OSU Sheep Team

Roger A. High, Executive Director, Ohio Sheep Improvement Association and Susan Schultz, President OSIA

OARDC Eastern Research Station in Caldwell, OH hosted the 2009 Ohio Sheep Day

The weather was absolutely gorgeous, with a glint of rain in the air all day, and finally it rained near the end of the program, which was very much appreciated in the drought stricken area of southeastern Ohio.  The air was filled with positive thoughts of an exciting Ohio sheep industry and the OSIA/OSWP/OSU coordinated Ohio Sheep Day was another overwhelming success.   Sheep producers from all over Ohio and other states flowed in to learn about several topics related to the sheep industry. The food served was generous and very well prepared.  There was just nothing to complain about during the day of Saturday, July 11, 2009 at the OARDC Eastern Research Station (EARS), in Caldwell, Ohio.

As the day progressed, nearly 150 sheep producers made their way to the 2010 Ohio Sheep Day event, several from outside of Ohio to learn about improved practices and research for the sheep industry.  Of course, many topics of interest to sheep producers were a valuable part of the day.  Many of the speakers entertained to crowds throughout the day as they spoke of topics from production of the sheep flock, lamb management to lamb cutting and cooking demonstrations.   There was something for everyone at the 2009 Ohio Sheep Day Program.  Welcoming the sheep producers to the OARDC-EARS Unit were Roger A. High, Executive Director of the Ohio Sheep Improvement Association and OSU State Sheep Extension Program Specialist, OSIA President, Susan Shultz, Dr. Steve Slack, Director, Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Centers and Dr. Jim Kinder, Chair, Animal Sciences, The Ohio State University.  Key speakers of the day included Wayne Shriver, Manager of the OARDC Eastern Research Station Unit and Clif Little, Guernsey County Extension Educator, who coordinates much of the sheep research done at OARDC-EARS.  Pasture management tours were once again popular as sheep producers were able to see the latest in annual and perennial forages; Bob Hendershot, USDA Grazing Specialist, and Rory Lewandowski, Athens Co. Extension Educator were the speakers for this part of the program.  One popular part of the program was Managing Coyotes and Black Vultures in Ohio by Chris Bartholomew, USDA Wildlife Services, David Schott, Monroe County SWCD Wildlife and Forestry Specialist and Mike Dyer, a private trapper, this discussion provided the attendees the opportunity to learn how to manage these major predators on their own sheep farms. Another popular topic area was Dr. Paul Kuber, OSU Animal Sciences, and Nick Forrest, American Lamb Board who provided the audience with a lamb cutting and lamb preparation demonstration; those in attendance stated that it was a “yummy” topic area. Daryl Clark, Muskingum County Sheep Producer discussed the type of sheep that works at OARDC-EARS using several sheep examples on the research farm.  The OARDC-EARS sheep handling facility was discussed by Chris Clark, EARS Animal Manager, and Wayne Shriver, Clif Little, and Kevin Stottsbury, of OARDC-EARS provided tours of the research grazing paddocks utilized at the station.  Another popular topic was a discussion by Katherine Harrison, of Blystone Farms, who discussed Marketing to the Ethnic Population.   Dr. Bill Shulaw, OSU Extension Veterinarian for Sheep and Beef discussed the parasite issue with sheep producers including managing the flock with FAMACHA scoring.   Of course, food is always an important part of any Ohio Sheep Day event, and OSIA member, Leslie Jordan and her family managed to serve a wonderful lamb meal.  The roast lamb sandwiches, prepared by Kris Doyle and served by OSIA serving crew of Lisa Rodenfels, Fannie Brill, and others were a popular hit for the lunch time meal.  Bottled water donated by David Betts, a Licking County Sheep Producer and President of the Amanda Hills Premium Bottled Water Company, was a much needed addition to Ohio Sheep Day as the weather was a bit warm.

Looking forward to 2010: Breeding Sheep for a More Profitable Flock will be the focus of a comprehensive seminar on defining and selecting traits that can increase profits in sheep production. What are the latest innovations in sheep genetics? How do we use modern selection criteria to increase profits? The seminar will include selection of traits, advantages of crossbreeding systems and evaluation of sheep breeds and their contribution to the commercial industry. Genetics for production systems ranging from grain based to total grass and marketing goals from selling roaster lambs to 140# finished lambs will be included in the discussions. Dr. Dave Notter (VPI), Dr. Dave Thomas (Univ. of Wis.) and Dr. Kreg Leymaster(USDA Marc) have been asked to be the keynote speakers. Breakout sessions will include live animal evaluations and a panel discussion with Dr. Charles Parker as the moderator.

This joint regional conference is sponsored by the ASI genetics stakeholders committee, the Ohio Sheep Improvement Association, the Ohio Sheep and Wool Board and the Ohio State University. It will be held July 10 and 11, 2010 at Riverwood Farms, Powell, Ohio. More detailed information will be available at the Buckeye Shephards Symposium in December.

