Sheep and Goat Production: Part II

PART- II SHEEP AND GOAT PRODUCTION 

SHEEP AND GOAT 

PRODUCTION 

Bakht Baidar Khan 

Arshad Iqbal 

Muhammad Iqbal Mustafa 

Department of Livestock Management 

University of Agriculture Faisalabad 

2003 

1


FOREWORD 

The past more than half a century is a witness to the fact that except a few, no serious attempts have been made to write books even on a few of the so 

many wide open aspects of the field of animal sciences. Among other factors that keep the animal science sector lagging behind, utter lack of relevant 

books of local origin is probably the most important. The dearth of documented information concerning various species of our farm animals adversely 

affects the learning potential of our students, who have been reported to complain about the non-availability of professional books written in Pakistan. I 

personally feel that as animal scientists we cannot exonerate ourselves of this responsibility. Of course, not all of us would have the aptitude to write 

books. However, those who opt to take up this tiresome and time-consuming job, their efforts must be appreciated. We must not forget that beginnings 

are always small. 

It is really encouraging to learn that sheep and goats being the victims of a long neglect, have attracted the attention of experienced animal scientists and 

teachers of long standing to write a book on them. A look into the contents of the book ‘Sheep and Goat Production’, makes me believe that it would 

adequately serve the purpose for which it has been produced. Its made-easy format would be rather more helpful to the students, field workers and 

progressive farmers. A collection of over 650 questions along with their answers should more than suffice to cover the discussion on important topics in 

relation to sheep and goat production. 

PREFACE 

2 

Sajjad Zaheer Malik 

Director General (Ext.) 

L & DD Dept., Punjab 

Innumerable publications on sheep and goat farming/production are there in the world market. More than 98% of them are of foreign 

origin and are thus either not available here or their prices are beyond the means of a common man. The book under discussion has not 

been produced to burden the market with another such publication rather it has been brought out employing a novice format to meet 

the requirements of beginners who venture to plan a small ruminant enterprise, but are found confronted with a series of questions. 

Answers to many of such questions are already embodied in this ‘easy to read and understand’ book. In addition, feasibilities in 

respect of keeping sheep and goats (pertaining to one breed of each spp.) have been outlined herein to facilitate the solution of their 

input: output dilemma. 

Another section of society most pertinent to books is professional students community. It often happens that even at the end of an 

academic session/semester, many students in a class, would not know what type of questions, relevant to a course, may be asked in the 

Exam. This book, for sure, would create an awareness in them as to the type of Exam. questions and as to the manner of answering 

them. Among other features of the book are: the discussion on behaviour and welfare of small ruminants and clues on the application 

of biotechnology in animals. A comprehensive review on terminology related to various aspects of small ruminants is also a part of 

this book. Most of the answers to the questions included in this book have been picked up as such from various sources of literature 

listed under references at the end. We feel highly obliged in sharing the fruit of hardwork of those so many authors/editors. Under the 

circumstances it does not seem possible for us to individually convey to them our grateful thanks, but indeed we remain indebted to all 

of them. 

No book will ever be complete and this one is no exception since knowledge about sheep and goats is increasing so rapidly that no 

book can be an absolute ultimate. We feel no hesitation to mention here that at places details of a few most sophisticated techniques 

used abroad in small ruminant production have been intentionally avoided simply because farmers/producers here have yet to go a 

long way to enable themselves to take full advantage of such costly tools and techniques. 

We would like to record our thanks to our colleagues, namely Drs. Muhammad Younas, Muhammad Abdullah, Muhammad Yaqoob, 

Syed Hassan Raza and Prof. William Hohenboken, a friend from USA; all of them provided us a lot of useful literature for this book. 

Special thanks are extended to Mr. Farooq Ahmed, Dr. Akhter Saeed and Dr. Asad Saeed for arranging recent literature for the 

purpose from abroad. 

Suggestions in black and white from any quarter to effect further improvement and to remove any omissions in the contents of this 

book will always be welcome. 

March, 2003 Bakht Baidar Khan 

Arshad Iqbal 

Muhammad Iqbal Mustafa


PART- II includes following contents of the book: 

• BREEDING AND REPRODUCTIVE MANAGEMENT 

• PROBLEMS OF PREGNANT EWES/DOES 

• PRE-LAMBING/PRE-KIDDING AND 

LAMBING/KIDDING 

• BABY LAMBS/KIDS 

• ORPHAN LAMBS/KIDS 

• PROBLEMS OF NEWBORNS 

3


BREEDING AND REPRODUCTIVE 

MANAGEMENT 

Q. Write a detailed note on selection for breeding of small ruminants. 

Most people who farm sheep/goats or for that matter any farm animal, would expect to 

gradually improve the productivity of their stock. Big improvements can often be made 

by changes in husbandry practices so that the animals become fitter, healthier and better 

fed. However, there will be limitations on how much productivity can be increased in this 

way. These limitations will be the result of the genetic make-up of the animals. In other 

words all animals are born with a potential for production and that potential is the result 

of mixing of characteristics inherited from the animals’ parents, grandparents and, in fact, 

all of its ancestors. By selecting animals with certain characteristics and mating them it is 

possible to gradually improve the performance of that line, generation by generation. 

Some characteristics are readily passed on and are highly heritable while others are not 

readily passed on and are referred to as of low heritability. 

Since it is not possible to discuss genetic gain or improvement without a basic 

understanding of genetics, therefore, for the purposes of this book only a simplified 

explanation is given. All inherited characteristics are carried by genes, which occur in 

pairs, one from the sire and one from the dam. A pair or more of genes will control a 

particular characteristic and thus in the case of colour a goat will either be coloured or 

white (most of the discussion made here in respect of goat, just as an example, is equally 

applicable to sheep). If the goat has a gene for colour from one parent and one for white 

from the other, it will, in fact, be white because white is what is called a dominant gene 

and colour is what is called a recessive gene. If two different genes for a particular colour 

come together, the dominant gene will always be expressed. If in this example the goat 

had received genes for colour from both its parents, it would then have been coloured. If 

an animal is carrying a pair of identical genes for a particular character such as the 

coloured offspring in the example, it is known as homozygous for that particular 

character. If it carries different genes like the goat in our example with the genes for 

white and colour, it is termed heterozygous. 

The appearance of an animal as controlled by its genetic make-up is referred to as its 

phenotype. In this example, the white goat is phenotypically white but its genotype is 

white/coloured. This is shown in Figure 6 where two goats are mated. One is 

homozygous for white and will be genotypically white. The other is heterozygous and 

will be phenotypically white because white is dominant. When these two are mated, their 

kids or what is called F1 generation, could be like the parents either heterozygous or 

homozygous white. If, however, both parents were heterozygous white, the offspring 

would be either white or coloured in the ratio 3:1 (Figure 7) with 1 homozygous and 

phenotypically white, whereas the other 2 whites would be heterozygous and 1 would be 

homozygous for colour and would therefore be (phenotypically) coloured. It is rare for a 

single gene to control a characteristic or trait as shown in the simple example but it serves 

to show how characters are inherited. 

With selective breeding the intention is to cross animals together in such a way that the 

progeny will hopefully be even better than their parents. It helps if the genetic make-up of 

the parents is known. Some characteristics are linked to others and it may be, in selecting 

4


for one desirable feature or trait, that one also selects for an undesirable feature, which 

may cancel out or be even less desirable than the trait that was being selected for. One 

such trait in goats is polledness or hornlessness. If a naturally polled male is mated with a 

female carrying the gene for polledness, there is a good chance of producing female 

offspring that will be homozygous (pure) polled animals. These will be inter-sexed, 

which means they may have some parts of the male and female reproductive tract and 

characteristics and they will be infertile. They are not, as some people describe, 

hermaphrodites, which means possessing both female and male sexual organs. Naturally 

polled males do occur without the problem of inter-sex but evidence suggests that fertility 

is lower in these. 

If traits or characteristics are of low heritability, the genetic gain achieved by selecting 

specific animals showing those characteristics will be less than for traits of high 

heritability. Thus the hope for improvement will be achieved only slowly over a number 

of generations. 

Q. Discuss the importance of breed improvement. 

There is an old saying “breed the best to the best and cull the rest”. It sounds no less than 

a universal truth. Your chances of improving your flock are practically nil if you breed 

your ewes/does to the neighbour’s nondescript ram/buck simply because it happens to be 

cheap and available. You are not going to milk the buck, but never forget that you are 

going to get milk from its daughters and meat from its male offspring. If the sire is not 

better than the ewe/doe, you are not working for breed improvement. In fact, you are not 

even breeding sheep/goats, you are merely freshening them. To further elaborate, a 

reference to commercial dairy farming in several western countries appears logical. 

Almost invariably these practical, tough-minded, cost-conscious farmers use the best 

purebred registered animals they can find. Milk production per cow has more than 

doubled during the last century. While some of that, of course, is due to better feeding 

practices, surely a large share of the credit must go to genetics. No animal is perfect, all 

have faults. It is the job of the breeder to eliminate those faults as much as possible in 

future generations, while at the same time preventing new ones from showing up. 

Q. Briefly indicate the importance of twins. 

Although multiple births certainly require more attention and care, yet the profits seem 

worth the effort. In USA, at one of the universities the data were analysed in this respect 

and it was stated that it would require 5721 ewes producing one lamb each to yield a 

$25000 profit, while 353 ewes producing two lambs each to equal it. These figures 

seemingly sound strange, but consider the vast reduction in the amount of grain and hay 

expenses (grain feeding not largely practised under our conditions) for the smaller 

number of ewes, to produce double the number of lambs. The same is applicable to goats. 

Choose your potential replacement ewes/does from among your earlier-born twin 

ewes/does. Turn these twin ewe lambs/doe kids in with a ram/buck wearing a marking 

harness. The ones that are marked and presumably bred, can be kept for your own flock 

and sell the rest. Ewe lambs/doe kids that have twins the first time are more valuable than 

those who lamb/kid with a single, even though ewes/does with a future history of 

twinning may have only a single that first time. Still they pass on both the inherited 

ability to breed early and to have twins and they will produce more lambs/kids during 

their lifetime. However, it all depends on how well fed the animals are. 

Q. Discuss the sheep breeding management as it does prevail in Pakistan. 

5


Some mating occurs throughout the year but the principal breeding seasons remain 

autumn and spring. Hand mating is not known since it may be impracticable in the case 

of transhument and sedentary breeders because of absence of mating facilities. Breeders 

who practice seasonal breeding tie an apron around the belly of ram in the off-season to 

avoid mating. Others tie a cord on the opening of the sheath to check mating. In some 

areas (D.I. Khan), many small farmers do not maintain their own rams, but hire them at 

Rs. 4 to 5 per day for 4 to 5 days. A ram is usually put with a flock of 40 to 50 ewes but 

in some cases as many as 80 to 90. In the bigger flocks, two or more rams may be 

allowed to mate at a time. In such cases the stronger ram is overused and the weaker 

underused and as a result some of the ewes are not mated and others are served by 

overused rams and do not conceive. Some breeders in Balochistan believe that breeding 

twice a year ensures regular milk supply for the families. Rams are not allowed to breed 

before 2 years of age. 

A comparison of spring and autumn breeding seasons indicated that: 

i) Fertility was 83% in autumn and 73% in spring; 

ii) The number of lambs born per ewe was 1.04 in autumn but 0.88 in spring; 

iii) The number of lambs born per ewe conceived was 1.25 in autumn and 1.21 in 

spring; and 

iv) The incidence of twin births was 36% in autumn and 21% in spring. 

A study of the incidence of post-lambing oestrus in Lohi, Kachhi from Sindh and Awasi 

from Lebanon and its crosses showed that oestrus occurred: 

i) In the second to fourth month after lambing, 70% Lohi came into oestrus; 

ii) During the same period 65% Kachhi were in oestrus; but 

iii) The crosses behaved mid way between two parents. 

Selection is largely subjective in the absence of records such as birth and weaning 

weights, fecundity, or quality and quantity of wool produced, but at public experimental 

farms due attention is paid to such traits. Private breeders do care for growth as the larger 

6


and heavier ram lambs would attract the attention of the breeders. Lambs are allowed to 

suckle for 4 to 5 months. Lambs are not allowed to accompany the mothers to pasture. In 

most parts of the Punjab province, lambs accompany their mothers as soon as they are 

able to walk. In parts of Balochistan lambs are grazed separately by children near the 

camp. Where lambs are kept separate, suckling is allowed morning and evening after the 

families have removed part of the milk especially from good milkers. Since white wool 

fetches the highest price, ram lambs with a white coat, well developed body and strong 

constitution are selected for future breeding. Breed uniformity is keenly maintained for 

an all−white body and recognized spots, if any, on the extremities. The incidence of 

mismothering is high in cases where lambs are kept separate from their mothers. 

Mismothered lambs are reared on foster ewes by forced suckling. Mortality in such lambs 

is high and the growth rate generally below average. The shepherds of Balochistan take 

extra care to avoid mismothering. There the flock is halted at a distance from the lamb 

enclosure and ewes are freed one by one to allow them to recognize their lambs when 

rejoining occurs. The records at public sheep farms show that the incidence of 

mismotheirnbg varies in different breeds (1.5 to 3%), being the highest in Kachhi breed 

(4 to 23%), probably due to poor mothering instinct. 

In most of the cases culling of sheep is not very systematic. It is practised in ewes and 

male lambs and is generally done when the family needs money or 2 to 3 months before 

the annual religious occasion of Eid-ul-Azha. Others avail the occasions of 

weekly/monthly/sheep goat markets to sell their surplus/culled stock. Male surplus stock 

is commonly castrated and reared to one year age and in other cases to 2 years age to sell 

at high prices. Culling of ewe lambs is rare. The ewes are culled for broken mouths, 

damaged udders, permanent lameness or infertility. 

Q. Briefly discuss the anatomy and physiology of sex organs of a small ruminant 

male. 

Anatomy: The most obvious part of the male’s reproductive system is the scrotum 

containing the testes, which are suspended herein by spermatic cord. This may vary in 

size according to breed but, in general, abnormally small testes are a sign of likely low 

7


fertility. The scrotum not only supports and protects the testes but also it is an important 

means of temperature regulation. Normal production of spermatozoa occurs at a 

temperature 4 to 7°C lower than body temperature. Thus in hot weather the scrotum will 

allow the testes to hang down from the wall of the abdomen and conversely when cold 

they will be drawn up close to the body. In extremely hot weather this temperature 

regulatory mechanism may break down resulting in poor spermatozoa production. In 

some goat breeds especially in some Angoras, the scrotum may be almost completely 

bifurcated (split purse). It is considered a fault in show animals. However, this may not 

cause a severe fertility problem. 

Failure of the testes to descend into the scrotum will also cause problems of fertility. One 

testis may not descend (called monorchid) or in some cases both may not (called 

cryptorchid). When purchasing males for stud, it is the most important to ensure that both 

testes are in place in the scrotum and that they are of reasonable size with no abnormal 

swellings and that they feel firm and not soft and spongy. The other external sex organ is 

the penis. In the male sheep/goat, the penis is normally retracted into a tube called the 

prepuce. To give extra length during copulation, the penis has a S-bend known as the 

sigmoid flexure (Figure 8). 

On the end of the penis is the thin tubular protrusion of the urethra called the urethral 

process. When the penis is protruded from the prepuce, especially during the breeding 

season, the male (goat) is able, with remarkable directional accuracy, to spray urine over 

himself or anyone who is standing close enough. 

Physiology: The rams/bucks, except in temperate regions, show year round sexual 

activity, especially when stimulated by receptive females. Young males are particularly 

precocious and fertile matings have been recorded from kids of 4 months of age. Males of 

Teddy goat breed exhibit quite a bit sexual activity at 5 to 6 months of age. 

