Tuesday, November 21, 2006
sheep health
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We lost our first sheep this fall. It was heart breaking, but I believe there will be good coming of it. We struggled with the health of a few of our sheep all summer, with the extreme heat especially and one finally died in Octobler. He became the truely "sacrificial lamb" as his liver was sent off for testing. We found out that he was severely deficient in copper. What a surprise for animals who are supposted to be so sensitive to copper poisoning! In my research since then, I have come to realize how important copper is to all animals, including sheep, especially colored sheep. All of my black or darker colored sheep suffered this summer, and now I know why: black sheep need 6 times the copper of white sheep! They just weren't getting enough from the grass, and I don't often feed grain (even that didn't help this year) Many of the problems we had: heat stress, coccidia, pneumonia, and anemia are all linked to low copper. We will be changing to a different mineral mix as soon as possible to balance out their needs for increased copper among other things. I would highly recommend Pat Coleby's "Natural Sheep Care", a new book available from Acres publishing. If you have sheep, particularly wool sheep, it is invaluable. Wish I had seen it before losing one of my own. |
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Tuesday, November 21, 2006 - I'm so sorry...
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