The planning committee for this seminar includes Bill Shultz, Rory Lewandowski, John Anderson, Dr. Henry Zerby, Eric Bruns, Susan Shultz and Roger High.

Tim Fine, Extension Program Assistant, Miami County

Issue 2; What is it all about?

At a recent pasture walk in the southwestern part of the state, the conversation quickly turned from rotational grazing and getting the most out of pastures to livestock care and what, exactly will happen if Issue 2 passes in November. One of the producers brought up a very good point and I am sure that many others in the livestock feel the same way. His question was, in not so many words, “Do we really need a constitutional amendment and more government oversight to tell us how to raise our animals?”

My official answer to this question is that I cannot provide an official answer because I cannot persuade a person to vote one way or the other in an official capacity. What I can do, however, is try to help explain what the issue is all about and hopefully provide some insight into why this issue is on the ballot in the first place.
By now, I am certain that most people reading this newsletter are familiar with the issue and how it got started, so I won’t bore you with the details. What Issue 2 will do is set up a board, more specifically the Ohio Livestock Care Standards Board. This board will create the standards that livestock in Ohio will be raised by. The board will consist of the Director of the ODA, a food safety expert, three family farmers, two members of organizations representing farmers, a licensed Ohio Veterinarian, the State Veterinarian, a Dean of an Agricultural College in Ohio, two Ohio consumers, and a County Humane Society Representative. Basically, the board will consist of Ohioans actively involved in producing livestock.

Now that you know what Issue 2, if passed, will do, I would encourage you to go and find out more about the Issue yourself. To do so, please visit http://www.sos.state.oh.us/SOS/elections/IssueProcBallotBd/BallotBoard.aspx#Issues. At the web site mentioned above you will be able to see the Issue as it will be worded on the ballot, arguments for and against it, and a financial analysis.

PARASITE MANAGEMENT FOR SMALL RUMINANTS BEGINS…IN THE FALL?

Rory Lewandowski, Extension Educator, Athens County

The biggest enemy of pasture based sheep and goat production has got to be internal parasites and especially, Haemonchus contortus, or barber pole worm.  Its incredible reproductive capacity, an adult female can lay up to 5000 eggs/day, combined with the fact that the infective third stage (L3) larvae can survive 60 to 90 days or more on pasture during the growing season, make it almost impossible to avoid production robbing and/or life threatening infection levels in grazing kids and lambs.  In previous editions of this newsletter I have covered some of the strategies and tools small ruminant livestock owners need to use to manage parasite infection levels through the dangerous summer period.

As we get in to the fall of the year and temperatures begin to cool down and are less favorable for rapid progress through the parasite’s life-cycle, many small ruminant owners give a sigh of relief that they have survived another year.  Especially in the late fall, most of the pasture larvae L3’s that become stage 4 (L4) larvae in the sheep’s abomasum (true stomach) do not continue to molt into the adult stage, but rather enter period of arrested development or dormancy that is termed hypobiosis.  These L4 larvae will remain inactive in this state and not cause any harm to their host until emerging from hypobiosis in early spring.  Surely now the small ruminant owner can take a break from thinking about parasite management and concentrate on some other management issues.  As you can probably surmise from the title of this article, I don’t believe fall is the time to let parasite control fade from your management efforts, and here is why.

There is at least anecdotal evidence that infective L3 larvae can survive our winters and provide a source of early spring infection that can serve to jump start serious parasite burdens in sheep and goats in the coming season.  A Purdue Extension fact sheet entitled “Managing Internal Parasitism in Sheep and Goats” says that L3 larvae can survive on pasture “…up to 180 days in the fall or winter.”  Some on-farm research that was done here in Athens County in 2008 and 2009 that utilized short duration pasture rotations support the concept of surviving overwintered larvae as a source of some significant spring and early summer lamb parasite infections. However I am not aware of any research studies that have focused specifically on how long Haemonchus contortus L3 larvae from the fall of the preceding year might remain viable into a new grazing season, although there is published research that shows other parasite species do survive over the winter to infect lambs and ewes.

Responding to a question posed to him in May of this year (2009) regarding how “safe” a pasture might be that was last grazed in September of 2008, Dr. Shulaw, OSU Extension Veterinarian, replied that “I think there will be some surviving larvae on those pastures, but the number depends upon how many eggs were deposited there last fall when there was still moisture and temperature conditions favorable to development to the L3 stage.”  Dr. Shulaw continues, “The number today (May 21) is much less than there was April 1 and the number June 15 will be considerably less than now.  L3 larvae rely on stored energy.  Every day it warms up to where they try to migrate in a moisture film on a grass blade, they use some of that stored energy.  Eventually they “run out of gas.”  However, it is likely that the number of L3 larvae available on April 1 was fairly low.”  This reply was based on Dr. Shulaw knowing that the producer asking the question had tried to manage for low parasite numbers on fall pasture.  Other management schemes could certainly result in higher numbers of overwintered L3 larvae on an April pasture.