Spermatozoa are formed from cells in the testes called spermatogonia. These 

spermatogonia divide repeatedly to form spermatids, which eventually form the 

spermatozoa, which are discharged into the lumen of seminiferous tubules. The 

spermatozoa travel along in fluid secreted by the tubules, until they reach the epididymis 

where they are stored. These newly formed immature spermatozoa are immotile and are 

very sensitive to unfavourable temperature and nutritional conditions. Full maturation 

occurs in the tail of the epididymis and the spermatozoa become motile during 

ejaculation when they come in contact with the secretions of the accessory glands (the 

vesicular or the seminal vesicular gland, prostate and bulbo-urethral glands). It takes 

about 50 days from the formation of the spermatozoa in the seminiferous tubules to the 

time they are stored in the tail of the epididymis. During periods of intense sexual 

activity, this duration may be reduced as the movement of the spermatozoa through the 

epididymis may be speeded up. 

Another important function of the testes is the production of the hormone testosterone. 

The secretion of this hormone is controlled by gonadotrophic hormones secreted by the 

pituitary gland situated at the base of the brain. Although sexual desire in ram/buck is 

influenced a great deal by the presence of receptive females, nutritional status and 

environmental factors also play an important part. 

Prior to mating a ram/buck will spend varying amounts of time in courtship behaviour, 

which certainly is an important stimulation for both male and female. During hand 

mating of pedigree animals, when a female is led to a specific male, it is important that 

8


restraints are not imposed on this behaviour and the most successful results will always 

be from animals that are allowed some time together in an enclosure. 

Q. Briefly discuss the anatomy and physiology of sex organs of a small ruminant 

female. 

Anatomy: Unlike the male most of the female’s reproductive organs are internal and 

would only be seen by attending a post-mortem examination or by obtaining the relative 

part of the body from a slaughtered animal. The only external feature is the vulva which 

undergoes some changes during oestrus and when parturition (lambing/kidding) is 

imminent. The vulva opens into the vagina wherein the male’s penis deposits semen 

during copulation. In a normal adult ewe/doe, the vagina is approximately 7 to 8 cm in 

length. At the end of the vagina is the cervix or neck of the uterus (Figure 9). The cervix 

varies in length from about 4 to 8 cm and is made up of 5 to 6 muscular rings, which 

effectively act as a seal between the vagina and the uterus. The uterus is made up of two 

large tubes or horns and at the end of each of these horns are the oviducts and ovaries. 

The ovaries change in appearance according to the stage in the reproductive cycle. The 

eggs or ova are shed from what are called the Graafian follicles and these can be seen 

during a postmortem examination if they are near to maturation. 

When an ovum is shed, the remaining structure is called a corpus luteum, meaning yellow 

body, and these also can be seen on the ovary and are an indication of an ewe/doe that is 

ovulating normally. If the ewe/doe is pregnant, the corpus luteum remains and plays a 

part in maintaining the state of pregnancy. If she is not pregnant, the corpus luteum 

regresses. 

Physiology: The decreasing daylight triggers off breeding activity in small ruminants. 

The lengthening nights cause increased release of the hormone melatonin from the pineal 

gland within the brain. It then causes the release of gonadotrophin releasing hormone, 

which stimulates the pituitary gland into secreting follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH). 

As its name suggests, FSH stimulates the development of the follicle within which an 

ovum will develop and from which it will be released. The onset of the sequence of 

events gives rise to oestrus behaviour, or heat, in an ewe/doe and the whole cycle of 

events is called the oestrous cycle. 

As the Graafian follicle matures, it secretes the hormone estrogen, which eventually 

stimulates the brain into triggering off the release of luteinising hormone (LH) into the 

bloodstream. The release of LH causes the follicle to rupture and an ovum will be 

released into the oviduct. The ovum remains viable in the oviduct for 10 to 12 hours. 

About 30 to 36 hours before ovulation occurs, the ewe/doe will normally begin to show 

oestrus or heat behaviour. Pheromones (specific odours) are released by the female, 

which also stimulate the male to sexual excitement. This behaviour is a combination of 

signals to the male that she is at the correct period in her ovulation cycle for mating when 

changes in the reproductive tract, to facilitate mating, have occurred. The vulva becomes 

somewhat swollen, copious mucus is produced and the cervix dilates. 

If a fertile mating takes place, the fertilised embryo develops freely in the uterus for about 

21 days until implantation takes place and the embryo becomes attached to the wall of the 

uterus by way of the placenta. The caruncles which form the points of attachment on the 

uterine wall are present all the time. 

If an ewe/doe is pregnant, the corpus luteum, formed after rupturing of the follicle, 

remains and produces the hormone progesterone. Progesterone acts as a signal to the 

9


brain to shut down the cycling mechanism and prepares for and helps maintain 

pregnancy. In some animals, but not the goat, the role of corpus luteum is taken over by 

the placenta. In case conception does not occur, the corpus luteum regresses and the level 

of circulating progesterone consequently falls. The cycle then starts again and a nonpregnant 

ewe and doe will continue to cycle in this way every 16 to 17 days and 19 to 21 

days respectively until the end of the breeding season. 

Q. What do you understand by Induced Cryptorchidism or Short Scrotum? 

This is still another approach where the elastrator rubber ring is used on the scrotum, but 

the testes are pushed back up into the body cavity. This sterilizes the animal due to 

increased body heat. While the male hormones are still present to increase weight gain 

with more lean meat, the animal shows little or no sex activity. This method is used at 

about four weeks of age and the animal is called an induced cryptorchid (having hidden 

testicles). Extensive tests (Figure 10) in Australia have shown such animals gain weight 

faster, get to market faster and have more lean meat than either castrated or uncastrated 

males. 

Q. Discuss the salient points in respect of proper breeding age and care of a 

ram/buck. 

Ordinarily a well-grown ram/buck is considered the best. However, if he is a lamb/kid, 

use him sparingly during his first breeding season. One way to conserve his energy is to 

separate him from the females for several hours during the day, at which time he can be 

fed and watered and allowed to rest. One good ram/buck can handle 25 to 30 ewes/does. 

On a small flock where the ram/buck gets good feed, about six years of service can be 

expected of him. On open range there may be overuse with more females per ram/buck, 

fighting with other males and little or no supplemental feed, rams/bucks (get run down) 

lose condition during the breeding season from eating so little and chasing the females. 

They then succumb to diseases because of their low resistance. If you are buying a new 

ram/buck, do this long enough before breeding season so that he becomes acclimated to 

his new surroundings. Keep him separate on good feed and pasture until breeding time. In 

case you are going to feed him a different ration than he had previously, be sure to 

change gradually. Excess weight results in a lowering of potency and efficiency. Keep 

him in good condition but not fat. A buck may be ready to breed at about six to seven 

months, depending on his breed (Teddy bucks at four to five months), but it is better not 

to use him until one year. Use him two or three times a week from the age of one year to 

one and a half years. 

During the breeding season, feed the ram buck at least 300 g concentrate mixture per day. 

After separating him from the bred females, a maintenance ration of at least 100 to 150 g 

per day, plus leafy hay as necessary during the winter should carry him through until 

good pasture is available again. 

Since summers here are very hot, therefore, provide him a cool shady place to protect 

from the heat. An elevated body temperature whether from heat or due to an infection, 

can cause infertility. Semen quality is affected at 100 degrees and is seriously damaged at 

air temperatures beyond that. Several hours at that temperature may leave him infertile 

for weeks. The scrotum of ram should be sheared before the onset of severe summer. The 

ram/buck may be run with the ewes/does at night and in the early morning, but keep him 

10


penned in a cool place during the heat of the noon and afternoon and provide fresh water. 

High humidity coupled with temperature can also decrease sexual urge. 

A sense of smell greatly determines a ram’s/buck’s awareness of oestrus in the 

ewes/does. A study of sex drive in rams done at a university in UK showed that some 

breeds of rams have keener olfactory (nose) development than others and are able to 

detect oestrus in ewes that goes unnoticed by other breeds. 

Q. Does the presence of a ram/buck show some effect on ewes/does? 

The presence of the ram/buck, especially its smell has a great effect on sexual activity of 

the ewes/does. This stimulus is not as pronounced when the male is constantly with the 

females as it is when he is placed in the adjoining pasture or pen about two weeks ahead 

of the breeding season. Owners of large flocks often use a vasectomized ram/buck turned 

in with the ewes/does about three weeks prior to scheduled breeding, in order to stimulate 

the onset of oestrus in the flock. Be careful that at any one time not more than one normal 

male should be turned in with the ewes/does, otherwise there is inevitable fighting and 

head-butting until the boss is decided. Aggressive potential and ram/buck fertility are not 

necessarily related. However, there are reports that mating success of dominant 

rams/bucks does far exceed that of the subordinate ones. 

Q. What are the uses of a ram/buck marking harness? Is there any suitable 

alternative to it? 

The ram/buck marking harness is a device that helps keep track of the ewes/does who are 

bred. It has a holder on its chest for a marking crayon. Each ewe/doe is marked with the 

colour of crayon the day he breeds her. While using a colour in the crayon, the colour of 

female animals be kept in view (Figure 11). Inspect the ewes/does each day and keep 

record of the dates so that you will know when to expect each one to give birth. In case of 

ram use one colour for the first sixteen days he is with the ewes, then change colour for 

the next sixteen days and again for the next. Change of colour in case of buck may be 

done after 18 to 19 days. If many females are being re-marked, it means they were not 

bred the previous times he tried to breed them, since they are still coming into heat. This 

might indicate that the breeding male was sterile. If the weather was extremely hot just 

before or after you turned the male in, you can blame heat for it. But to be on the safe 

side, it is better to try another ram/buck. 

As an alternative, instead of marking harness, use a marking paint on the ram/buck 

brisket (lower chest). Mix the colour with a lubricating oil or even with vegetable ghee, 

using only paints that will wash out of the fleece such as lamp black, venetian red. The 

same colour will be stamped on the back of the ewe/doe indicating that it has been bred. 

The same happens when marking harness is used. 

Q. What are the advantages of raising your own ram/buck and what care is to 

be observed? 

One advantage of raising your own ram/buck is that you can see that what he looks like at 

the usual market age for meat. The older a ram/buck gets, the less you can tell about how 

he looked as a lamb/kid or how his offspring will look when they attain market age. If 

you are raising lambs/kids for marketing as meat animals, you may try a system called 

‘recurrent selection of ram lambs/buck kids’. This system consists of keeping the fastestgaining 

ram lambs/buck kids sired by the fastest-gaining ram lambs/buck kids. Recurrent 

selection is a way of improving the potential for fast growth in your lamb/kid crop. It 

involves changing rams/bucks fairly frequently and creates the problem of disposing a 

11


three or four year old ram/buck. If it is a good one, it can be sold as a breeding male, can 

trade with another small ruminant raiser or can be sold for slaughter on Eid-ul-Azha. 

The way ram lambs/buck kids are raised can have some effect on their future sexual 

performance. Various studies have shown that rams/bucks raised from weaning in an allmale 

group will show lower levels of sexual performance in later life. Some will actually 

show no interest in receptive females. When you are raising a lamb/kid as a breeding 

male, do not pet him much or handle him unnecessarily. Do not let children play with 

him even when he is small. He will be more prone to butting and becoming dangerous if 

he is familiar with you than if he is shy. 

Q. Define gestation period and give the range and average gestation periods for 

sheep and goats. 

The period from the date an animal gets conceived to that date it gives birth to one or 

more newborns is called gestation period or pregnancy period. It ranges from 148-152 

days in sheep and goats with an average of 150 days (five months). 

Q. What is meant by oestrous cycle? Give the duration of oestrous cycles for 

sheep and goats. 

The duration between two heat periods is called the oestrous cycle. Normally each 

oestrous cycle has four different phases i.e. proestrus, oestrus, metoestrus and dioestrus. 

The duration of oestrous cycle on average is 16-17 days in sheep and 18-21 days in goats. 

Q. What do you understand by oestrus or heat period? 

Oestrus is one phase of the oestrous cycle and it denotes the period during which an ewe 

or doe is receptive to the breeding male. On average the duration of oestrus or heat period 

in sheep and goats is 28 and 24 hours, respectively. 

Q. What are the usual indications that an ewe/doe is in heat? 

The usual signs are nervous voices such as ‘baa baa’/bleating, slightly swollen vulva 

sometimes accompanied by a discharge, riding other does or being ridden by them, 

somewhat off feed, tail wagging and drop in milk production (in milk goats). In some 

cases increased but interrupted micturition is also observed. At the beginning of heat, the 

mucus discharge from vulva will be clear, but it will turn cloudy toward the time of 

ovulation. After the ewe/doe ovulates near the end of heat, the mucus will get thick and 

whitish. 

Q. What may be the optimal time of year for lambing/kidding? Discuss briefly. 

The optimal time varies greatly among different geographical areas. It may vary even in 

the same country. The desired lambing/kidding time may depend on the availability of 

pasture, local weather conditions, time restraints, labour, targeted lamb/kid markets etc. It 

is better to choose the lambing/kidding time that fits your priorities and plan to breed 

about five months before you want newborns. When the cost of hay or concentrate 

feeding is a consideration, lambing/kidding should be timed to take advantage of new 

pasture growth. Thus you could plan for the lambs/kids to be about five to six weeks old 

at about the time of the first good early growth of pasture. 

Q. What is meant by early-or late lambing/kidding? Give advantages of both 

early and late lambing/kidding. 

What constitutes ‘early’ or ‘late’ lambing/kidding will depend on climate of the given 

area. In areas where modern husbandry practices are in operation, there with moderate 

winters and hot summers, the lambing/kidding is planned for autumn or early winter to 

maximize weight gain, knowing that newborns experience very poor weight gain in hot 

12


temperatures. On the other hand, those in far northern areas often plan for 

lambing/kidding during March or April in order to avoid severe winter, while those in 

temperate coastal climates may let the rams/bucks run with the ewes/does the year round 

and let nature take its course. Advantages: 

Early Lambing/Kidding 

i) There are fewer parasites on the early grass pasture. 

ii) Ewe lambs/doe kids are more apt to breed as well grown lambs/kids. 

iii) You can have all lambs/kids born by the time best spring grass is there. 

iv) There are fewer problems with flies at docking, castrating and disbudding. 

Late Lambing/Kidding 

i) It is easy to shear ewes before lambing. 

ii) It avoids lambing/kidding danger in severe weather. 

iii) Milder weather means fewer chilled lambs/kids. 

iv) Ewes/does can give birth on the pasture, if needed. 

v) Concentrate ration can be saved since there is good grazing available. 

Q. What age is appropriate to breed an ewe/doe for the first time? 

A female that is bred before she matures fully may become stunted since she cannot put 

nutrients into both her growth and foetal development. A well fed ewe/doe is ready for 

breeding earlier than a poorly fed one. An ewe/doe should reach 70 to 75% of her mature 

weight before being bred. Some breeds are slow maturing than others. Breeding season is 

shorter for ewe lambs/doe kids than for mature ewes/does. Teddy goats mature much 

earlier than other goat breeds. A properly fed Teddy doe is ready for breeding at five 

months of age. In milk goats a reasonably early breeding helps the udder develop better. 

In countries where early marketing of lambs for meat is practised, there the ewes who 

breed as lambs are thought to be the most promising as they show early maturing which 

is a key to prolific lambing. Ewe lambs according to their feeding practices should have 

attained 38 to 45 kg by breeding time as their later growth will be held back a little as 

compared to unbred lambs. If not well fed, their reproductive life-time may be shortened. 

If replacement ewes are chosen for their ability to breed as lambs, the flock will improve 

the capacity for ewe lamb breeding, which can be a sales factor to stress when selling 

breeding stock. 

