Doctoring Mastitis

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As we finish up this week of the GrowinG-WY internship, we continue to put the sheep on pasture and have been using corn to supplement. We continue using our creep feed for the bums and paired lambs. We have begun to supplement with small amounts of alfalfa for the bum lambs as well. This combo has been great and we have seen a good improvement over the last few weeks.

This week was a smooth week with the exception of a few ewes being doctored for mastitis. I have talked about mastitis in past summaries but it is around this time of the lambing cycle when you can start to see an increase in cases. Mastitis can form in a few ways, but what ususally happens is the ewe’s milk production declines as the lamb’s intake for nutrients increases, due to their increasing age. As the lambs continue to try to feed from the ewes, they tend to be more aggressive, resulting in injury to the ewe and leading to mastitis. For medications we used 10cc’s of Oxytetracycline, 5cc of Dexamethasone, and about 2cc of Banamine.

The Oxytetracycline is used as an antibiotic, the Dexamethasone is used as a steroid and the Banamine is used as an anti-inflammatory drug and a antipyretic. This blend of drugs has helped countless ewes recover, but it remains essential for us to keep an eye out for mastitis, to catch it as quick as possible to ensure recovery.

After we doctored a few ewes, I had the opportunity to complete the whole process myself on one of the ewes. Using the sheep hook to catch and secure the ewe, and administer the medicine I described earlier. Some questions I have would be what are some other medications that can be used to substitute for sick ewes? Also, what are the best way to prevent mastitis? How easily can mastitis be passed from ewe to ewe? And if it is passed easily, would isolation be the best measure to take? From what I have been informed the best way to prevent mastitis is to use creep feed for the lambs and watch for lambs that might be singling out worn out ewes, or ewes with twins or triplets. Since these ewes are easy targets, some lambs will choose them and continue to try and feed, resulting in mastitis.

In addition to doctoring ewes, I was able to play around with the cutting torch to bend and cut holes in pipe for vehicle maintenance. Given that I had never used a cutting torch I found it very useful for various projects I have back at home. This week has been another awesome week out here in Wyoming and I can’t express how grateful I am to learn so much in such a short amount of time. I intend to take a few lambs back home, and with the knowledge I have gained so far, am feeling extremely confident in my ability to raise and produce lambs. Although the climate will be different, which might cause a new set of problems to occur, I have no doubt that I will find resolutions with the techniques and methods I have been taught.

Submitted by: Elijah Richardson
Edits by: GrowinG Internship Team