There are a couple of points I want to emphasize here.  One is that it matters where you are grazing in September and October, especially if those are pastures that will be used for early spring grazing.  Second, the population level of surviving, overwintered L3 larvae is related to how heavy a worm burden your animals have in this late summer and fall period.  If the worm burden is heavy, then a lot of eggs are being deposited on that fall grazed pasture.

A practical application of all this is to have a plan in place to protect those pastures you want to use early next spring from potentially high numbers of surviving overwintered L3 larvae.  Avoid creating an early season worm infection.  This might be done by not using those pastures grazed by lambs in September and October for April/May grazing or ewes and their lambs.  The longer fall grazed pastures can be delayed from use in the grazing rotation the next year; the lower will be the potential number of infective L3 larvae.  If the flock or herd has been managed throughout the entire grazing season with strategies to keep parasite infection levels low, then even the fall grazed pastures will not have large numbers of potentially surviving overwintered larvae.  This, of course still leaves the producer with having to manage the periparturient rise in the early spring as the L4 larvae come out of hypobiosis, but that is the subject of yet another article.

The bottom line is that small ruminant owners that want to be pasture focused as a production system can’t take a season off from parasite management.  Pasture management is parasite management within an integrated system.

Rory Lewandowski, Athens County Extension Educator

An Athens area grazing council meeting/pasture walk is scheduled for Thursday, July 23 beginning at 6:30 pm. The meeting will be hosted by Curt Cline at a Meigs County property he plans to develop into a grazing system. The land currently has no fence or water and has been used for hay production. Curt is working with the Meigs County NRCS and SWCD office on an EQIP contract to help him develop the grazing system.

This is a good opportunity to learn about the planning process of developing a grazing system, including fence and water options. Other topics that will be covered at the meeting include: Making Management Decisions Based on Goals, Soil Fertility, Preparing Pastures for Winter Stockpiling, Use of Hay, Pasture Management and Internal Parasite Control in Small Ruminants.

Resource people include: Cathy Bobo, Athens SWCD, Jason Crislip and Steve Jenkins from the Meigs County NRCS/SWCD office, Daryl Clark, retired OSU Noble County Extension Educator and Rory Lewandowski, OSU Extension Athens County. Dr. Bill Shulaw, OSU Extension Veterinarian will conduct the session on pasture management and parasite control.

Curt is planning to provide grilled lamb samples and some light refreshments for the meeting. In order to help him plan the amount needed, please RSVP by contacting the Athens County Extension office at (740) 593-8555 by Monday July 20 if you plan to attend. Participants may want to consider bringing a lawn chair to sit in during the sampling following the meeting.

Directions to the farm: (Doug Lowther property)
From Albany OH ….Take RT 32 west to St RT 143. Turn left on St RT 143, go approximately. 4-5 miles to Salem-School Lot Rd. Salem School Lot Rd. is just past the Columbia Township Fire Dept. Turn right on Salem-School Lot Rd. and go approximately 2 miles. Farm is on the left. Watch for “Grazing” signs.

Curt Stivison, Fairfield SWCD Engineering Technician and Stan Smith, Program Assistant, OSU Extension Fairfield County

Most know that for the past seven years, we’ve spent much time in Fairfield County investigating the virtues of oats as an annual forage when they are planted during mid to late summer, or even into early fall. While we’ve harvested from 2 to 5 tons, and consistently realized average yields of 3+ tons of dry matter from oats planted in July and August after a harvested wheat crop, it’s also apparent that yield and quality can vary greatly as planting date, nitrogen fertilization, and perhaps even oat varieties differ from each field planted.

For those looking to grow a cost-effective alternative forage crop yet this summer, and who have wheat stubble available, we offer these observations and recommendations based on experiences since 2002:

Optimum planting date for oats from the perspective of yield is the first week of August. Early August plantings also result in the highest total amount of TDN produced per acre. Later plantings will be slightly higher in quality, but not enough to offset the yield advantage of early August planting. While being more conducive to a mechanical harvest in early Fall, planting in early July reduces both yield and quality. The earlier oat plantings also exhibit more susceptibility to rust.

Regardless the planting date, or variety, no-tilled seeding rates of from 80 to 100 pounds of oats have consistently resulted in optimum forage yields.

Optimum nitrogen application rate is 40 to 50 pounds per acre. This application not only produces the highest yields, but at current values of nitrogen, it’s also the most cost effective rate. Higher rates of nitrogen actually appear to depress yields based on our 2008 plot results.

Bin run oats originating in Canada out perform, but possess similar quality at harvest as certified Armor oats.

The optimum combination of productivity and quality of August planted oats arrives 60 to 75 days after planting. Oats planted in July mature more quickly and thus, rapidly decline in quality beginning 50 to 60 days after planting.

Oats harvested 50-60 days after planting and while still in the boot stage of maturity will offer regrowth that may be grazed or sometimes even mechanically harvested a second time.

A weed control application of glyphosate is a necessary and cost effective practice prior to oat planting.