Q. What preparations specific to the start of breeding season need to be made? 

Deworm the ewes/does. Trim away any wool/dung-tags from around the tail. Trim their 

feet since they will be carrying extra weight during pregnancy. Subject the ram/buck to 

deworming too. Check all animals for ticks. If you eliminate ticks before 

lambing/kidding, none will get on the lambs/kids and thus you will not have to treat for 

ticks again. At seventeen days/nineteen days before you want to start breeding, put your 

ram/buck in a place adjacent to the ewes/does, with a good fence between them. Some 

studies have indicated that the sound and smell of the male will bring ewes/does into heat 

earlier. Also, a similar reaction was obtained just by fastening a ram/buck-scented pad to 

the ewe’s/doe’s nose. 

Some large flock owners have initiated the use of a vasectomized (sterilized) ram/buck to 

stimulate the onset of oestrus in the flock. Never pen your rams/bucks next to ewes/does 

before this ‘sensitizing’ period just prior to breeding. Remember, ‘absence makes the 

heart grow fonder’. It is the sudden contact with the rams/bucks that excites the females. 

Appropriate vaccines important to both mothers and/or newborns should be timely used. 

13


Q. Define flushing and explain its role in small ruminant breeding. 

Flushing is the practice of placing the ewes/does on an increasing plane of nutrition i.e. in 

a slight weight-gain situation to prepare for breeding. High quality forage may be used 

for flushing or it can be accomplished by supplementing the usual summer diet with 

concentrate ration. It is not as effective in animals that are already in good condition. 

Thin females require a longer flushing period. It is most productive when initiated 

seventeen/twenty-one days prior to turning in the ram/buck and continued tapering off 

gradually for about thirty days. This process not only gets the ewes/does in a better 

physical condition for breeding, but it also helps synchronizing them by bringing them 

into heat at about the same time, preventing long strung-out lambing/kidding session. 

It is also a factor in twinning, possibly because with better nourishment the ewes/does are 

more likely to drop more ova. Various studies have indicated that flushing results in 18 to 

25% increase in the number of lambs/kids, and some farmers think it is even more. You 

can start with 100 g concentrate mixture/head/day and work up to 300 g in the first week 

continue that quantity for seventeen/twenty-one days. When you turn in the ram/buck, 

taper off the extra grain gradually. The ewes/does will probably come in heat once during 

that seventeen/twenty-one days of flushing, particularly if you have put the ram/buck in 

an adjoining place but it is preferable to have them bred in the second heat since they are 

expected to drop a greater number of eggs and are more likely to produce twins. Flushing 

promotes increased ovulations, thus increasing the number of lambs/kids born. 

Q. Briefly write down the simplest and the best method for heat detection in 

small ruminants. 

One of the best heat-detectors is a ram/buck wearing a breeding apron to prevent actual 

mating or a male that has been vasectomized. A miniature version of the ram/buck rag 

may help detect heat. Rub a piece of cloth over various parts of ram’s body or over the 

scent glands of a mature buck and keep it in a jar with a tight fitting lid to retain the 

odour. During daily oestrus check, open the jar and let the ewes/does sniff the contents. If 

one is in heat, the signs should become more obvious. 

Q. What is an abnormal heat? Give the causes responsible for this phenomenon. 

Weak or silent heat, longer than normal cycles, continuous heat, shorter than normal 

cycles or heat signs during pregnancy are the conditions that may be termed abnormal 

heat. Commonly known causes are anaemia, embryonic death, cystic ovaries, moldy feed 

and estrogen content in some legume forages (red clover/white clover has estrogen and 

lowers lambing/kidding percentages). For cases of anaemia, the animals should be treated 

for blood-sucking worms (two weeks before breeding) as well as for nutritional 

deficiencies. Treatment is probably unnecessary when abnormal heat is due to embryonic 

death since either embryonic material become reabsorbed or abortion occurs. If cystic 

ovaries are the cause, hormonal treatment can cure. No treatment is necessary when heat 

signs are exhibited during pregnancy since ovulation does not occur. 

Q. What would you suggest to homesteaders having two, three or four dairy 

does, to have them bred? 

Dairy does are usually kept separate from bucks to prevent male odour from ruining the 

milk and are bred annually to maximize milk flow. Does bred early in the season have 

better lactation records and their female kids mature early enough (if well fed) to be bred 

the following season. But it is not desirable to breed a doe during her first heat of the 

season. Better wait until her second or third heat to avoid having kids come during the 

14


worst part of winter or to have freshening of your does so spread as to create a continuous 

milk flow. 

The best time to breed a doe is in the middle of heat, but it is not always easy to tell when 

that occurs. It seems fairly safe to take the doe to the buck as soon as you notice that she 

is in heat. If possible, breed her again in about twelve hours to ensure conception. It is 

better to hand breed which involves holding her collar or a lead. The buck will cooperate 

quickly and the fuss will be over soon. If the buck shows little or no interest in your doe, 

you may have misjudged the signs of heat or noticed them too late. Virgin does are often 

hard to settle. Some keepers leave problem does with a stud for a full month, since bucks 

have an uncanny sense for right timing. If you do not own a buck, pick out a stud in 

advance and make arrangements early so that you do not miss the breeding season. Look 

for a handsome buck that has a history of producing daughters with good milking 

records/ability. Preferably identify the buck and doe(s), the date they were mated and the 

buck’s owner. (These are requirements for registration of animals of the same breedpurebred 

animals). 

Q. Discuss practical aspects of reproduction management to maximize goat’s 

reproductive performance to achieve optimum numbers of healthy kids. 

Breeders should not depend too much on getting animals mated at the end of the season 

since, all too often, the cycle before the one when mating was planned turns out to be the 

last for that season. Kids show sexual activity earlier than older goats and therefore, it is 

unwise to leave male and females together about 4 months after their birth. 

The restriction of seasonal breeding is a problem to some farmers since it results in 

seasonal milk production and for those who depend on milk production for their 

livelihood, it is an advantage to be able to produce and supply milk all the year round. 

There are two ways of stimulating goats to breed out of season: one involves the 

administration of hormones or analogues of hormones and the other involves the 

alteration of environmental conditions, usually light to induce ovulation. 

The most common method of treatment involves the use of sponges impregnated with the 

hormone progesterone or a synthetic version of it. These sponges are inserted into the 

vagina and are left to release the hormone over a predetermined period. Table 10 shows 

two methods commonly used. French workers have recently shown that prolonged 

progesterone treatment can adversely affect fertility and they advocate shorter sponge-in 

method. The amount of PMSG (pregnant mare serum gonadotrophin) given will depend 

on the stage in the season. For Method-I 600 to 700 iu are given during the non-breeding 

season and 500 to 600 iu during the transitional period i.e. within 2 months of the normal 

cycle. The PMSG is given as a source of follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) and 

Luteinising hormone (LH) to increase the ovulation rate and thus to increase the chance 

of conception. For Method-II the same principle applies but 100 iu less PMSG is used 

than for the longer sponge-in method. For the shorter sponge-in method 0.1 to 0.2 mg of 

prostaglandin (cloprostenol) is injected intramuscularly at the same time as the PMSG 

injection. 

Table 10. Two possible regimes for using progesterone sponges for induction of 

oestrus 

Method-I Method-II 

Sponge-in Day 1 Day 1 

15


PMSG Day 17 Day 9 

Prostaglandin -- Day 9 

Sponge-out Day 19 Day 12 

Oestrus Day 20-21 Day 13-14 

AI* 42-44 hours after sponge removal 

* There is evidence that time of day affects fertility, the optimum time for AI 

being 1200 to 1400 hours, thus influencing the time of sponge removal. 

The purpose of prostaglandin is to cause regression of any corpus luteum that may be 

present, depending on the goat’s natural cycle, thus removing any endogenous 

progesterone (packets of sponges come with detailed instructions on how to insert them; 

applicators are also supplied). Care should be exercised with them as clumsy use can 

result in severe damage to the wall of the vagina, particularly when inserting sponges into 

virgin animals. Nylon threads are attached to the sponges to facilitate removal. These 

threads may be chewed off by other goats. It is also possible to synchronise oestrus by 

injections of synthetic prostaglandin, a substance produced by the uterus of non-pregnant 

goats, which causes the degeneration of the corpus luteum. This can only work if there is 

an active corpus luteum. Goats respond quickly to prostaglandin and usually come into 

heat 24 to 48 hours after treatment. If a timed mating is required for a goat whose last 

oestrus is not known, two injections are given 11 days apart. 

Male Effect: If a male is run with females during the transitory period prior to the 

expected breeding season, he will tend to stimulate the females into oestrus some 2 to 4 

weeks early and they will tend to be synchronous. If a selected mating of the females is 

intended then a vasectomised teaser male can be used. In case goats failed to exhibit 

oestrus, a ‘billy rag’ is used. This is a rag that has been rubbed over the stud male thus 

becoming impregnated with his very characteristic smell. This rag will be kept in screwtop 

jar and will be brought out to be waved under the nose of a female that is not showing 

any signs of heat when it is thought she should. Often this is enough to start a female 

cycling. 

Light Effect: Having discussed earlier that how differences in day length are the main 

trigger for the onset of the breeding season, it is perhaps possible that by housing goats in 

late summer or early autumn in a shed that is fairly dark, to accelerate the shorterning day 

effect and thus the goats may well show first heat signs a few weeks earlier. The role of 

the hormone melatonin in controlling seasonal oestrus behaviour is well known. By 

administering melatonin, which can be done in feed, scientists have been able to induce 

oestrus behaviour and ovulation out of season. If this technique can be used with goats, it 

would be extremely useful for a farm wishing to produce milk throughout the year. Work 

done in USA has shown that out of season mating can be planned by using a controlled 

artificial lighting regime based on the principle of a period of long artificial days 

followed by a period of shorter days. A system involving 60 days of 20 hours light during 

January and February, followed by ambient lighting from March 1, resulted in the goats 

showing a single oestrus period during late April through June with most showing oestrus 

in May. The level of light recommended was 0.3 m of 40-watt fluorescent tube per 3 

sq.m of floor space with tubes approximately 3 m above the floor. Those goats not mated 

went on to cycle normally in the autumn. The increased lighting is also likely to increase 

winter-feeding activity, which will probably increase milk yields. It was also suggested 

16


that the males should also be kept in the same extended light conditions if they were to 

work satisfactorily out of season. 

Q. Is heat detection a problem in goats? 

Unlike cows and more particularly buffaloes, heat or oestrus detection in goats is not 

normally a problem. Those with large herds, especially if there are male goats on the 

farm, rarely experience problems in this respect. They exhibit a number of behavioural 

signs which in goats that are regularly handled, such as milkers, are easily recognized. 

Those who experience more trouble in detecting oestrus seem to be those who have one 

or two goats. Probably in comparative isolation, the typical oestrus behaviour and the 

interaction between goats at this time are suppressed. The most evident sign of heat is the 

plaintive cry that nearly all goats make at this time. It is much different to their normal 

call and will soon be recognized once one is familiar with the normal calls and behaviour. 

If there are males on the farm, the plaintive crying will be accompanied with wishful 

looks towards the males and if they get the opportunity, the females will stand around the 

male’s pens showing what in human terms would be called flirting behaviour. Oestrus 

often starts late at night thus signs might be observed early the following morning. 

Several of the usual signs of oestrus have already been discussed elsewhere in this book. 

In spite of all these signs oestrus is sometimes missed. When large groups of young goats 

are run together, it can be difficult to notice oestrus behaviour. If possible it is very useful 

to run a vasectomised teaser male with such groups of young goats. If a sheep raddle 

harness is used on the male, he will mark the oestrus females when he attempts to mount 

them. If the females are checked twice daily it will be possible to pick out those that are 

in heat and these can then be taken to the appropriate stud male. 

Q. Write a note on mating management. 

The age at which an ewe/doe should first be mated will vary according to breed, their 

feeding and health status. It is important that the young female is well grown before she 

is expected to become pregnant and rear a lamb/kid. If mated too young she herself will 

be stunted, restricting her capacity for long and productive life. Young breeders are very 

likely to abort or may be unable to produce enough milk for the lamb/kid, leading to 

nutritional stress and a high probability that the young will die. However, feeding and 

care of an unproductive female is a burden for farmers. An ewe/doe should never be 

mated before one year old. Ideally she would have one pair of permanent incisors i.e. be 

aged about 14 months. Dwarf breeds such as Teddy goats may be an exception. 

Exceptions to these rules would also occur in intensive systems where they are well fed 

and are able to develop early. It is best if rams/bucks are not used for mating before one 

year age. 

The main signs of male sexual excitement are pursuing the female, pawing her with the 

front legs, curling back of the upper lip and usually a loud snorting sound. Once oestrus 

has been detected, copulation takes place. At ejaculation, sperm are deposited into the 

vagina, from where they are transported through the uterus and into the oviducts by the 

muscular contractions of these organs. Sperm may be able to fertilize an ovum for 24 to 

36 hours after ejaculation, but sooner the better, because with ageing of the sperm during 

this period, fertility is reduced. Because the sperm has a longer (12 to 24 hours) period of 

viability than ovum (10 to 12 hours), it should therefore be in place in the reproductive 

17


tract before ovulation takes place so that it is ready for the descending egg. Oestrus lasts 

for about 24 to 36 hours in sheep. Mating should take place 12 to 18 hours after the onset 

of oestrus with ovulation occurring 24 to 36 hours after the onset. In goats the duration of 

oestrus is almost 2 to 3 days and the appropriate time for mating should be 12 to 22 hours 

after the onset of oestrus with ovulation occurring between 24 to 36 hours after the onset. 

Q. Give a few helpful hints to improve mating management in goats. 

The simplest system is to let the male(s) run with the females during the breeding season 

and after allowing 2 or 3 cycles i.e. 6 to 9 weeks, it is assumed that all females likely to 

be mated will have been mated and the males can be removed. Kidding will be expected 

over a 6 to 9 week period 150 days from when the males were first put in with the 

females. If using this system one male will be required for every 30 to 40 females. 

However, it is desirable that farmers should know when mating took place so that the 

precise kidding date can be predicted and also many people would like to put particular 

females to a particular male. It would thus be necessary to group the females according to 

the male that one wanted to use. These would be put together in a pen, paddock or field. 

To be able to time matings, a sheep raddle harness could be used and thus the females 

would be marked as they were mated. If the goats are checked twice a day, it would be 

possible to record the goats mated each day. If the raddle crayon is changed to a different 

colour every 20 days, it will be possible to detect those matings that were unsuccessful as 

these goats will be mated a second time 21 days after the first. This mating system is 

exactly the same as used for most commercial sheep flocks and can be used with 

extensive goat system such as prevalent here. 

For pedigree mating and certainly where a single female is brought to a particular stud 

male, a hand-mating technique will be used. This simply means the female will be led to 

the male who would normally be brought out of his pen onto a convenient level piece of 

ground nearby. If the male is working well and the female is properly in heat, mating will 

usually take place very quickly. However, a male may spend some time going through 

courtship behaviour, which may involve much rubbing against and spluttering over the 

female. This behaviour should not be constrained in any way as this could jeopardize the 

chances of success. 

When the male mounts the female, a good sign of a successful mating is if he throws his 

head back as this is the normal sign of ejaculation having occurred. If the male spends a 

lot of time rubbing and spluttering without mounting the female, it probably means the 

female is not in oestrus. If the male has behaved like this with a number of females, his 

performance and ability must be suspected. Whichever, system of mating is used, goats 

are normally fertile animals and a conception rate at the first mating of over 80% can be 

expected during the natural season. Goats that have been induced into oestrus out of 

season using hormone treatment such as progesterone sponges, usually have a lower 

conception rate. 

