is highly recommended that the rams are purchased from an ovine brucellosis accredited flock and

a National Sheep Health Declaration is requested from the seller.• Once the new rams arrive, a quarantine drench with a combination product should be given and rams should be kept

isolated for as long as possible to monitor them for signs of lice or footrot. • Clostridial vaccination boosters are recommended 4 weeks pre-joining in rams.

BOTH RAMS AND EWESConsider what feed you have available for each mob during the joining period. With spring feed availability likely to be variable, now is the time to consider if additional feed needs to be purchased and how you may manage your pasture to maintain condition without overgrazing.

Case study: CASE HISTORY A sheep producer noticed that in a mob of 6/400 mixed age ewes with twin and single lambs at foot, were loosing condition. The affected ewes had an average body condition score (BCS) of 1.5/5, whereas unaffected ewes has an average BCS of 2.5-3/5 Drenching and vaccination was up to date. The lambs at foot were in good condition and appeared to be unaffected.

The ewes were grazing cereal crops since the start of May and were full hand fed 50% barley and 50% sheep pellets through late summer and early autumn; some access to lupin seed throughout this time as well. The ewes had ad lib access to a salt, lime and magnesium loose lick.

POST MORTEM FINDINGSTwo post mortems were performed and the only significant change noted was that the kidneys in one ewe were more pale then normal.Lab findings:EWE 1• Ovine Johnes disease (OJD) negative • Mineral stone formations within the kidney cells were observed

under the microscope• Mild changes in the cells of the liver• Increase in kidney and liver enzymes on bloods as well as

increased phosphorus and magnesium, and decreased calcium.EWE 2• Ovine Johnes disease (OJD) negative • Acute and chronic changes in the liver• E.coli cultured from fresh liver• Increase in liver enzymes on bloods as well as increased

phosphorus, and decreased calcium.

District Veterinarian Katelyn Braine Sheep

DIAGNOSIS EWE 1 • Urolithiasis (kidney stones) and liver damage due to ingestion of

a toxic substance.

So, what does this mean?The Kidney stones seen in Ewe 1 have likely resulted from supplementary feeding of the pellet in January/February/March. Some commercial sheep pellets have a high dietary phosphorus and low dietary calcium content. Low dietary calcium can further increase the excretion of urinary phosphorus which together with a normal alkaline urinary pH promotes the development of mineral crystals. As these crystals solidify they can cause blockages in the kidney, bladder or urethra.

WAS THERE ANYTHING WE COULD DO FOR THESE EWES? Management and prevention strategies of uroliths in sheep should be aimed at increasing water intake, and increasing dietary calcium by feeding legume hay or by adding calcium carbonate (ground limestone) to the diet. Limestone can be added at the rate of 1.5-2% of the diet (20kg per tonne of grain) to reduce the risk uroliths. Urine acidifiers such as ammonium chloride can also be included in the diet to reduce the urine pH and prevent the development of uroliths. Unfortunately, in a flock that has already been exposed to conditions that favour urolith development, deaths may continue to occur despite control measures being in place.

Find out what caused the liver damage in both ewes next month.

THE CASE OF THE

WASTING EWES

A Biosecurity Management Plan (the Plan) applies to this place. Failure to comply with the Plan may be an offence

under the NSW Biosecurity Act 2015.

Please phone or visit the office before entering to obtain a copy of the Plan or to discuss your obligations.

DO NOT ENTER WITHOUT PRIOR APPROVALVehicles, people and equipment may carry

weed seeds, pests and diseases

VISITORS

CHANGES TO THE BIOSECURITY ACT AND HOW IT AFFECTS LANDHOLDERS

The NSW Government has announced a number of changes to the Biosecurity Act 2015 which came into effect on 1 August.

The amendments provide stronger protection for landholders against trespassers on their property, which to date have posed a major biosecurity breach. Anyone who enters a designated biosecurity area without permission and without complying with the plan’s requirements may be guilty of an offence under the Act, and subject to the new, harsher penalties.

Landholders will need to have a biosecurity plan in place and appropriate signage. Signs, or stickers to be placed on your existing signs, are currently available from LLS offices.

Riverina Local Land Services will be distributing signs, stickers and brochures to landholders from our offices and local opportunities such as field days (these will be given out free until 31 December 2019 and after that will be available for purchase). Visit us at the Henty Field Days this week to collect your free signs and property map.

For further information visit the NSW DPI website: www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/biosecurity/your-role-in-biosecurity/primary-producers/biosecurity-management-plan

Above image: The new Biosecurity signs. Stickers are available for existing signs to be updated. Below: Signs must be displayed at the entrance to the management area to which your plan applies. For example, if your management area identified in your biosecurity management plan is your whole property then signs are needed at all perimeter access points - see sample images below.

CONTACT YOUR CLOSEST DISTRICT VETERINARIAN 

WAGGA Emily Stearman - 0437 644 714 or 6923 6300Dione Howard - 0428 115 134 or 6923 6300

YOUNG Eliz Braddon - 0418 642 196 or 6381 4700Evie Duggan - 0427 147 939 or 6381 4700

NARRANDERA/GRIFFITH Sophie Hemley - 0427 696 895 or 6960 1300

HAY Courtney Simkin - 0427 418 006 or 6990 1304

GUNDAGAI Katelyn Braine - 0428 262 112 or 6940 6900

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