An additional advantage observed when using oats for an annual forage crop is the opportunity to capture the total tonnage produced with a single harvest cutting if grazing is not an option. It’s also important to note that the 3+ ton yields resulting from oats planted in early August after wheat and straw harvest, which have been experienced consistently in Fairfield County, exceed the average yields of the perennial hay crops produced in Fairfield County and also Ohio, on average, over the same time period.
If you’ve yet to attend any of our field days to see for yourself the results of summer seeded oats, this web link has photos and data of several of the past years’ efforts at the alternatives described above: http://beef.osu.edu/beef/graze/wntrgraz.htm.

Jeff McCutcheon, Extension Educator, Knox County

In Ohio it is possible to graze year round. Of course grazing in winter does take planning. Summer is the best time to plan for fall and winter grazing. Why? Because many of our options have tasks associated with them in summer. By planning ahead it is possible in Ohio to have adequate quality, grazable forage for most of the winter. Depending on the class of livestock and their stage of production it is possible to need to feed for weeks in winter as opposed to months.

The cheapest option for fall grazing is crop residue, specifically corn residue. Corn residue can be an excellent grazable feed for about sixty days after the combine leaves the field. Fence and water are usually the biggest challenge to utilizing this feed resource. The variety of temporary fence and water options available can overcome that challenge. Grazing corn residue in fall can also take pressure off of your pasture fields and allow you to stockpile more forage for winter grazing. Check out the Factsheet “Grazing Corn Residue”, ANR 10-02, http://ohioline.osu.edu/anr-fact/0010.html for more information.

Stockpiling tall fescue is a relatively inexpensive option and can be done with existing pastures. To start stockpiling make the last clip or grazing anytime from the end of July through September. Generally, the earlier start the more you will have, but the lower the quality. The opposite is also true: the later you start, the higher the quality, but lower yield. After the last cut/graze add 50 pounds of nitrogen per acre. The addition of the nitrogen will add from 1000-2000 pounds of forage. If you have a large amount of clover, over 40%, then research shows little additional response to N applications for stockpiling.

After applying the nitrogen then delay grazing those fields until November through February. Quality will start to decline after Thanksgiving, but it is a slow decline. Usually the quality of stockpiled tall fescue will be still good enough for a ewe in good condition into February. Check out the Factsheet “Stockpiling Tall Fescue for Winter Grazing”, AGF-023 http://ohioline.osu.edu/agf-fact/0023.html for more information.

Orchardgrass can also be stockpiled. Research conducted at OARDC Jackson Branch showed that orchardgrass will have protein around 12% into February. Orchardgrass will weather rapidly after prolonged cold temperatures, so yields will be reduced the longer you wait to graze.

Brassicas are also options to extend the grazing season. Turnips are the most common brassica used in Ohio. Turnips can be planted from mid July through early August. Most cultivars will reach maximum yield in 90 days. To get a good crop of turnips, you need two pounds of seed and fifty pounds of nitrogen per acre. Either no-till or conventional seeding will work. The hardest part is the low seeding rate and a small seed. Mixing the seed with the fertilizer helps. Tops and bulbs can both be grazed, with the tops being the higher quality feed component. Brassicas are very low in fiber, feed low quality hay to help slow its passage through your livestock. The crop should remain available to livestock until temperatures fall below 15 degrees. Check out the Factsheet “Brassicas for Forage”, AGF-020-92 http://ohioline.osu.edu/agf-fact/0020.html for more information.

Winter rye is an option that can produce a high quality crop for grazing in December and March. It is very high in quality and will be the first to green up in the spring. This is a good option for livestock with high nutritional needs. For early spring grazing do not over-graze rye in December. Winter rye can be planted from the middle of August through the middle of September at 90-100 pounds of seed per acre. When rye is 2-4 inches tall, 50-75 pounds of nitrogen will stimulate growth and additional applications in early March will increase production. Check out the Factsheet “Winter Rye for Extending the Grazing Season”, AGF-026-00 http://ohioline.osu.edu/agf-fact/0026.html for more information.

Spring oats planted from July through September will grow more feed in the fall than winter rye but won’t have the spring growth. Optimum planting is the first week of August and you can grow an average of 6,000 pounds of dry matter per acre. Plant bin run oats originating in Canada at a rate of 80 to 100 pounds per acre. Fifty pounds of nitrogen will be beneficial. Like stockpiling tall fescue earlier planting will increase yield but quality will be lower than a later planting. The next article in this newsletter dives deeper into this option.

Standing corn can also be a viable option for winter grazing. Yes, in Ohio most people would consider this crazy. The profile of the plant and the fact that a lot of its nutritional quality will be in the grain make it an attractive option. It will be less likely to be ungrazable because of excessive snow and or ice. Of course you will need to get your ewes started on grain before grazing this crop. Research at OARDC has shown an acre of standing corn can feed 20 ewes for 70 days. Check out the Factsheet “Using Corn for Livestock Grazing”, ANR-11-02 http://ohioline.osu.edu/anr-fact/0011.html for more information.