Q. Discuss manipulation of breeding in small ruminants. 

For various reasons sheep/goat keepers may want to control the time of mating. This may 

be in order for lambs/kids to be born at a favourable time of year when feed is plentiful or 

it may be to ensure in respect of goats that milk is available at a certain time of year. In 

more intensive systems, farmers may want to breed their sheep/goats to take advantage of 

seasonal changes in the prices of sheep/goats or their products. There are several methods 

to control mating and the season at which kids are born. 

18


Separation of Males from Females: This requires the year round separate management 

of males and females, introducing males into the flock at the time desired for mating. For 

most farmers this method of breeding control is suitable only for goats that are housed for 

most of the year. 

Ram/Buck Apron: The ram/buck wears an apron made of leather, canvas or other 

suitable material. The apron tied above behind the shoulders hangs below the abdomen of 

the animal in front of the prepuce in such a way that if penis is extended, the ram/buck is 

unable to perform mating. 

Ram/Buck Penis String: A string is looped at one end around the testicles and at the 

other around the prepuce of the ram/buck so that if the animal extends its penis, it is 

forced to deviate to the right or left, making copulation impossible. The string must be 

removed for successful mating (Figure 12). 

Castration: Unwanted breeding males may be made infertile by crushing their spermatic 

cords using a special metal pincer called Burdizzo castrator. Rubber ring method is also 

used but only on very young lambs/kids. Castration is one method of ensuring that poor 

quality males do not breed. In some countries it is also used to reduce the odour of the 

meat from male goats. It will also increase both the fat content of the final carcass and the 

lamb’s/kid’s growth rate, by reducing the energy spent on sexual activity and fighting. 

For ease of management it is desirable to castrate all unwanted young males if they are to 

be kept beyond the age of 3 to 4 months since fertile matings have been recorded at this 

age. 

Q. Devise a simple chart providing space for the number of matings, predicted 

lambing/kidding dates, number of lambs/kids born and a column for 

remarks. 

A breeding chart for the day-to-day recording of mating and lambing/kidding 

Fe 

mal 

e 

Nur 

i 

Ran 

o 

Hir 

ni 

Ma 

no 

Male Ist 

mati 

ng 

Hero 10.1 

0.00 

Goga 11.1 

0.00 

Goga 11.1 

0.00 

Goga/ 

Hero 

15.1 

0.00 

2nd 

mati 

ng 

3rd 

matin 

g 

Due 

date 

for 

birth 

19 

Date 

gave 

birth 

- - 10-3- 9-3- 

01 2001 

2- - 3-4- 3-4- 

11- 

00 

01 2001 

3- - 6-4- 5-4- 

11- 

00 

01 2001 

6- 28- 28-4- 27-4- 

11- 

00 

11-00 01 2001 

No. of 

lambs/kid 

s 

Ma 

le 

Fem 

ale 

Remar 

ks 

1 1 Female 

small 

2 - One 

was 

dead 

1 1 

- 2


As can be seen in the example above (chart) that the male Goga was at fault since Mano 

mated successfully with Hero at 3 rd mating. The male Goga also did not prove successful 

on Ist mating with Rano as well as Hirni, it is therefore, possible that he is no longer 

adequately fertile. Similarly, if the chart shows that a certain female does not mate 

successfully even with three attempts, twice with one male and 3 rd time with another 

male, it is then probable that she is infertile. Such animals may be culled from the flock. 

Q. Suggest some effective measures for pregnancy diagnosis in small ruminants. 

For economic reasons it is often useful to determine whether or not an ewe/doe is 

pregnant. Such a diagnosis can save feed as a non-pregnant animal will be fed less and 

also if non-pregnant there may be time to try another mating before the end of season. It 

may also be necessary if one is buying or selling sheep/goats that are supposedly 

pregnant. A milk test for pregnancy, developed for cows, involves testing for a metabolite 

produced by the placenta of pregnant animals called oestrone sulphate. Since it is only 

produced by the placenta, false positive results do not occur. A goat milk sample can be 

tested for the purpose after 35 to 50 days gestation. 

A recent development, particularly for sheep, is the pregnancy diagnosis by ultra-sonic 

scanning. Using a rectal probe, diagnosis can be done after about 35 days gestation and if 

left a little longer, can usually count the number of foetuses. This system works equally 

well with goats. Diagnosis may also be made by X-ray. Foetal bones show up after about 

85 to 90 days and of course with a good X-ray, the number of foetuses should be clearly 

visible. During the last 6 weeks of gestation, it is often possible to see the foetuses 

moving particularly when the goats are lying down. At this time foetuses can be felt by 

firm palpation deep into the lower abdomen just in front of the udder. 

Q. Write a note on genital hypoplasia. 

Genital hypoplasia also called inter-sex or hermaphroditism denotes lack of proper 

development of the reproductive organs. It is an important cause of infertility in small 

ruminants especially goats (both bucks and does). It can appear in any breed, most often 

in offspring of two naturally hornless goats. It may also occur when one parent is horned 

and the other polled. The gene for hornlessness some how inhibits normal development 

of the reproductive organs. Affected goats may have abnormal external genitals, but 

many are not so easy to identify. A small ruminant-oriented reproduction expert, after 

thorough examination can identify such an animal. As soon as it is identified do away 

with it. It is useless for breeding; even its meat tastes strong and bucky. 

Q. Normally what physical changes can be observed during gestation period in 

small ruminants? Discuss the case of a dairy doe. 

For the first three months you will see little change and it will be nearly impossible to tell 

whether she is pregnant. Tests can provide an answer. The most practicable for small 

flocks is to check milk or urine for estrone sulphate, a hormone produced by a living 

foetus that can be detected as early as thirty-five days after conception. If you find that 

the doe is not pregnant, you may still have time to rebreed her. A doe that has been bred 

should be dried off three months later for replenishment of depleted body reserves and so 

that milk production would not compete with foetal development. Unborn kids put on 

about 70% of their weight during the last five to six weeks of gestation. About a month 

before kidding, the doe should really fill out. Start feeding her a little grain ration on the 

milk stand both to readjust her to milking routine and to check her udder for any 

20


problems. Two or three weeks before kidding, restrict legume roughage and calcium 

supplements in the rations of high producers. 

Older and poorly fed does tend to kid late. Multiple births usually shorten the gestation 

period. During the last week or two, the doe may develop depressed areas on both sides 

of her tail and hollowness at her hips. She may carry the kid(s) lower so that her pelvic 

bones seem sharper and her pinbones become raised. Her vulva may distend. Her udder 

may fill out. If the udder of a heavy milker becomes tight and shiny, milk her out to 

prevent damage to the udder and ligaments supporting the udder. At the end of or close to 

five months, the doe may become withdrawn, bleat, eat less and discharge white mucus, 

indicating that her time is near. Clip the hair around her tail and udder. Take the doe to a 

roomy stall (pen) where the bedding is fresh and clean for the health of both the mother 

and newborn. She may paw the ground, lie down and get up restlessly, pant or rearrange 

the bedding. She may lie down and not get up until her first kid is born. She may labour 

for a few hours before she actually kids. When contractions get closer together at the start 

of hard labour, she will pass gelatinous strings of bloody mucus. The first kid should be 

no more than fifteen minutes away and the entire process should take about forty-five 

minutes, depending on the number of kids born, which may be two, though three or four 

are not uncommon. A single is possible for does first kidding. When parturition starts, 

you will see a round, dark, bulging water bag. It will burst to reveal two feet with a tiny 

nose resting on them. Soon come out shoulders, hips and hind legs. Do not interfere or 

you will upset the doe and may cause unnecessary complications. 

The afterbirth or placenta usually comes out at the time of kidding or just afterwards. It is 

a stringy, light, thin, milky-looking membrane. In a multiple birth, there may be one or 

more. The doe may consume placenta and if she does, she will not be very hungry for the 

next few days. Otherwise remove the placenta and burn or bury it. 

Q. What do you know about selective breeding? Explain in detail. 

If you intend to build up a sizeable flock, careful selective breeding will increase its 

value. The two basic rules of selective breeding are: 

i) Never mate two sheep/goats that have the same fault, no matter how minor it seems. ii) 

Keep sight of your goals and make every decision with those goals in mind. 

Goals may include improving milk production, improving quantity and quality of wool, 

increasing the lambing/kidding rate, improving growth rate of lambs/kids or decreasing 

susceptibility to certain disease conditions. Breeding for appearance alone often leads to 

degeneration of wool and milk production or reproductive capabilities. Any time you 

seem to be achieving your goals, raise your standards. 

Selection in favour of desirable characteristics involves culling against undesirable ones. 

Unwanted hereditary defects include overshot or undershot jaw, anomalies of the teeth or 

joints, extra or double teats, undescended testicle(s), weak anatomical structure or 

incorrect conformation and colour for the breed. How fast you make progress toward 

your goals depends on the accuracy of your records, how good your foundation stock is, 

the uniformity of its gene pool, the number of breeders you select from, the relationship 

between the traits you are selecting for and their degree of heritability. Fortunately, most 

of desirable traits for sheep and goats are heritable to a fairly high degree. Some traits are 

not genetically controlled but depend on environment (nutrition, management etc.). You 

can reach your goals faster if you concentrate on only one trait at a time, but do not 

ignore all others, otherwise undesirable ones may creep in. 

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Do not get excited by your early success, which may give you a false sense of 

satisfaction. This is especially true if you start with unrelated sheep/goats so that your 

first few matings produce exceptionally fine lambs/kids, the result of hybrid vigour. Only 

years of careful selection can make you certain of the pedigree of each sheep/goat in your 

breeding team and that no undesirable latent characteristics lurk in the background. 

Selective breeding needs a whole lot of record keeping and a huge amount of patience. 

Q. Write short notes on inbreeding, linebreeding, outbreeding and 

crossbreeding. 

Inbreeding: Methods of selective breeding include inbreeding, linebreeding, outbreeding 

and crossbreeding. Inbreeding is the mating of closely related animals to develop a 

uniform genetic base so that eventually every sheep/goat in your flock is nearly identical 

in production and/or appearance. Inbreeding allows this by intensifying desirable 

characteristics, but it can also intensify undesirable ones if those are not carefully culled 

against. Inbreeding brings out latent weaknesses to make you aware of their existence so 

that you can work toward eliminating them. If after four or five generations of 

inbreeding, you continue to produce sound offspring, you can be more or less sure that 

there are no hidden genetic defects in your flock. 

Linebreeding: It is a form of inbreeding. It aims at concentrating the blood of one 

founding parent, usually a ram/buck but it may also be an ewe/doe. Many books contain 

linebreeding charts which may be taken as suggested guidelines, because blindly 

plugging the names of sheep/goats into a chart only due to their position in the family tree 

is likely to produce frustration. Instead choose each breeder according to its individual 

merit and potential for bringing you closer to your goals. The effectiveness of any form 

of inbreeding is increased with the number of sheep/goats involved which may be divided 

among cooperating flock owners. A large breeding population lets you cull freely to keep 

only animals that help you to achieve your goals. Because it involves such heavy culling 

that inbreeding (linebreeding) is not feasible for very small flocks. 

Outbreeding: It is the opposite of inbreeding. It involves mating animals that are not 

closely related or are entirely unrelated. Its goal is to combine the desirable traits of two 

distinct populations with an additional advantage that it produces hybrid vigour, making 

the offspring superior to either parent. Outbreeding becomes necessary in an inbreeding 

programme when undesirable traits show up or when it turns out that a flock cannot be 

developed according to the plan because it does not carry the genes for certain desired 

characteristics. Outbreeding involves careful selection of an animal to complement your 

flock with the particular characteristics you need and no undesirable ones that may spoil 

your programme. Such a sheep/goat is most likely to be found in another flock that is 

inbred, preferably one with distant ancestors common to your flock. 

Crossbreeding: When both parents belong to the same breed, the lamb/kid is termed as a 

purebred. However, each parent is of distinct different breed, the lamb/kid is called a 

crossbred. In crossbreeding you get a lamb/kid that can potentially (but not necessarily), 

have the good points of both the parents and is usually faster growing. The value of 

crossbreeding can be determined in practice by comparing the lamb/kid with the two 

parent breeds considering particularly the factors that are of importance in your situation: 

body conformation, wool, milk, prolificacy, rate of growth and size. Heterosis is the 

hybrid vigour i.e. the increased hardiness and growth performance that is often found in a 

crossbred when it is compared to the average of its purebred parents. Hybrid vigour is the 

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major reason for crossbreeding. The other reason is to breed in such a manner as to allow 

the strong points of one breed to compensate for the weakness of another. Individual 

heterosis comes from crossing two different breeds and normally results in an average of 

8 kg more meat (if well fed) than by pure breeding. Maternal heterosis, as reported by 

researchers of Ohio State University, is the crossing of a purebred ram/buck with a 

crossbred ewe/doe and causes on average 18% more meat produced per ewe/doe. 

Q. Briefly discuss backcrossing and grading up. 

Backcrossing: Breeding your best ewe lambs/doe kids to the same unusually good 

ram/buck is called backcrossing. It is a form of inbreeding. The lambs/kids resulting from 

this mating should not be bred back to the same ram/buck. 

Grading Up: The use of a good purebred ram/buck on a flock of very ordinary 

ewes/does and keeping the best of the resulting offspring, is called grading up. If done for 

several years, keeping the best of the ewe lambs/doe kids and disposing off the original 

ewes/does, you have probably improved the quality of your flock. The actual 

improvement depends partly on the ram/buck chosen and partly on how carefully you 

select the ewe lambs/doe kids that are kept for replacement. 

Q. Give below the estimated heritability of some important traits of dairy goats 

as well as Angora goats. 

Exact degree of heritability is not easy to ascertain due to the interrelationship of 

heritable characteristics as well as the complications of undetected environmental factors. 

Estimates of heritability show the percentage of progress you can reasonably expect when 

breeding selected parents (Table 11). 

Table 11. Degree of heritability of certain traits 

Trait Heritability (%) 

Milk 

Annual milk yield 36-64 

Total yield 25-66 

Fat yield 30-67 

Fat (%) 32-62 

Protein yield 32-47 Angora traits (%) 

Protein (%) 59 Total fibre yield 48 

Casein (%) 65 Fibre length 22 

Lactose (%) 38 Greasy fleece weight 15-40 

Flavour 27 Clean fleece weight 20 

Milking time 67 Fibre diameter 12 

Birth weight 01 Face cover 31-59 

Liveweight at 7 months 49-77 Kemp score 20-43 

General body weight 50 Body weight 30-50 

Age at first kidding 54-77 Weaning weight 20-55 

Number of kids 10 

Q. Briefly discuss various methods of evaluating breeding animals. 

There are several ways to evaluate the worthiness of potential breeders. One is to look at 

showring experience if you want to breed for winners. But showring wins are often 

weighted more in favour of appearance over meat, wool producing ability or dairy 

23


character. In addition, showring placement is mostly determined by comparing the 

exhibited animals to each other rather than to an ideal. Another means of evaluation is 

through classification, a system of scoring by comparing each animal to an established 

standard of excellence for its breed. Classifiers are trained and licensed by the various 

sheep/goat registered associations (mostly in western world). Like showring scoring, 

classification involves some degree of subjectivity on the part of the judge. A third 

alternative that provides more objective evaluation is linear appraisal. This system was 

established (in USA) by a committee within the National Association of Animal Breeders 

as a means of placing value on individual traits by using a sliding scale from worst to 

best. It was designed to evaluate sires used for artificial insemination. 

Q. Write a note on progeny testing. 

Progeny testing is perhaps the most objective way to evaluate breeding animals. It 

involves keeping track of performance of an animal’s offspring. It is a form of pedigree 

selection and is a method of estimating the breeding value of an animal by the 

performance or phenotype of its offspring. Progeny testing cannot be practised until after 

the animal reaches sexual maturity. The ram/buck must be mated to a large number of 

average ewes/does and not a small number of highly selected females. The accuracy of 

ram’s/buck’s estimated breeding value increases as the number of progeny with 

performance information increase. However, this method of selection can be very 

expensive and greatly increases generation interval because selection of parents cannot be 

carried out until after offspring have been measured. 

