by Dr. Nicholas Ballaban Prather, D.V.M.
Small ruminant producers need to be able to identify common ailments amongst their livestock. Your knowledge can not only help your animals, but it can help you get quicker and effective assistance from your veterinarian. In this article, we are going to discuss three ailments that I see regularly in our large animal practice.
Internal Parasites
Internal parasites make small ruminant production very difficult. Even though we can’t eliminate parasites from our environments or guts of our animals, we can use tools to mitigate parasite infestation. The most common internal parasites are Haemonchus, Ostertagia, Trichostrongylus, and Cooperia, also known as the HOTC Complex. Haemonchus is commonly known as the Barber Pole worm and gets most of the attention when talking about parasites. Other internal parasites are tapeworms and Coccidia, which we will address later in the article.
Identifying a parasite infestation in an animal is not difficult. There are primary and secondary symptoms. The primary symptoms exhibit when the animal has a large parasite load. Symptoms include bottle jaw, FAMACHA score of 3 or above, and lethargy (animals don’t want to move as fast or at all because they seem tired and depressed). The secondary symptoms are poor hair/wool coat and weight loss. You generally see these symptoms when the parasite load is starting to increase. Please note, diarrhea is not a typical symptom of a HOTC infestation.
There are two main tools I recommend to managing parasites in small ruminants- fecal egg counts and the FAMACHA score.
Fecal egg counts are most helpful when you know when to conduct the test. I recommend for producers to do a fecal egg count once a year using a McMaster’s slide. Once a year can give you a baseline of each of your animals so that you can know the resistant levels of your animals. Then, if you have to treat an animal again in the year, doing another fecal egg count will let you know how parasitized the animal has become. Keeping that information can help you cull problem animals and increase the parasite resistance in your flocks and herds.
The next tool for managing parasites in the FAMACHA test. FAMACHA is used to determine how anemic an animal has become due to a parasite infestation. Most internal parasites attach to lining of the animal’s intestine and consume blood from the animal. The more blood consumed, the more anemic the animal will become. The FAMACHA anemia guide gives a number to the levels of anemia. The paler the eyes, the higher the number. The scale is 1-5, with 1 being “optimal” and no treatment is required. You must be FAMACHA certified to use the FAMACHA Anemia Guide. You can find certification dates at the Kentucky Sheep and Goat Development Office calendar of events.
There is some debate on when to deworm small ruminants. One theory is to blanket deworm (every animal receives a dose of dewormer) at either breeding or at lambing/kidding. The blanket deworming of animals has led to resistance of dewormers within the industry. Simply put, if an animal is resistant to the dewormer, it won’t work, thus not curing a parasite infestation. The combination of fecal egg counts and a FAMACHA score is the ultimate way in knowing when to use an anthelmintic. My recommendation is to deworm when a FAMACHA score is 3 or above AND a fecal egg count has revealed greater than 1000 eggs per gram of feces. The most recent recommendations on dewormer dosages have been made by the American Consortium of Small Ruminant Parasite Control. Here are the dosage charts for sheep and goats.
Coccidiosis
I mentioned earlier that another type of internal parasite is Coccidia. Even though it is an internal parasite, the life cycle works much differently than HOTC, therefore the symptoms and treatment are also different.
The primary signs of a coccidia infection is diarrhea, sometimes bloody (Hematochezia). Secondary signs are lethargy and straining to defecate. An uncommon sign is nervous coccidiosis where an animal has seizures.
Treatment consists of two drugs; one to stop the coccidia from replicating and one to kill the secondary bacterial infection they have caused. The antibiotic used is Sulfadimethoxine (Albon) and the other drug(s) is(are) called Ponazuril. Please note: Both Albon and Ponazuril are extra label use for small ruminants, therefore you must get a prescription from a veterinarian. Also, Ponazuril has a 112 day meat withdrawal, meaning you cannot sell that animal for consumption for at least 112 days after administration.
Thiamine (Vitamin B1) Deficiency
Another common ailment amongst small ruminants is Thiamine deficiency. Thiamine plays a critical role in supplying energy to various organs in the body. It is supplied through the diet, therefore if nutrient requirements are not being met by an animal, then there is a risk for Thiamine deficiency.
Symptoms include rapid loss of appetite, muscle tremors, seizures, increased aggression, going off feed, and temporary blindness accompanied with walking in circles.
Treatment consists of administering Thiamine either intravenously (in the vein) or subcutaneously (under the skin) depending on the severity of the infection. Dr. Prather believes it is best to give doses until the sheep or goat is eating and then one extra day after that. NOTE: the amount of thiamine in the traditional “B Complex” injection that is available over the counter is not enough to cure thiamine deficiency alone
Dr. Nicholas Prather is originally from Cincinnati, Ohio but attended the University of Kentucky where he earned a degree in Animal Sciences. After graduating from UK, Like many Kentucky veterinarians he attended the Auburn University College of Veterinary Medicine where he took extra classes and rotations on small ruminant medicine as well as exotic animal medicine. On any given day, Dr. Prather will see anything from a bird or reptile to a goat, sheep, cow, horse, and of course dogs and cats. Outside of Vet Med he enjoys hunting, fishing, anything outdoors, watching sports and bourbon.
Dr. Nicholas Ballaban Prather, D.V.M.
All Types of Animals Veterinarian
Middendorf Animal Hospital and Laser Centre
9330 Berberich Dr.
Florence, KY 41042
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