For all of these forages the grazing management needs to include strip grazing. Strip grazing or limiting access with temporary fencing will increase utilization of the crop and decrease the amount wasted.

As a supplement to the OSU Extension fact sheets mentioned above there is also a new publication “Extending Grazing and Reducing Stored Feed Needs”, a Grazing Lands Conservation Initiative Publication 8-01, available at http://forages.osu.edu/Library/ExtendingGrazing.pdf . All of the above resources are also available from your local OSU Extension offices.

Jeff McCutcheon, Extension Educator, Knox County

Fall is one of the most crucial time periods for our cool season pastures. The most important activity a livestock producer should be doing to help the pastures survive winter and remain productive next year is to avoid over-grazing.

Why is fall a critical time for our cool season perennial forages? The grass plants in your pasture are perennial plants. They survive from year to year. One way perennial plants survive is to develop buds located at the crown of the plant and store energy in the form of carbohydrates to be used by those buds when they start growing.

Leaf tissue that grows in the fall will die over winter. Next years growth comes from the buds developed the previous fall. The buds and roots of the plant are the parts that remain as living tissues over the winter. While not growing they are respiring and burning energy. If carbohydrate reserves are not adequate then the plant can die before spring. If the plant survives but carbohydrate reserves are low, then initial spring growth is slow and the overall vigor of the plant is reduced.

In the fall, we have short day, long night periods with temperatures above freezing to about 70 degrees F. It is that combination that triggers buds to be initiated and formed on the crown of the plant. In the cooler temperatures leaf growth is slower while photosynthesis does not slow down. This increases the reserve carbohydrates in the plant, which is then used for bud and root development. In the spring new growth comes from these buds. Initial spring growth draws upon carbohydrate reserves stored in the roots and or crowns of the plants. Those buds and stored carbohydrates start next year’s growth.

Healthy leaf tissue is needed for this to happen. Overgrazing removes too much leaf tissue. A grass plant with too little leaf area after grazing has to use carbohydrate reserves from the roots to re-grow. If the plant does not grow enough leaf tissue to gain carbohydrates before it is grazed again then the plant will continue to deplete its carbohydrate reserves. In fall the growing season will eventually come to an end and the plant will not have a chance to recover. Plants struggling to grow leaves will not develop buds. Overgrazed pastures that go into the winter with low carbohydrate reserves are very slow to green up in the spring and exhibit slow growth rates once they do green up.

Overgrazing is not caused by having too many animals in a field. It occurs when you keep animals in a field too long or bring the animals back before the forages have recovered. The length of time is determined by plant growth and how much is there at the start of grazing. The animals should be removed before plants they initially grazed start to re-grow. They also should be removed before they eat all of the leaves. Viable leaves need to remain after the plants are grazed. Plants should also be given enough rest between grazing events. This will allow enough leaf area to be re-grown before the animals are allowed to graze that field again.

Overgrazing can be avoided by paying attention to forage residual, grazing time and rest. You should leave at least 1200-1500 lbs. of DM per acre or 2-3″ of green forage when you pull animals from a field. You should remove the animals before the forage starts to re-grow. The pasture should recover to above 2400 lbs. of DM acre or 6-8″ before turning the animals into a field.

Rory Lewandowski, Extension Educator, Athens County

July – September are critical times to closely monitor the internal parasite burden of lambs and kids. Preferably monitoring would start in June. The internal parasite of principal concern during the summer months is Haemonchus contortus, the barber pole worm. Lambs and kids grazing on pastures that are contaminated with large numbers of infective Haemonchus contortus larvae can go downhill very rapidly in July and August. It would not be uncommon that within a 7 to 10 day period a lamb or kid could go from a perky animal with energy to bounce around a pasture to an animal that is on the threshold of death, lethargic and with little energy to move about. Unless an effective rescue treatment is applied at this stage, the chance of survival is very low.

I sometimes hear sheep and goat owners say that parasites are not a concern to them because they are using rotational grazing or because they have an effective chemical deworming schedule. Neither of these strategies is going to totally prevent high worm burdens from accumulating or do away with the need to monitor lambs and kids during the critical July – September period.

Although rotational grazing is a good strategy to manage pasture health and provide quality forage, it does not prevent Haemonchus contortus from building up to very high levels on pasture. Let’s do a brief review of the life cycle of the worm during the grazing season. Adult worms attached to the stomach of an infected animal lay eggs that are passed in the animal’s feces. Under the favorable temperature and moisture conditions that exist in most summer pastures, eggs hatch to the infective larval stage in 4-7 days. Newly hatched larvae remain near the fecal pellet and pass through 3 stages of larval development termed L1, L2 and L3. The L3 stage is termed the infective stage because this larva will climb up blades of grass and wait to be ingested by grazing animals. Once the L3 stage has been ingested, it molts into an L4 larva stage and then molts in to an immature adult. When adults reach about 14 days of age in the stomach of the infected animal, they begin laying eggs. The entire life cycle from egg to egg can occur in as little as 24-25 days.