Q. What do you understand by oestrus manipulation? Discuss in detail. 

Oestrus manipulation is a means to influence the occurrence of heat, which offers some 

advantages if you have a large flock. Manipulating heat cycles helps produce a more 

regular flow of lambs/kids and that of milk from dairy goats by allowing groups of 

ewes/does to lamb/kid at the times you designate. Synchronizing heat (having ewes/does 

come into heat together) makes artificial insemination cheaper and easier, condenses the 

period during which you have to be on hand for lambing/kidding and produces groups of 

lambs/kids of similar ages that can be more easily raised together. A disadvantage is that 

conception rates and foetus survival rates tend to be lower during out-of-season hot 

summer months. 

Oestrus may be controlled in three basic ways. One is by hormonal treatment. 

The second is to introduce a vasectomized ram/buck into the flock or to hang a ram/buck 

rag in the barn. A ram/buck rag is an empty burlap sack or an old blanket that has been 

liberally rubbed over a mature ram or buck’s musk glands. Ram/buck odour generally 

causes ewes/does to come into heat within about a week. The third method is through 

light manipulation. Simulating the light conditions of fall prepares rams/bucks and female 

animals for out-of-season breeding. 

A more effective but complicated method has been devised at the International Dairy 

Goat Research Center at Texas A & M. It involves light treating does for twenty hours a 

day over a sixty-day period starting in early January, using one four-foot-forty-watt 

fluorescent tube for each forty-two square feet of floor space, hung at a height of 2.7 to 

3m. The does are then kept under natural light for another thirty-five days. Into each pen 

of six does, a buck is introduced that has also been light-treated to stimulate fertility. He 

is left there for sixty days during which two or three light-introduced heat cycles occur. 

By this method a pregnancy rate of 67 to 100% was achieved in various breeds of dairy 

24


goats. How effectively the occurrence of heat can be controlled with ram/buck scent or 

lighting depends on the season, the weather, your latitude, management practices and the 

age and breed of your ewes/does. Environmental control of oestrus is easier with certain 

breeds than with others, for which hormonal treatment may be necessary for optimum 

results. 

Q. Discuss the possibility of accelerated lambing/kidding in sheep/goats. 

Obtaining two lamb/kid crops a year (without use of hormones) seems possible. Some 

breeds might perform better in this respect than others e.g. Teddy goats have already 

exhibited ample capacity to produce two kid crops a year. However, apart from the 

physiological possibility, the possibility of proper feeding of ewes/does and their 

offspring must be explored. Because underfeeding of small ruminants in this country has 

definitely kept them back from utilizing their existing potential. It therefore, does not 

appear advisable to burden them any more unless substantial feed resources are 

developed and made available for them. The long run effect of two crops a year on 

reproductive span, life span of ewes/does and on lamb/kid birth weight as well as their 

growth rate needs to be considered. 

Scientists in the Utah State University have devised and tested a method to overcome the 

common problem of uterine debris that prevents ewes/does from breeding back early 

enough to have two lamb/kid crops in twelve months. They infused the uterus with 200 

ml saturated sucrose solution via the cervix, within four days of lambing/kidding and 

obtained beneficial response. Sterile solution and sterile procedure are essential to avoid 

serious complications. Any programme of accelerated lambing/kidding will require very 

early weaning of lambs/kids to prepare the ewes/does for their next lambing/kidding. The 

effect of severe hot and cold weather on newborns has also to be kept in view. 

Q. What specific traits are favourably influenced by better feeding of small 

ruminants during the last 10 weeks of pregnancy? 

Better feeding during the last 10 weeks of gestation period will influence the size of 

lambs/kids, the development of udder and subsequent milk yield (which is important for 

the newborn lambs/kids as well as for the sale of goat milk later on), female’s forage 

intake during lactation which is conditioned at this time, mohair yield of Angora kids and 

probably wool producing capacity of sheep. 

Q. Briefly discuss the role of hormones in the development of udder in small 

ruminants in the last a few weeks of gestation. 

The development of the udder is influenced by a number of hormones including 

progesterone from the ovaries, prolactin from the pituitary gland and placental lactogen 

from the placenta. The placental lactogen is produced in greater quantities according to 

the amount of placental tissue. Thus ewes/does carrying a number of foetuses are likely 

to produce more milk than those with single foetus. During the last a few weeks of 

gestation the udder will undergo rapid development and in case of heavy milkers may 

look swollen and engorged. There is often a temptation to milk out a little at this time to 

relieve pressure but unless the ewe/doe is in obvious discomfort, it is better not to do this 

since it will affect the production of colostrum at lambing/kidding. 

Q. What are the important measures of reproductive efficiency in small 

ruminants? Discuss briefly. 

25


Reproduction is said to be the engine of the flock, ensuring that sheep and goats are able 

to generate enough replacements for themselves, expand the flock and supply excess 

stock for sale. The reproductive rate of both individual sheep/goats and the flock as a 

whole is an important determinant of the overall success of the flock. It is therefore, 

important that reproductive problems, if any, are spotted as early as possible and action 

taken to remedy the situation. Important measures to assess individual reproductive 

performance are: 

Parturition Interval: The frequency with which individual ewes/does produce 

lambs/kids. 

Litter Size: The number of lambs/kids born per ewe/doe. 

Preweaning Mortality Rate: The number of lamb/kid deaths up to weaning. 

Postweaning Mortality Rate: The number of lamb/kid deaths after weaning. 

In addition, consideration must be given to the question of whether there are any females 

that are not reproducing. Some measures of reproductive performance of a whole flock 

may express the number of lambs/kids born either from the breeding females that were 

actually mated or from the potential breeding females i.e. including infertile females. 

These indicators may include the number of lambs/kids born per number of breeding 

females per year (lambing/kidding rate). An index that includes an estimate of 

preweaning mortality is weaning rate i.e. the number of lambs/kids weaned per number 

of breeding females per year. 

Q. Give a detailed account of reproductive problems in small ruminants. 

Problems of reproductive management can be identified and normally overcome, whereas 

if deeper physiological problems are suspected, for example difficulties of hormonal 

nature, access to a well equipped laboratory is required. Such a facility is not commonly 

available. A series of questions might be asked when investigating the reasons why an 

ewe/doe is not lambing/kidding, or why the reproductive rate of a flock is poor. Such 

questions are: 

Is the ewe/doe showing signs of oestrus? It is important to check whether oestrus is being 

detected properly. In flocks where males are not run continuously with females, oestrus 

detection can be a problem, unless the owner is very alert. Women and grown up 

members of the family associated with handling and care of the animals might help in 

this regard. However, it is necessary to check this and also to check that the ram/buck 

responds normally to females. Homosexual males may not do so. 

Females may be experiencing normal cycles, but may not show overt signs of oestrus. 

Any of the following factors may cause anoestrus: 

Poor Condition: Poor nutrition over long periods, resulting into loss of 10 to 20% body 

weight can cause the ewe/doe to stop showing signs of oestrus; this is called nutritional 

anoestrus. 

Lactation: In the early stages of lactation, females may not show signs of oestrus; this is 

known as lactational anoestrus. 

Sickness: If the ewe/doe is very ill, she may not show signs of oestrus. Alternatively she 

may not be cycling at all, owing to some infertility problems and thus no signs of oestrus. 

If the ewe/doe is showing signs of oestrus the next question is Is oestrus regular? Try to 

record when oestrus occurs. Sometimes oestrous cycles are very short (6 to 10 days) or 

very long. Causes of short cycles are: 

26


Stress: When the ewe/doe is stressed, for example during transportation. The corpus 

luteum may prematurely regress, causing short cycles. 

Ovarian Cyst: Cysts on the ovary produce estrogen, which may shorten the cycle. 

Metritis: Infection of the uterus after lambing/kidding may result in short oestrus cycles. 

Mummified Lamb/Kid: If a lamb/kid becomes mummified in the uterus, it can serve to 

stimulate repeated short cycles. Causes of long oestrous cycles are: 

Embryonic Death: The death of the embryo in the uterus. 

Anoestrus: Possibly due to malnutrition or disease. 

Hormonal Disturbance: A hormonal disturbance resulting in a persistent corpus luteum. 

If oestrus is being regularly shown, but there are still problems, the question arises Is the 

ram/buck proven to be fertile. Males may be infertile due to: 

Brucellosis: Infection with brucellosis in males can result in orchitis (swollen testicles), 

which can make the ram/buck temporarily infertile or permanently sterile. 

Physical Damage: Any physical damage to the penis or testicles can render the male 

sterile. Also lameness or other physical problems can make the male unable to mount a 

female. 

Over Use: Rams/bucks should not be expected to serve successfully more than one or 

two females per day. If a male is run with a batch of females that come into oestrus close 

together, he may attempt to serve them but the sperm quality would fall with each female 

served. By the third or fourth ewe/doe of the day, the ram/buck may be effectively 

infertile. 

Hereditary Condition: Occasionally a ram/buck is born with deformed reproductive 

organs, causing him to be sterile. 

Age: When the males grow weak through age, they may no longer be able to mount and 

mate a female successfully. 

Homosexuality: Males reared exclusively with other males in the absence of females can 

develop homosexual behaviour patterns and will not respond to females in oestrus. The 

next question is Is the male with the ewe/doe all the time? If the answer is no, then there 

may be problems either in detecting oestrus or in mating at the correct time in relation to 

ovulation. If the ewe/doe has to be taken for matting to a distant male, it may not be 

possible for her to be mated twice at the recommended interval of 12 hours. Does the 

ewe/doe stand to be mated? Standing to be mated is the true sign of oestrus, however, 

even if the ewe/doe is in oestrus, she may be too small to support the weight of the 

ram/buck. 

It is common in crossbreeding programmes for the ewe/doe and ram/buck to need 

assistance at mating. The female may have to be supported while the male mounts, in 

order to achieve successful copulation. If the answer to all previous questions is yes, but 

the ewe/doe is still not breeding properly, then it is time to consider the possibility that 

the doe is infertile. Females may be infertile, either not showing signs of oestrus, or 

simply not ovulating at all, for one of the following reasons: 

Pregnancy: If the reproductive problem reported is a recent one, consider the possibility 

that the ewe/doe is currently pregnant. 

Previous Metritis: Infection of the uterus may occur after lambing/kidding and can leave 

the female infertile. 

Hereditary Condition: Hereditary deformities do occur, but are rare. 

Age: Eventually females become too old to breed. 

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Q. What do you understand by metritis? 

Normally after lambing/kidding there is a reddish discharge from the vulva for up to 14 

days. However, if the discharge is dark red and sticky, there may be an infection and 

inflammation of the uterus known as metritis. A course of antibiotics normally results in 

full recovery, however, if chronic metritis develops, the ewe/doe may be rendered 

infertile. 

Q. What to do with a battering ram/buck? 

The battering ram/buck may not be considered just funny. It can inflict serious, and 

sometimes permanently crippling injuries. Keep children away from it. They can make 

him playful and dangerous. Never pet him on top of his head; this encourages him to butt. 

Leading a ram/buck with one hand under his chin will keep him from getting his head 

down into butting position. A ram/buck butts from the top of his head, not from his 

forehead. His head is held so low that as he charges you, he does not see forward well 

enough to swerve suddenly. A quick step to the right or left will help you avoid the 

collision. 

If you have a ram/buck that already butts at you, try the water cure. A half-pail of water 

on his face when he comes to butt. After repeating a few times, a water pistol or dose 

syringe of water on his face suffices to check him. Adding a bit of vinegar to the water 

makes it a better deterrent. 

A dangerous ram/buck that is very valuable can be hooded so that he can only see 

downward and somewhat backward. He must then be kept apart from other rams/bucks as 

he is quite helpless. 

Strange rams/bucks will fight when put together. Well acquainted ones, will, too, if they 

have been separated for a while. Two strong rams/bucks who are both very determined 

will keep fighting until their heads are bleeding and one finally staggers to his knees and 

is hard for him to get up. Rams/bucks will occasionally kill one another. Never pen a 

smaller, younger one with a large dominant one. To prevent fighting and the possibility 

of being injured, you can put them together in a small pen for a few days. In a confined 

area they cannot back up far enough to do any damage. If no pen is available, they can be 

hobbled i.e. fore and hind legs of the same side can be fastened with ends of a broad 

leather strap just above the pastern joints, leaving the legs at about the natural distance 

apart. It discourages them from butting each other, or people, because they are unable to 

charge from any distance. They may stand close and push each other around. Hobbling 

also keeps them from jumping the fence. In addition, clogging may be tried which simply 

means fastening a piece of wood to one fore leg by a leather strap. This will slow down 

and discourage both fence jumping and fighting. 

Q. Is artificial insemination practised in small ruminants? 

It is practised in several countries such as UK, USA, Canada, Russia, Australia, 

Switzerland and France, but natural breeding is still more popular with large flocks 

because breeding by ram/buck is both easier and surer. For small flock owners, in most 

cases artificial insemination (AI) costs about the same as stud service and for them both 

can be less expensive than keeping a ram/buck. AI is especially important where stud 

rams/bucks are not available locally. AI lets you take advantage of a wide range of 

superior rams/bucks from across the country. And you can keep a closed flock to prevent 

the spread of diseases, since AI sires are screened for health problems transmitted 

through sexual contact. 

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In several countries, more and more small flocks owners especially goat-keepers are 

learning how to do and many are willing to do it for others. The initial investment is 

fairly high, but can be mitigated if a group of compatible members of a farmer’s 

community/club pool resources. The semen storage tank is the most costly piece of 

equipment. It is used to keep the semen at –320°F during transportation and storage. 

After semen is selected according to the histories of stud rams/bucks (published in 

various catalogues), it is delivered by a bus/van in the processor’s transporting tank. The 

breeder must have another tank for the semen, so that the processor’s tank can be 

promptly returned. Since semen is viable only eight to twelve hours after being thawed, 

in contrast to as much as two days for natural semen, it is therefore critical that 

insemination be well coordinated with ovulation. Some breeders keep a ram/buck to 

stimulate ovulation and help them identify ewes/does in heat, even though they use AI to 

breed their animals to superior distant studs. Conception rates vary between 50 and 70%. 

Rough handling of ewes/does during AI reduces the chances of conception. If you have a 

large flock, try to achieve oestrus synchronization before calling an AI technician to your 

place to do the job. A record of AI should include the date, identification of ewe/doe, 

ram/buck, semen processor and inseminator. 

Certain disadvantages of AI are: i) Conception rates from AI would not be expected to be 

as good as with natural mating, ii) special training and expensive equipment are required, 

and iii) if a trained inseminator is not located nearby then travelling costs can make the 

service expensive. 

In Britain the company Caprine Ovine Breeding Services Ltd. (COBS) was formed about 

two decades ago to develop an artificial insemination service particularly for goats. The 

first few years of this company were spent making preliminary arrangements and now 

semen can be successfully diluted and frozen in liquid nitrogen at –196°C and 

experienced inseminators are achieving conception rates at first service of over 60%. 

The most common method of restraint for AI involves holding the goat’s back legs off 

the ground and presenting her rear to the inseminator. The owner or handler stands 

astride the goat’s neck, facing the goat’s rear. The inseminator lifts the goat by her hocks 

and brings her up so that the handler can hold the hocks tight up against the goat’s lower 

abdomen pulling her up against his chest. It is best if the handler can lean into and rest his 

back into a corner. By doing so it is possible to restrain even quite large goats for 

insemination. The inseminator uses an instrument called a speculum to look into the 

vagina of the goat to locate the entrance to the cervix. If the goat is at the proper stage of 

oestrus, the cervix may be slightly dilated and it is sometimes easy to insert the AI gun 

some distance into the neck of the cervix. However, the muscular bands can make it 

difficult to insert the gun into the cervix, the semen is then splashed onto the entrance. 