In a recent conversation with Dr. Shulaw, an OSU Extension Veterinarian who has considerable experience working with this problem of internal parasites, I asked about the life span of an infective Haemonchus contortus larva on pasture. Dr. Shulaw replied that L3 larvae can live up to 90 days on summer pastures given our climate and general pasture conditions. So, within the grazing season if a pasture is being re-grazed within that time frame and assuming our ewes and does were shedding Haemonchus contortus eggs in their feces on the first grazing pass, then those larvae are there waiting to be consumed in subsequent grazing passes. Since a mature female Haemonchus contortus worm can lay up to 5000 eggs/day, it does not take long for a pasture to accumulate very high levels of infective L3 larvae.

Depending upon chemical de-wormers and a regular deworming schedule is, at best, a short term fix. By now, sheep and goat owners who are serious about long-term production know that chemical resistance is an issue and that there is documented parasite resistance to all classes of currently available chemical dewormers. No chemical dewormer is 100% effective. Used repeatedly over time, the chemical will loose its effectiveness as the percentage of worms resistant to the chemical increase in the worm population on the farm. It’s important to understand that every time a chemical de-wormer is used, there is some selection for resistant worms. Deworming every animal in the flock or herd on a regular schedule is a formula for developing a resistant worm population and chemical failure. Selective deworming of only those individuals that really need some help will help to sustain the effectiveness of a chemical dewormer. That brings us back to the opening statement that animals need to be monitored.

How should lambs/kids be monitored during this critical period? There are two main tools that livestock owners can use; the FAMACHA eyelid score system and fecal egg counts. Both require time and regular application to be effective. Since few producers have the time, expertise and equipment to do fecal egg counts, they will have to depend upon their local veterinarian. The local vet may not have the time and/or staff to get fecal egg counts done in a timely and consistent manner and producers may not want to fork over $10 to $15 per fecal egg count test. That leaves the FAMACHA system.

The FAMACHA eyelid color score system uses a scale of 1-5 to grade eyelid color. The color of the lower eyelid is correlated with anemia caused by Haemonchus contortus burden within the animal. A chart with eyelid color and scores is matched to the live animal’s eyelid color. A bright red color score of 1or 2 indicates low levels of anemia and pale pink to white (scores 3-5) increasing levels of anemia. Generally an animal scoring a 3 or higher would be treated with an effective chemical dewormer. The value of the FAMACHA system is that it allows animals that are most affected by Haemonchus contortus to be identified and selectively treated without using a chemical dewormer on the entire herd/flock.

The most effective use of the FAMACHA system is consistent, regular application. During the critical July- September period, this means checking lamb/kid eyelids every 7 to 10 days. Keep track of scores for individual animals and use this as a record to notice trends that are developing. This is advice that was learned the hard way and here’s the story.

In 2008, I was involved in a small on-farm research project examining early weaning and pasture management to try to control Haemonchus contortus infection levels in lambs. Lambs were FAMACHA scored on a regular basis beginning in May. Towards the end of June over 90% of the lambs were scoring a 1 or a 2 and I thought parasites might not be a big issue. Then, doing FAMACHA scoring on July 8, over 40% of the lambs had to be treated with a chemical dewormer based on FAMACHA scores and backed up by high fecal egg counts. How did the situation change so quickly?

Ever notice how once something goes wrong you have time to go back and correct the mistake or take the time to think through what led to the error? We went back and looked at the FAMACHA scores and Dr. Shulaw did an analysis of FAMACHA percentages over time in the study. Here are some of the results: May 5: 77% of the lambs scored a 1, 23% scored a 2. June 5: 36% of the lambs scored a 1, 64% scored a 2. June 23: 29% scored a 1, 65% scored a 2, 5% scored a 3 and 2% scored a 4. July 8: 9% scored a 1, 42% scored a 2, 42% scored a 3, 5% scored a 4 and 2% scored a 5. Notice the trend toward higher scores over time. The distribution of FAMACHA scores was changing. Once the scores were looked at from this perspective, it was clear that lambs did not go downhill as suddenly as we perceived. The information was there, and a warning bell was sounding. The FAMACHA system can be used as an early warning system, but only if it is used regularly, records are kept and then those records are looked at for trends after each scoring of lambs/kids.

The last point I need to make in this article is that a farm needs an effective chemical dewormer to serve as a rescue option. How do you know if your chemical dewormer is effective or if resistance is developing? One way is by examining worm egg counts in the manure of treated animals, but this involves sampling relatively large groups and having your veterinarian do quantitative egg counts. Another way involves collecting some representative fecal samples and then exposing the eggs to the various chemical dewormers. One such assay is called the DrenchRite assay and is performed by a lab at the University of Georgia. The cost of this test is about $400, but resistance to all three chemical dewormers is evaluated on one composite sample. This makes this method very attractive for small flock/herd owners, and the assay results are available in about three weeks.

Beginning in June, but especially in the July-September period, is a critical time to monitor lambs and kids for internal worm burdens. Livestock owners need to recognize that early season pasture management will have an effect on parasite burdens. If lambs and kids can’t be moved to a safe pasture or feedlot system, then monitoring by use of the FAMACHA system, combined with an effective chemical dewormer, can help to reduce lamb/kid mortality.

For more information about the FAMACHA system or management of internal parasites, contact a member of the OSU Extension Sheep Team. Additional information about worm control and pasture management is also available on the Extension Sheep Team website at www.sheep.osu.edu .

Roger A. High, State Sheep Extension Associate

As the economy goes, so goes the budget. The latest budget loss to Ohio’s livestock industry is Ohio’s Livestock Indemnity Fund. The Ohio Livestock Indemnity Fund was managed under the Ohio Department of Agriculture and was utilized by Ohio’s Livestock producers to pay for livestock loss and damage caused by coyotes and black vultures, according to the Ohio Revised Code (ORC). Those livestock producers that attempted to get paid for livestock damage had always found it to be a tedious and sometimes impossible fund to get paid from due to the language of the ORC.
The Ohio Sheep Improvement Association, Ohio Cattlemen’s Association, and the Ohio Farm Bureau Federation worked for several weeks to get the fund reinstated, but these organizations and lobbyists were just unfortunately unable to get it back into the State of Ohio budget.

Now we are in a position, in many areas to hire our own trappers to control coyote populations, but we must still work with USDA Wildlife Services in order to control a predator such as the Black Vulture. As an industry, we need to look at ways that we can assist our producers in controlling predators like the Coyote and the Black Vulture. But for now, sheep producers will no longer be able to get paid for livestock losses from Coyotes and Black Vultures as they have in the past.

At Ohio Sheep Day this year at the Eastern Agricultural Research Station (EARS) in Caldwell, we are providing an excellent program on “Managing Coyotes and Black Vultures in Ohio”. We have three excellent speakers coming to discuss this topic, Jeff Pelc, USDA Wildlife Services, David Schott, SWCD Wildlife/Forest Specialist, and Mike Dyer, Private Trapper. If you would like to learn more about controlling these predators on your farm, please plan to attend Ohio Sheep Day. More details on Ohio Sheep Day 2009 can be found in this newsletter.

Joy Aufderhaar, Agriculture Program Assistant, OSU Extension Shelby County

After 30 years of our family raising market sheep, this past April we had a first… our ewes and lambs were attacked by dogs. We have had many close calls with coyotes and stray dogs but never an actual attack. A family friend witnessed the attack and contacted my husband. After receiving the call and knowing my husband would arrive at the scene before I would, I began to worry about his comment, “looks like we will be adding a couple of dogs to our compost pile”. I did not know our legal rights to protect our livestock and in this day in age with people filing lawsuits for some of the craziest things I was worried my husband’s actions would get us in trouble in the end. So what rights do we have to protect our livestock?

The following are statements taken from the Ohio Revised Code that will better explain our rights to protect our livestock. To view the Ohio Revised Code Section 955: Dogs, in its entirety go to http://codes.ohio.gov/orc/955.

What are you rights if you are witnessing an attack in progress? Under 955.28 a dog(s) may be killed for certain acts and the owner is liable for damages. Section 955.261 of the Revised Code states, “a dog that is chasing or approaching in a menacing fashion or apparent attitude of attack, that attempts to bite or otherwise endanger, or that kills or injures a person or a dog that chases, threatens, harasses, injures, or kills livestock, poultry, other domestic animal, or other animal, that is the property of another person, except a cat or another dog, can be killed at the time of that chasing, threatening, harassment, approaching, attempt, killing, or injury. If, in attempting to kill such a dog, a person wounds it, the person is not liable to prosecution under the penal laws that punish cruelty to animals.”
Who is liable for damages in a dog attack? Under 955.28 (B), “the owner, keeper, or harborer of a dog is liable in damages for any injury, death, or loss to person or property that is caused by the dog”.

What if the dog is not seen or captured? Under 955.29 Claim of Owner, “any owner of an animal that the owner believes has a fair market value of ten dollars or more and that has been injured or killed by a dog not belonging to the owner or harbored on the owner’s premises, in order to be eligible to receive compensation from the dog and kennel fund, shall notify a member of the board of county commissioners or dog warden within three days after the loss or injury has been discovered. A commissioner who is notified shall immediately notify the dog warden of the loss or injury. The warden shall investigate or have the loss or injury investigated promptly, and the person making the investigation shall provide the owner with duplicate copies of the claim form authorized by section 955.36 of the Revised Code and assist the owner in filling it out.”

What if the dog owner is known? Under 955.30 Action to recover for loss or injury, “if the owner of the dog causing the loss or injury described in section 955.29 of the Revised Code is known, the county prosecutor shall bring an action to recover from the owner of the dog whatever compensation is paid from the dog and kennel fund for the loss or injury if in the prosecutor’s judgment the damage can be collected.”