The chances of conception will be reduced if this happens. 

For AI through the cervix, the semen is frozen in 0.5 ml plastic straws. The semen is 

diluted so that each straw contains approximately 120 million sperm. The amount of 

semen collected from a male varies but averages 15 to 20 straws per ejaculate. An 

insemination technique, using an instrument called a laproscope, deposits semen directly 

into the uterus through the body wall. This technique allows less semen to be used to 

achieve conception rates at least as good as when cervical technique is used. The help of 

a veterinarian is required for this purpose. AI programme should not be considered unless 

conditions/facilities such as a supply of semen, skilled staff, technical equipment and 

29


good transport and communications as well as highly motivated farmers/goat keepers 

exist. It may be possible to run a goat AI programme alongside a buffalo/cattle AI 

programme, making use of the same laboratory and technicians. 

Q. Discuss embryo transfer in goats. 

In recent years the techniques for preserving fertile embryos and transplanting them into 

suitable recipient animals that become surrogate mothers have been considerably 

developed in several western countries. The technique is particularly attractive for rapidly 

increasing the number of progeny that can be produced by one female in a single 

breeding season. It has been used most in breeds and species that, usually for reasons of 

scarcity, are valuable and therefore, where the relatively high cost involved can be 

justified. Embryo transfer involves treating a goat with a series of injections of follicle 

stimulating hormone (FSH) and luteinizing hormone (LH) to synchronize oestrus and to 

induce super-ovulation. The goat is mated repeatedly throughout the peak of her oestrus 

period in order to enhance the chances of a large number of ova, 12 on average, being 

fertilized. At the same time a number of ordinary goats, usually 7 to 10, are also treated 

with hormones so that their oestrous cycle will be exactly synchronized with that of the 

donor. 

Six days after the donor is mated, she undergoes a small operation to exteriorize the 

uterus, which is then flushed to recover any fertile embryos that may be present. The 

embryos thus collected are examined under microscope by an embryologist to determine 

those that are fit to be used. Two of these will then be transferred by a similar operation 

to each of the recipient goats. Embryos can be frozen and stored in liquid nitrogen in a 

similar way to semen and thus they can be shipped around the world and can be used a 

long time after they were collected. When considering the economics of embryo transfer, 

it is important to remember that 12 embryos recovered will not mean 12 live kids born. 

There are many points in the programme where the embryos may die. Good 

synchronization of the donor’s and recipients’ oestrous cycles is the most important and 

stress and nutrition can affect embryo survival after implantation. 

For every 12 embryos flushed two would probably be infertile or unsuitable for transfer. 

Not all the recipients will be suitable for use and of the five, three or four will become 

pregnant. Taking all these variables into account, the average number of kids born per 

flush will be five to six and of these, it is normal to expect 50% male and 50% female. 

The embryo transfer requires highly skilled staff and sophisticated equipment, therefore, 

it might be successfully used only under research station conditions. 

Q. Write a detailed note on culling. 

Culling means eliminating old and unproductive animals from the flock according to a 

scheduled annual or biannual programme. 

To know which animals to cull, you need to keep good records and this requires ear 

tags/tattooing. Even if you can recognize each of your sheep/goats by name, still it is 

important to have clear records with tags than without. The following records may be 

helpful: fleece weight of each clip/each year; wool quality; lambing/kidding record; 

prolapses; rejected lambs/kids; inverted eyelids; milk yield and milking ability; lamb/kid 

growth; foot problems; udder abnormalities; any illnesses and their treatment. 

At culling time review the records as well as inspect teeth, udders and feet. Cull out 

ewes/does with defective udders, broken mouth (teeth missing), limpers who do not 

respond to regular trimming and foot baths or those with insufficient milk and whose 

30


lambs/kids grow slowly. There may be some exceptions to these deficiencies such as an 

ewe/doe who regularly has twins/triplets and passes on her prolific traits to her daughters. 

This one may warrant bottle feeding of her lambs/kids for another season of 

lambing/kidding. Improvements of a flock require rigid culling. Consider all the points 

listed under purchase of new ewes/does. And it is not enough to just have teeth, the bite 

itself is important. An expert says, “They cannot shear grass if the blades do not match”. 

Keep in mind especially the ease of lambing/kidding (to avoid animals that all require 

assistance at parturition time). Consideration for only growth and conformation may not 

be enough, also consider survivability, mothering instinct, production of large quantities 

of nourishing milk from the start, lamb/kids that find out teats, even suck out wax plug if 

necessary. 

Culling may be done at least a month before the dates of marketing shows that are held at 

one or two nearby places. It can also be managed to coincide with the demand for 

sacrificial slaughter of animals, especially male stock, on the occasion of Eid-ul-Azha. 

During the four to six weeks period after culling, the animals may be provided some 

supplementary ration to enhance their marketability so that they may fetch better prices. 

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35


PROBLEMS OF PREGNANT EWES/DOES 

Q. Give a list of diseases which pertain to pregnant ewes/does. 

Vaginal prolapse, abortions, retained placenta, mastitis, pregnancy disease (ketosis), 

ketosis or calcium deficiency, milk fever (lambing sickness, hypocalcium, calcium 

deficiency) etc. 

Q. Give a detailed account of vaginal prolapse in ewes/does. 

Vaginal prolapse mostly occurs before parturition, but sometimes can follow a difficult 

labour. The vaginal lining, protruding from genital opening can be seen as a red mass. 

Early detection and treatment is important. Important causes are: anatomical weakness, 

likely inherited; feeding too much roughage during late pregnancy, with foetus and 

stomach causing excessive pressure; deficiency of selenium; extra fat ewe/doe; lying on 

upward slope; causing ewe/doe to cough a lot as in pneumonia or lungworms; rough 

handling in shearing or during deworming in late pregnancy. 

For prevention of prolapse, in selenium deficient areas, inject the animals with selenium a 

week before parturition. The slightest indication of prolapse would call for an additional 

selenium injection along with usual prolapse-repair measures. Injection be given 

intramuscular but preferably subcut. In western country markets several selenium 

products are available. Too much selenium is acutely toxic. Increased forage yields are 

speeding the depletion of selenium in topsoil and increased animal stocking/ha on a given 

land area also contributes to the problem. Blood tests can give an accurate information 

about selenium status of the animal and the soil scientist about the soil. 

Conventional treatment for the vaginal lining just barely protruding is confine the 

pregnant animal in such a place where her hind end is well elevated, thus decreasing 

pressure. At the same time prolapse-harness may be applied. In many countries, 

homemade prolapse-loop is used in case prolapse has occurred (Figure 13). 

To replace the vaginal protrusion and insert the loop or retainer: Put a rope (1½ cm) or 

belt around her middle in front of the udder so that she cannot strain, but not so tight that 

she cannot lie down and get up. Wash your hands and disinfect the loop. Wash the 

prolapsed part with normal cold antiseptic water. Replace the vaginal lining using a 

lubricant. Hind end be elevated. May hold her on back, with her shoulders on the ground 

and her hindquarters up against your knee, to relieve pressure. Insert the prolapse loop, 

straight in, flat horizontally. Prolapse-harness may be used to hold the loop in place. Give 

an injection of a suitable antibiotic to avoid infection. For lubricating and disinfecting the 

vaginal mass, a cream is available in the local market. You can remove the loop as she 

goes into labour. Mark this ewe/doe for culling since the prolapse produces permanent 

damage and might happen again. It could be a genetic weakness. 

At one time the standard holding of prolapse was with deep sutures (one at the top of 

vaginal opening and one across the bottom) to hold the vagina in (Figure 14). 

Q. What is meant by pregnancy disease? Give its synonyms, causes, symptoms 

and treatment. 

Pregnancy disease also termed as pregnancy toxaemia or ketosis is highly fatal if not 

treated immediately. It usually occurs in last week or so of pregnancy and inflicts mostly 

36


twin or triplet carrying ewes/does. It can be readily diagnosed by urine tests for ketones 

and acetones if test strips are available. It is possible to avoid this disease by using ketone 

test strips early. 

It is not a thin ewe/doe or blood sugar problem, rather mainly of insufficient energy 

intake. When she is taking in less energy than required to sustain herself and the growing 

foetus(es), she begins to use stored body fat to provide this energy. Ketones are the byproduct 

of fat metabolism. When the ewe/doe is breaking down significant levels of fat 

from body reserves, she may reach the point where ketones are being produced faster 

than her body can excrete them. When this occurs, they build up to toxic levels and thus 

ketosis or pregnancy anaemia takes place. Simply stated, prevention requires calories. 

Usual symptoms are: sleepy-looking dull eyes, weak in legs, with sweet acetoniecsmelling 

breath, mostly refuse to eat, then become unable to rise, teeth grinding and 

breathe rapidly. Recovery becomes doubtful if treatment delayed long. For treatment 4 

ounces of propylene glycol or 4 ounces of glycerine diluted with warm water or any 

commercial preparation should be given by mouth twice a day; better continue for four 

days even if she is recovered, to prevent relapse. 

Keep propylene glycol on hand before lambing/kidding for prompt treatment of any 

suspected cases. Because once a full-blown case occurs and treatment proves ineffective, 

then caesarean section will be required to save the ewe/doe. Loss of lambs/kids will occur 

unless she is very close to normal parturition time. 

Among important preventive measures are: avoid over fatness early in pregnancy; 

encourage daily exercise; provide rising level of nutrition in last 4 to 5 weeks of 

pregnancy; supply a constant source of water; give molasses in drinking water; avoid 

purchasing ewes/does too close to lambing/kidding; avoid stress and hurried driving of 

pregnant animals; no sudden change in concentrate ration; give special attention to 

nutrition of old animals with poor teeth, treat the feet of any lame ewe/doe, or she may 

not move around well; give at least 300 g concentrate ration per head/day; add molasses 

to the feed of all animals if you have even one case of ketosis. 

Sometimes confusion arises as to whether it is pregnancy toxaemia or hypocalcemia 

(milk fever). Pregnancy toxaemia can be accurately diagnosed by test strips (ketone 

sensitive strips). In general, it may be said that if it is before parturition and there is a 

possibility that the ewe/doe may not have been fed properly in the last month, it is 

probably pregnancy toxaemia, whereas if it is after lambing/kidding and the ewe is 

providing milk for twins/triplets and has had adequate feed with molasses, it is more 

likely to be milk fever (hypocalcemia). 

Q. What type of fever is milk fever? Give the most salient causes, symptoms and 

suggest an effective treatment for this ailment. 

As a matter of fact milk fever is a misnomer. It is not a fever. The temperature of the 

ailing animal is either normal or subnormal and the ears become very cold. It is simply a 

state of calcium deficiency in the dams in post-lambing/post-kidding situation, but can be 

just before. 

So much calcium is needed to form the bones and teeth of foetus(es) and so much of it 

goes into ewe’s/doe’s milk, that she suddenly may be unable to supply it all, due either to 

simple calcium deficiency or deficiency caused by metabolic disturbance. This deficiency 

37


can cause death in a short time. Abrupt change of feed, a period without feed or a sudden 

drastic change in the weather may be the contributory factors to cause this disease. 

The onset of disease is sudden and progress very rapid. Initial signs are excitability, 

muscle tremors, stilted gait followed by staggering, breathing fast, staring eyes and 

dullness. Next the animal lies down and is unable to get up, then slips into coma followed 

by death. To be successful, treatment should start before the animal is down. 

Milk fever represents a true medical emergency in which life or death of the animal is a 

race against time. Once the condition is sufficiently advanced, intravenous injection of 

100 cc calcium borogluconate or calcium gluconate is the only remedy that will save the 

animal. If in doubt call your local veterinarian for help. If veterinary assistance is not 

available and you cannot give intravenous injection, the drug may be injected subcut (75 

to 100 cc, divided equally for five injection sites). Subcut gives a slower reaction and it is 

a safer procedure at home with less chance of cardiac arrest. 

If milk fever occurs before lambing/kidding, it may be confused with pregnancy 

toxaemia. If, however, it is a calcium shortage, the animal will show a dramatic 

improvement after calcium is given. 

Q. Give a detailed account of abortions in ewes/does. 

Injury is often a cause of abortion, such as when a male is running with the pregnant 

females and bumps them away from feed, when pregnant ewes/does rush for feed through 

narrow doorways or when they are chased by dogs. Moldy feed with mold spores 

infecting and destroying the placenta, can cut off nourishment to the foetus leading to 

abortion. When an ewe/doe has aborted in the last few weeks of pregnancy or has a still 

birth and there is no orphan to graft on her while she has a full udder, she should be 

milked out on third day and again in a week. If the newborn is dead due to a difficult 

birth, the first milking should be done at once and the colostrum frozen for future use. 

The other causes are vibriosis and enzooatic abortion of ewes (EAE). Vibriosis is caused 

by bacteria that may live in the gall bladder and intestine of the animal, but invade the 

uterus, placenta and foetus during late pregnancy. Although it is reported that ewes/does 

that have aborted from this are immune to further abortions, they can be carriers that may 

contaminate feed and water, infecting other animals. The rest of the animals can be 

vaccinated, followed by three day injections of 8 cc pen-strep, further followed by 500 

mg/head/day of chortetracyline (CTC) until the lambing/kidding season is over. 

Enzooatic abortin of ewes/does (EAE) is caused by an organism called Chlamydia, which 

causes late term abortions, stillbirths and weak lambs. It is not the same species of 

Chlamydia that causes respiratory diseases, pink eye etc. in sheep. It spreads to ewes/does 

by contact with aborting animals, infected foetal membranes, uterine discharges, or a 

dead foetus. Treatment of an EAE outbreak is the feeding of 500 mg CTC per ewe or doe 

per day. EAE-Vibrio vaccine used well in time protects the animals from both the 

infections. Toxoplasmosis is a protozoan (Coccidium) of cats. Infection of sheep/goats 

occurs through eating forage, grains and other feedstuffs where cats have defaecated. 

Abortions and stillbirths are common. No effective treatment or vaccine so far. Stray cats 

should not be allowed to stay at the farm premises. Strict sanitation, clean 

uncontaminated water, protected storage of dry forage; grain and off-the-ground feeding 

troughs may help reduce the incidence and spread of disease. 

Q. How would you proceed with retained placenta in ewes/does? 

38


The retained placenta is also called retained afterbirth. The afterbirth often comes out 

normally mostly within first hour after birth, depending somewhat on the activity of the 

dam. Do not try to pull it out, as you might cause some injury to herself. You can allow 

quite some time⎯ up to six hours after birth. Some animals may eat the afterbirth if you 

are not there to take care of it, causing you to think it is yet retained. In case six hours 

have passed, home treatment consists of an injection of streptomycin or penicillin to ward 

off infection. Forcible removal of the afterbirth to be done only by a person who can 

differentiate between the maternal and the foetal cotyledons to separate them. Better get 

help from a reproduction man who can administer a medicine that can assist in expelling 

it. Usual causes for retained placenta are: exhaustion following difficult birth; nutritional 

disorder such as deficiency of selenium, magnesium or calcium, affecting the ability of 

uterine muscles to contract properly; premature birth, resulting from poor feeding in the 

last four weeks of pregnancy; infection or abortion; and hereditary weakness. 

Q. Do you think mastitis can be prevalent in ewes/does? Write a note on it. 

Yes! it does. Mastitis is an infection and inflammation of the udder usually affecting one 

side and can be caused by one or a combination of different bacteria. In acute cases the 

ewe/doe has a high fever (105 to 106 degrees) and usually goes off feed. The affected 

side of her udder is hot, swollen and painful. She will limp, carrying one hind leg as far 

from the udder as possible and does not want her youngone to nurse. The milk becomes 

watery or thick and flaky. Early detection and prompt treatment can minimize udder loss. 