What if a dog attacks a registered flock? Under 955.32 Registered stock, “If the animal that has been killed or injured as described in section 955.29 of the Revised Code is registered in any accepted association of registry, the owner, or the owner’s employee or tenant, shall submit with the claim form the registration papers showing the animal’s lines of breeding, age, and other matters. If the animal is the offspring of registered stock and is eligible for registration, the registration papers showing the breeding of the offspring shall be submitted.”

How is the payment of claims determined and processed? Under 955.35 Payment of claims, “The board of county commissioners, at the next regular meeting after claims in accordance with section 955.29 of the Revised Code have been submitted, shall examine the same and may hear additional testimony or receive additional affidavits in regard thereto and may allow the amount previously certified by the dog warden , or a part thereof, or any amount in addition thereto, as it may find to be just, but in no event shall the amount allowed exceed the lesser of five hundred dollars per animal or the uninsured amount of the loss or injury. The board shall make the final determination of the fair market value of an animal that is the subject of a claim.”

What if the attack was determined to be made by coyotes? For claims for value of animals injured or killed by coyote see 955.51 to 955.53 of the Revised Code.

So what happened in our dog attack experience? My husband did beat me home that day but the two dogs were gone. My husband called the veterinarian and I called the sheriff’s office who directed me to the animal shelter to page the dog warden. Our family friend who witnessed the attack did take a picture of the dogs with his cell phone and once the necessary calls were made, a little search party found the dogs two blocks down the road and they were captured and brought back to our place to await the dog warden’s arrival.

We had one ewe lamb badly injured and deiced to put her down. Skin from one of our show lambs’ had been torn badly down both sides and required sutures. After about seven days of antibiotics and pain medicines to fight the fever, infection, and inflammation, the lamb has made almost a full recovery minus the scars and weight loss.

Between the dog warden and our insurance company, the investigation and paperwork was completely taken care of and almost six weeks after the attack the owner of the dogs gave us a check for the loss of the ewe lamb and vet. costs and treatment for the four other lambs that were injured.

As a result, we purchased a Great Pyrenees puppy two weeks after the incident and even though she is only six months old she has a done a great job of letting us know when someone or something is near the sheep. Below are other ways to protect your flock taken from the Helping Producers Manage Predation Guide Issued October 2002 by USDA Wildlife Services.

Guard Animals
In increasing numbers, livestock producers are using guard animals in their pastures and on open ranges to prevent predator attacks. Guard animals include dogs, donkeys, llamas, and mules. Dogs are by far the most popular of the protective animals, although llamas, which guard by intimidation, are also gaining favor with producers. The most effective guard dogs are Eurasian breeds, such as the Akbash and Great Pyrenees. A good livestock guarding dog stays with the animals without harming them and aggressively repels predators. A guard dog is not a herding dog but rather a full-time member of the flock that has bonded with the animals in the herd, usually sheep. Guard dogs don’t solve the problem, however; they just prevent isolated attacks. In their efforts to protect livestock, guard dogs are also vulnerable to attack themselves. The number of dogs needed to protect a flock depends on its size, the local terrain, and the livestock species onsite.

Fences
Excluding dogs/coyotes by putting up fencing, especially in large areas, is expensive but can offer some protection. Many dogs/coyotes, however, learn to dig deeper or climb higher to defeat a fence. To be effective, the fence should be about 5.5 feet high to keep the predators from jumping over, and a buried wire apron or barbed wire at ground level can discourage digging. Producers can also install electric fencing to keep predators from climbing over. Livestock managers should carefully consider a variety of factors, such as the type of terrain and size of the pasture, before deciding whether to build a fence. Fencing is most likely to be cost effective when the potential for predation is high and fencing can be incorporated with other means of predator management. For example, guard dogs and fencing used together achieve a higher rate of success than either alone. Effective fencing, however, can impede the movements of other wildlife and should be installed only after a professional wildlife assessment.

Frightening Devices
Loud noises, lights, and repellants can also be helpful in scaring off predators. Cougars, wolves, coyotes, and other animals are easily frightened by strange odors, sights, and sounds. Using these methods in combination can work even better. For example, producers can use propane cannons, sirens, and radios with sound amplifiers to scare away predators lurking around pastures or open rangelands. While these measures can be effective, their benefits are often short lived because predators can adapt to new repellants and devices quite rapidly.

For more on protecting you livestock please see the following resources…

Ohio Revised Code Section 955: Dogs (Coyotes)
http://codes.ohio.gov/orc/955

Wildlife Services: Helping Producers Manage Predation
United States Department of Agriculture
http://www.aphis.usda.gov/lpa/pubs/prodguide.pdf

Livestock Series: Management
Livestock Guard Dogs, Llamas and Donkeys No. 1.218
Colorado State University Extension
http://www.nal.usda.gov/awic/pubs/1218.pdf