Occasionally mastitis causes gangrene of the udder, which becomes almost blue and is 

cold to touch. Large and repeated doses of dihydrostreptomycin may be helpful. This 

type of mastitis is critical and the ewe/doe should be marked for culling. In several cases, 

mastitis will respond if penicillin treatment (or other recent medication) is given early 

enough in dosage of 0.5 to 1 million units. More appropriate would be to get it diagnosed 

from a relevant laboratory and know which is the causative organism, then get proper 

treatment. If the animal is treated promptly at the first signs of the disease, there is 50% 

chance of saving the udder. Subclinical mastitis may go undetected, showing up at the 

ewe/doe’s next lambing/kidding when she has milk in only half of her udder and the 

other half is hard. 

Important causes are: undue exposure to rainy weather, animal lying on dirty, cold and 

wet ground, soiled wet bedding; infection from an active mastitic animal to another; 

udder injury from high thresholds in barns or from underbrush; udder injury from large 

nursing lambs/kids; loss of lamb/kid, while ewe/doe has large milking udder, which not 

milked out to dry up; sudden weaning of lambs/kids while ewe/doe still has full milking 

capacity; concentrate ration not withdrawn at least five days prior to weaning. 

To treat the mastitis cases, suitable antibiotics be injected. Also infected side milked out 

completely and milk destroyed and antibiotics inserted into the teat. There are 

combination treatment drugs for both acute and mild chronic cases and these are effective 

against several of the causative bacteria. 

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40


PRE-LAMBING/PRE-KIDDING AND 

LAMBING/KIDDING 

Q. What type of feed needs to be given to small ruminants during early months 

of pregnancy? 

When flushing related feeding period is over, just continue with normal feeding. Do not 

overfeed ewes/does during the early months of pregnancy. A programme of increased 

feeding must be maintained during late gestation to avoid pregnancy disease and other 

problems. Overfeeding during early pregnancy can cause animals to gain excessive 

weight that may cause difficulty at parturition. Provide adequate feeder space 

(approximately 50 to 60 cm per animal) so that all animals will have excess to the feed at 

one time; otherwise timid or older ewes/does would face difficulty in getting their feed. 

Possibly, they should have free choices of a mineral-salt mix containing selenium. Do not 

use a mineral mix intended for buffalo/cattle because it may be fortified with copper at 

levels that are toxic to small ruminants. 

Q. What type of feed would you suggest for small ruminants during the last five 

to six weeks of pregnancy? 

Ewes/does during the fourth month of pregnancy need about four times as much water as 

they did before pregnancy. Since 70% of the growth of foetuses takes place in the last 

five to six weeks period, the feed must have adequate calories and nutritional balance to 

support that growth. During the last month the foetuses become so large that they 

displace much of the space previously occupied by the rumen. Thus the need for more 

high protein feed and less roughage because the ewes/does are unable to ingest sufficient 

quantities of any low energy feed, to support themselves or the growing foetus(es), which 

causes them to utilize excessive quantities of stored fat reserves and can in turn lead to 

pregnancy toxaemia. Poor energy supplementation can also result in hypoglycemia (low 

blood sugar). A good concentrate mix would be 1/3 whole oats, 1/3 shelled maize and 1/3 

wheat (for the selenium content). Barley is a good feed if available. Grains can be 

supplemented to 12 to 15% protein content with soybean meal or other source of protein. 

Grain and berseem hay should be given on regular basis to avoid risk of pregnancy 

disease or enterotoxaemia. Approximately not less than 300 g concentrate mix per 

day/animal is a good rule of thumb. For larger ewes/does 400 g and for Teddy does 150 g 

should suffice. 

Q. Do the weaned and nursing kids need supplementation? 

As long as kids are receiving adequate amounts of milk from their mothers, they do well 

provided the range is in good condition. Since here most of the range is poor, therefore, 

450 g of supplement for each 3 kids should be provided. Older and larger kids may have 

their supplement reduced to 450 g daily for each 5 kids. In addition, kids should have 

access to quality hay. These recommendations should be considered to be minimum 

levels. 

Q. What harmful effects are expected if small ruminants are maintained on 

poor feeding during last five weeks of pregnancy? 

Low birth weight of newborns; low fat reserve in newborns, resulting in more deaths 

from chilling and exposure; low wool production from lambs as adults; shortened 

gestation period, some born slightly premature; increased chances of pregnancy 

41


toxaemia; ewes/does slower to come into milk and less milk; production of tender layer 

(break) in ewe’s fleece. These consequences are more pronounced in ewes/does carrying 

twins and triplets. Excessive feeding, on the other hand, can result in excessive growth of 

the lambs/kids and an overweight condition in ewes/does, resulting into serious problems 

at parturition time. Also, at this advanced stage of pregnancy, take notice of any droopy 

ewes/does and those that are found off feed; they might be developing pregnancy 

toxaemia. 

Animals that are not getting enough feed to meet their energy requirements will use 

reserve body fat. When fat cells are converted into energy, waste products called ketones 

are created. Pregnancy disease (ketosis) results when ketones are produced faster than 

they can be excreted and they rise to toxic levels in the blood stream, which can be easily 

detected in urine. A simple test kit for ketones is available at big medical stores, which 

can be used to identify the animals deficient in energy. Such animals can be separated to 

provide them extra feed and thus to avert the risk of some serious disease problems. 

Q. Are there any advantages of shearing before lambing? 

If weather is mild and you are sure that sheep would be handled gently then they can be 

sheared about four weeks before lambing. The following are some advantages: 

No dirty, germ-laden wool tags for lambs to suck; clean udder makes it easier for lambs 

to find teats; fewer germs in contact with the lamb as it emerges at birth; easier to assist at 

lambing, if necessary; easier to spot an impending prolapse in time to save ewe; easier to 

predict lambing time by ewe’s appearance; ewe less apt to lie on her lamb in pen. 

Q. What do you understand by Crotching (crutching, tagging)? 

It simply means trimming wool/hair from the crotch and udder and a few centimeters 

forward of the udder. Only about four or five ounces of wool/hair from goats having long 

hairy coats are removed. Wool can be washed dried and sold with rest of the fleece 

(Figure 15). 

Q. Discuss in detail the requirements for an ideal lambing/kidding pen. 

Have a 1½ x 1½ meter lambing/kidding pen (also called claiming pen or jug) ready for 

newborn and its mother, with clean bedding, a small feeder and a container of water that 

cannot be spilled and is tall enough that a newborn cannot fall into it and drown. As a 

general rule you will need approximately one pen for every ten ewes/does in the flock. A 

healthy barn must not be very warm but should be clean, dry and free of drafts. Warm or 

drafty barns can cause pneumonia. A warm, damp barn is extremely conducive to 

bacterial growth. A closed barn without proper ventilation allows build up of ammonia 

from faecal decay and urine, which can irritate the lining of lungs and trachea, 

predisposing the animal to respiratory diseases. 

The pen is primarily for use after the lamb/kid has born. Ewes/does prefer a large area for 

actual lambing/kidding, where they can walk around freely before labour. The larger pen 

is preferred if you want to have the ewe/doe confined where facilities are better for 

helping in a difficult birth. It is said that in goats 90% births are normal. The pen allows 

the mother and newborn to become well acquainted, keeps the lamb from getting 

separated from its mother (especially in the case of twins or triplets) and protects the 

lamb from being trampled by other animals or becoming wet and chilled/exposed to high 

temperature. Ordinarily, they are penned together for three days so that they can be easily 

observed and treated should complications arise. Some people remove the newborns from 

their mothers soon after birth especially in case of milk goats. Do not allow dogs or 

42


strangers to approach the pen area because the ewes/does usually become frightened and 

nervous and can quickly turn a protective pen into a ‘lamb/kid blender’ with fatal results. 

Q. What care needs to be observed with young females lambing/kidding first 

time? 

Young ewes/does undergoing parturition for the first time can be nervous or confused 

because of lack of experience or not yet fully developed maternal instincts. They should 

be penned with their newborns for at least three days until they have become accustomed 

to nursing lamb(s)/kid(s). If the newborn cries loud, that is one indication of its being 

hungry, but not always. Newborns sometimes will starve to death in a pen without a 

sound. Therefore check milk daily for the first three days i.e. she does have milk and the 

newborn is getting some. Some ewes/does (especially first timers) come to milk only to 

dry after a day or two, so never assume that she will continue to milk after the first day. 

If a young ewe/doe does not have sufficient milk for the newborn, supplement it with a 

couple of 2-ounce bottle feedings for the first two days, preferably with milk taken from 

another ewe/doe or with newborn milk formula. Insufficient milk letdown can sometimes 

be resolved by injections of oxytocin. If the mother is well fed its milk should increase. If 

still insufficient for the newborn, supplement it with a couple of 4-ounce feedings of 

lamb/kid milk-replacer during the first week, then increase to about 8-ounce feedings at 

two weeks old. Poorly fed old ewes/does also may have insufficient milk supply. 

If the ewe/doe drops newborn outside, it is not difficult to get her to the pen nearby. 

Carry the newborn slowly, close to the ground so that she can see it and follow. If the 

newborn is raised more than one half meter off the ground, the mother will lose its sight 

and run back to where she dropped it. If the newborn (lamb/kid) calls out to her along the 

way she will normally follow readily. 

Q. Give below the formula for emergency newborn lamb/kid milk and how 

much to use? 

It may be stated here that the milk prepared according to the below given formula is not a 

complete substitute for colostrum, however, it can be beneficially fed for the first two 

days: 

26 ounces milk (½ canned milk, ½ water) One tablespoon castor oil (or cod 

liver oil) 

One beaten egg yolk One tablespoon glucose or sugar 

Mix well and give about 2 ounces at a time the first day, allowing from two to three hours 

between feeding. Use a baby bottle and enlarge the nipple hole to about the size of a 

pinhead. Lamb/kid nipple is larger, use that one when the newborn is older. On the 

second day, increase the feedings to three ounces at a time or four ounces to a large 

lamb/kid, two to three hours apart. On the third day the formula can be made without the 

egg yolk and sugar and the oil can be reduced to one teaspoon per 26 ounces of milk. 

After third day goat milk or buffalo milk can be used changing the formula milk 

gradually. Powdered milk-replacer is not yet available in this country. Do not overfeed 

any milk at any time. It is better to underfeed than to have a sick lamb/kid. A bottle 

lamb/kid is more subject to infections than the one on mother’s milk, so keep bottles and 

nipples clean. 

Q. What are the usual signs that indicate an ewe/doe is ready for 

lambing/kidding? 

43


As the time approaches for actual lambing/kidding, the ewe/doe gets a sway-backed, 

sunken appearance in front of the hip bones and a restless attitude. This is more notice- 

able in case of sheared sheep. The udder is enlarged. She will pick out her spot to give 

birth to lamb/kid, sometimes pawing the ground before lying down. Sometimes animals 

carrying twins or triplets start grunting several days before parturition, as they lie down 

or get up. They go off feed. The vulva will relax and often be a little pinker than before 

but should not be protruding and red. The ewe/doe will normally have made a bag by 

now but some seem to hold until the last minute. 

Q. Your ewes/does are soon approaching parturition. What preparations do you 

need to make in this regard? Preparations should be ideal. 

Here is a list of pre-lambing/kidding supplies which should be on hand before the actual 

lambings/kiddings start. The list is not in the order of importance or the sequence in 

which these may be needed. Some of the things even may not be used still it is logical to 

have them on hand because births may take place any time during day or night. 

• Keep your fingernails clipped close in case you have to assist in delivery. 

• Old terry towels for drying off newborns. Store these in shopper bags to keep 

clean. 

• Some appropriate device for warming and drying newborns in cold weather. 

• Tincture of iodine (7%) in a small wide-mouth bottle for treating umbilical 

cord. 

• Small sharp scissors for trimming umbilical cord. 

• Hand shears for crutching. 

• Antiseptic and lubricating ointment for your hands if you have to assist in 

delivery. 

• A reliable disinfectant (not irritating to skin) for hands and equipment. 

• Antibiotic uterine boluses in case of retained placenta (afterbirth). 

• Sterile syringes and disposable needles, 18-gauge. 

• Combiotic, pen-strep. 

• Lambing/kidding snares (loops) to pull newborn in difficult delivery. 

• Heavy cotton or nylon line (rope) for loops, dip well in antiseptic solution 

before using. 

• Molasses. 

• Propylene glycol for treatment of pregnancy toxaemia. 

• Baby bottle with slightly enlarged nipple hole for the newborn. 

• Appropriate arrangement for light if electricity not there. 

• Mineral oil in case of constipated newborn. 

• Frozen colostrum (thaw at room temperature if needed) or use newborn 

lamb/kid milk formula if mother’s milk not available. 

• Pepto-Bismol for simple diarrhoea due to overfeed. 

• Bucket of warm water for ewe/doe to drink. 

• Clean plastic bucket. 

• Elastrator pliers with rubber rings for castration and docking (if necessarily 

required). 

• Calcium gluconate for treatment of milk fever. 

44


• Ear tags and applicator. 

• Alcohol and cotton. 

• Record book and hanging scale to weigh newborns. 

• Prolapse retainer and prolapse harness. 

• Antibiotic preparations for lamb scours. 

• Rectal thermometer. 

• 5% glucose in saline solution. 

• Lambing/kidding pens with feed and water. 

Colostrum powder or Colostryx (new antibody supplement), if available, otherwise 

colostrum of another ewe/doe may be used. 

Q. What needs to be done when actual lambing/kidding starts? Give details of 

precautions and care to be observed in this respect. 

When the ewe/doe lies down with nose pointed up and strains and grunts, that indicates 

the beginning of actual labour. Let her take her time to deliver the lamb/kid before trying 

to assist unless the newborn is showing and she is making a little/progress. It is mostly 

recommended that you allow the mother one-half to one hour after the water bag comes 

out. But it has to be judged from her appearance as to whether the ewe/doe is becoming 

so tired that she needs assistance. You can pull the newborn by timing your pulls with her 

straining. Great majority of cases will give birth normally and easily. 

When the birth has taken place, wipe the mucus off the newborn’s nose, then place it near 

the ewe’s/doe’s nose quickly so that she can identify it as her own and clean it off (now is 

the time to graft on an orphan or triplet that needs a foster mother). If the newborn has 

difficult breathing or excess mucus in the throat or lungs, grasp it firmly by the hind legs 

and swing it aggressively in an arc several times in order that centrifugal force will expel 

the mucus. Make sure that you have a good grip on the lamb/kid to avoid throwing it out 

of the barn. Also make sure that its head does not strike the ground or any other article 

around. 

If the navel cord is over 5 cm long, snip it off with scissors and submerge it in 7% 

tincture of iodine contained in a wide-mouthed bottle. Press the container against 

newborn’s belly, then turn the animal up so that the entire cord and the area surrounding 

it are covered. Iodine should be applied soon after birth because many bacteria can enter 

via the navel. It penetrates the cord, disinfects it and assists in drying. As an extra 

precaution against infection, you can treat the cord with tincture of iodine again in twelve 

hours. If the cord is not cut to the proper length, some ewes/does may try to nibble too 

much of the navel and can injure the newborn. 

If the mother is too exhausted by a difficult labour to dry off the newborn, do it yourself 

with clean old terry towels so that it does not get cold from being wet too long. Do not 

remove the newborn from her mother’s sight, as this can disrupt the mothering-ownership 

pattern. Even if she is not able to lick off, put the newborn near her nose to encourage her 

to establish identity with her lamb/kid. 

Protect the newborn from severe hot or cold weather. Put the mother and her lamb/kid 

under a covered place having through and through ventilation, to protect from scorching 

heat. If it is extremely hypothermic, give it one to two minutes bath in fresh water up to 

neck. Remove it from the water, dry it and give one to two ounces of colostrum if it can 

take it. Put it under a slow-moving ceiling fan, if electricity is available. In cold weather, 

guard the newborn against hypothermia. Once dry they can withstand quite low 

45


temperatures, but due to a large ratio of skin area to body weight, wet lambs/kids can 

chill quickly. Such a newborn will appear stiff, unable to rise and its tongue and mouth 

will feel cold to touch. The best method of warming a frozen lamb/kid is to submerge it 

up to neck in water that is quite warm to touch. Most newborns will revive in just a few 

minutes. When the mouth begins to feel warm to the touch and it begins to struggle, dry it 

well and place it in a warm environment until totally recovered. Feed it one to two ounces 

of warm colostrum as soon as it can take it. In certain countries plastic lamb coats are 

used in cold weather, which retain a great deal of body heat. These can be especially 

useful for twins and triplets on marginal milk intake. 

If a dead lamb/kid is born, you can rub a young orphan lamb/kid all over with the birth 

fluid and give it to ewe/doe to mother. In countries where modern husbandry practices 

are in vogue, people there plug the teats of sheep/goats with wax after weaning the 

lambs/kids. Therefore, strip the teats to unplug them, as the lamb/kid may not suck 

strongly enough to remove the little waxy plug. Also the eyelids need to be checked to 

see if they appear to be turned in, if so, the eyelashes would irritate the eye (a condition 

called entropion). This can cause serious trouble and blindness if it is not corrected. 

Q. Discuss nursing in relation to newborn lambs/kids. 

Nursing here refers to getting milk by the newborn from her mother. When the ewe/doe 

stands up, she will nudge the newborn toward her udder with her nose, if it is strong 

enough to get on its feet. Normally the newborn has the instinct to look for her mother’s 

teats. It has also been reported that the newborn is drawn by the smell of the waxy 

secretion of the mammary pouch gland in her groin. The udder or teats should be cleaned 

with a few swabs of a weak chlorine solution (Clorox) before nursing by the lamb/kid. 

This helps prevent intestinal infection in the newborn. Let the lamb/kid nurse by itself, 

but do not wait more than one-half to one hour without it nursing as the mother’s first 

milk (colostrum) provides not only warmth, energy but also antibodies against the 

common disease organisms in its environment. 

Occasionally the ewe/doe will not allow its newborn to nurse because she is nervous, has 

a tender or sensitive udder, or is rejecting the newborn. If the udder appears sensitive, it 

may be tightly inflated with milk. Restrain her and allow the lamb/kid to nurse. You can 

then milk out the excess colostrum (save it if possible) to remove the pressure on the 

udder. Nervous mothers may require restraint for the first few feedings until they get the 

feeling of being a mother. The colostral protection of the newborn could have been 

greatly enhanced if the ewe/doe was previously vaccinated (twice) with Covexin-8 to 

protect against tetanus, enterotoxaemia and other common clostridial diseases (see 

elsewhere under vaccination schedule). 

It is often not advisable to wait for the newborn to nurse, rather just roll the mother on her 

side and push the teat into lamb’s/kid’s mouth from the side. It usually cooperates, 

getting the urge when it feels the warmth in its mouth. After the first feeding there is 

some assurance that it will have the strength to look for the next one, but you need to 

keep watch from time to time that it does nurse. 

Q. What is colostrum? Why is it important to feed it to the newborn? 

Colostrum is the first milk secreted by the small ruminants during 48 to 72 hours after the 

termination of pregnancy. It is comparatively denser than normal milk and off white to 

yellowish in colour. It has higher nutrient contents such as protein, vitamins and is a mild 

laxative to pass the meconium (the foetal excreta, black tarry substance that is passed 

46


shortly after the newborn nurses). If fed in time it provides warmth, energy and muchneeded 

antibodies to the newborn against the common disease organisms in its 

environment. 

The antibodies protect the newborn until it starts to manufacture its own. The small 

intestine of the lamb/kid possesses very temporary ability to absorb these large molecular 

antibodies from the colostrum. This ability to absorb decreases by the hour until it is 

almost nonexistent by sixteen to eighteen hours of life of the newborn. The longer a 

lamb/kid has to survive without colostrum, the fewer antibodies it has the opportunity to 

absorb and the less chance of survival if it develops problems. A weak newborn or one of 

light birth weight can be lost because of a delay in nursing. Many deaths that are 

attributed to disease are actually due to starvation and the newborns will often die having 

not uttered a sound or indicated that they were starving. Always make sure that the 

newborns are actually nursing and always recheck the dams that they are continuing to 

give milk for the first few days. 

Q. What is to be fed to an ewe/doe after birth of a newborn? 

Ewes/does are often thirsty after giving birth. They are offered a bucket of warm (not hot) 

water containing half a cup of stock molasses per head. They may be reluctant to drink 

cold water which then can result in lowered milk production. Offer good berseem hay but 

no concentrate the first day especially to those ewes/does that have one newborn. 

However, those animals having twins and triplets to nurse, they may be given some grain 

the first day. The milk goats, depending upon their yield, should gradually be given from 

400 to 500 g concentrate mixture per head/day. If an ewe/doe has too much milk that her 

udder is too full and the teats are enlarged from it, milk out a bit of this colostrum and 

freeze it in small quantities in separate containers. Solidly frozen colostrum will keep for 

a year or more. Cow/buffalo or goat colostrum can be stored and used in emergencies. 

Thaw frozen colostrum at room temperature or in lukewarm water. Never use hot water 

or a microwave oven to thaw colostrum because it can denature and destroy the 

antibodies, rendering the colostrum worthless. 

Q. What extra care is required for twins/triplets? 

Rarely sheep in this country produce twins. However, a good percentage of goats are twin 

producers, while the Teddy goat is well known for its triplets. Twins/triplets require 

vigilance to assure that all newborns are claimed by their mother and that each is getting 

its share of colostrum. If the mother does not have plenty of milk for them, increase 

concentrate ration gradually. Continue offering molasses in lukewarm water till the time 

she is penned with the newborns. If they are crying a lot, they are probably not getting 

enough milk. Find out the hungry ones and assist them by holding them to their mother. 

If she is short of milk, give a supplemental bottle but still leave them nursing. Give twoounce 

feedings the first two days and increase to four to five ounces by the third and 

fourth day, gradually increasing as they grow. For such lambs/kids some sort of 

economical milk-replacer may be used. To identify such newborns, temporary marking 

may be done on a visible part of their body so that they can be easily traced for 

supplemental feeding. 

Q. What is meant by ear tags? What are the different types of tags? 

Ear tags are a device used for identification of animals. Since these are either inserted 

into or clinched on the ear hence called ear tags. When there are several lambs/kids, the 

best is to identify them by ear tags. This makes it possible to keep records of newborn’s 

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parentage, date of birth and growth, and easier to decide what to keep for your flock and 

what to sell. With identification tags on ewes/does also, you can be certain which 

newborns are hers, even after they are weaned. Some tags are metallic with almost any 

combination of numbers and letters and some are plastic in a variety of colours. The 

different colours are used to identify sex, whether singles or twins, the month born etc. 

Some are self-clinching, while others need a hole punched for the tag. These should be 

applied while the newborn is still penned with its mother. The small lamb/kid tag should 

only be inserted into the ear approximately half the length of the tag in order to leave 

room for growing ear. 

Q. Write a short note on lamb/kid droppings. 

One evident advantage of penning newborns with their mothers is that you can keep an 

eye on how well they are eating and how well it is coming out the other end. The 

condition of droppings is important. First to come out is the foetal meconium, which is 

passed a few hours after the birth of a lamb/kid. The droppings are bright yellow. These 

remain yellow for at least a weak, then gradually get darker until they are a normal brown 

small bunch of pellets sticking together in clumps. Later, these are little brown marbles. 

If these become loose and runny, this is called ‘scours’. 

Q. What equipment and medicines you need to have on hand to deal with 

abnormal lambing/kidding positions at the time of parturition? 

The following are essentially required: 

• Several long pieces of strong cord, with a noose on the end of each one. 

• Antiseptic lubricant or mineral oil. 

• Bucket of clean soapy water to wash hands and arms and external parts of 

ewe/doe. 

• Antibiotics to give after assisting. 

• Old clean terry towels. 

• Iodine (tincture) in small wide-mouth bottle. 

• Antibiotic uterine boluses. 

• Good light in the delivery area. 

Q. At what stage ewe/doe needs help in delivery? 

Often the ewe/doe will give birth unassisted but you should be prepared for abnormal 

delivery. During lambing/kidding season keep your fingernails cut short. As a general 

rule you can allow a half-hour to an hour after the water bag breaks, one and one-half to 

two hours of labour, before trying to determine the position of lamb/kid. Give her time to 

expel it herself but do not wait until she has stopped trying. The pelvic opening is usually 

large enough for the lamb/kid to come out if it is in the normal position, with the front 

legs and the head coming first. If it is not in this position, delivery is seldom possible 

without some repositioning or assistance. When you are sure that the ewe/doe has tried 

enough without success, then wash your hands and arms and external parts of the mother, 

lubricate one hand and slip it in gently to try to find out the position of the lamb/kid. 

Q. How the lamb’s/kid’s legs and position are identified in a dystocia case? 

First make sure that the legs you feel belong to the same lamb/kid. In twin births, often 

one or both of the lambs/kids come backwards and it is easy to get their legs mixed up. 

The front legs above the knees have a muscular development. The hind legs have a 

prominent tendon. The front knee bends the same way as the pastern, while the hock 

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(back knee) joint bends the opposite way from the hind foot. If you have a small 

lamb/kid, catch it and feel the difference between its fore and hind legs. 

When repositioning a lamb/kid to change an abnormal position, avoid breaking the cord 

as the lamb/kid will not attempt to breathe as soon as the cord is broken. While helping, 

time your pulling to coordinate with the mother’s contraction. If she is tired and has 

stopped trying, she will usually start again when you start pulling. 

If the mother is obviously in distress and has laboured over an hour with no progress and 

it seems difficult to get the lamb/kid into proper position for delivery, get the help of an 

obstetrician. Be sure you learn all you can, while he is working to get the lamb/kid out. If 

a lamb/kid is dead in a mother and is so large that it cannot be pulled out, the obstetrician 

may have to dismember to remove it out. 

Q. What are the possible lamb/kid positions in which it may be found in the 

uterus of its mother? 

There are almost a dozen of such positions; only one of these is normal (Figure 16). The 

rest embody varying degrees of abnormality. 

i. Normal, front feet and head coming out. 

ii. Large head or shoulders or both large (tight delivery). 

iii. Front half out, hips stuck. 

iv. Head and one leg, with one leg turned back. 

v. Head, with both legs turned back. 

vi. Both legs, with head turned back. 

vii. Hind feet coming first. 

viii. Breech. 

ix. Lamb/kid lying crossways. 

x. All four legs presented at once. 

xi. Twins mixed up, presented at once. 

xii. Twins, one coming backward, one forward. 

Q. Write short notes on three of above mentioned positions i.e. normal birth, 

large head or shoulders and front half out while hips stuck. 

Normal Birth: Nose and both front feet are presented. The back of lamb/kid is toward 

mother’s back. It should start to come out one-half hour to an hour after the water bag has 

passed. No help needed unless the lamb/kid is large or has large head or large shoulders. 

Large Head or Large Shoulders: Mother may have difficulty even with the lamb/kid in 

normal position, if lamb/kid (l/k) is extra large or the mother has a small pelvic opening. 

Large shoulders are stopped by the pelvic opening. Use a gentle outward and downward 

pulling. Pull to the left or right, thus shoulders go through at more of an angle and more 

easily. Occasionally the head is large or swollen if the mother has been in labour quite a 

while. Assist by pushing the skin of the vulva back over the head when the l/k is half-way 

out, the mother usually can expel it by herself, unless she is completely exhausted. When 

the head is extra large, draw out one leg a little more than the other, while pushing the 

mother’s skin back past the top of the l/k’s head. Once the head is through, you can 

extend the other leg completely and pullout l/k by both legs and neck. Pulling gently from 

side to side assists birth more than only outward and downward movement as in normal 

delivery. 

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Use mineral oil or antiseptic lubricant with difficult large l/k. Use loop over l/k’s head so 

that the top of the noose is behind the ears and bottom in the l/k’s mouth (Figure 17). 

Gentle pulling on the head as well as the legs is better than pulling on legs only. 

Front Half of l/k Out, Hips Stuck: This is a difficult position for the mother who may 

be exhausted from labour. While pulling gently on l/k, swing it a bit from side to side, 

and if it does not work, give it about a quarter turn while pulling. A large l/k in a small 

ewe/doe will often need this kind of assistance. 

Q. Write short notes on the following three abnormal positions of lamb/kid (l/k). 

i) Head and one leg coming out, ii) Head, with both legs turned back, iii) 

Both legs, with head turned back. 

Head and One Leg Coming Out: To change this to a normal birth position, attach a 

snare (loop) cord to the one leg that is coming out and also one onto the head. Then push 

them back enough to enable you to bring the retained leg forward, so that you can pull the 

l/k out in normal position. The cord on the head is important, for the head may drop out 

of the pelvic girdle, making it difficult to get it started again. If the right leg is presented, 

the mother should be lying on her right side so that the turned-back leg is uppermost. 

This would make it easier either to get that backward leg into the right position or even to 

help the mother to l/k even though the leg is not in the normal position. 

Head, With Both Legs Turned Back: Attach noose onto head (behind ears and inside 

mouth). Try to bring one leg down into position, then the other, without pushing the head 

back any further than necessary. Attach cord loop onto each leg as you get it out, then 

pull l/k. If your hand cannot pass the head to reach the legs, place the mother with her 

hind end elevated, which gives you more space. With loop over l/k’s head, push it back 

until you are able to reach past it and bring the front legs forward, one at a time. Put the 

mother back in normal reclining position, start head and legs through pelvic arch and pull 

gently downward. 

Both legs, With Head Turned Back: Head may be turned back to one side along the 

l/k’s body or down between its front legs. If front legs are showing, slip a noose of heavy 

cord over each front leg then push back the l/k until you can insert lubricated hand and 

feel the head position, then bring head forward into its normal position. With noose on 

legs you would not lose them. Pulling gently the legs in downward direction, guide the 

head so that it will pass through the opening of the pelvic cavity at the same time as the 

feet emerge on the outside. 

If the head does not come out easily, it is either large in size or the lamb/kid may be 

turned on its back (with its back down toward the mother’s stomach). With cords still 

attached to legs, you may have to push it back again and give it a half turn, so that its legs 

are pointed down in normal position since it will come out easier that way. 

Q. Write short notes on the following three abnormal positions of lamb/kid (l/k). 

i) Hind feet coming out first, ii) Breech, iii) Lamb/kid lying crossways. 

Hind Feet Coming Out First: Pull gently as the l/k often gets stuck when half-way out. 

Swing the l/k from side to side while pulling until ribs are out, then pull out quickly. 

Wipe off its nose at once so that the newborn can breathe. Delay at this point can 

suffocate the l/k in the mucus that covers the nose. Sometimes it is easier for the l/k if it is 

twisted one-half turn so that its back is toward the mother’s stomach or even rotating a 

quarter turn while pulling it out. Finish pulling it out quickly since the umbilical cord is 

50


pinched once the l/k is half out and if l/k tries to breathe, it will draw in mucus, making 

the respiration difficult. 

Breech: In this position the l/k is presented backwards with its tail toward the pelvic 

opening and the hind legs pointed away from the pelvic opening. Change breech position 

by placing the mother with her hind end somewhat elevated so that the l/k inside her can 

be pushed forward in the uterus. This will hardly make enough space to reach and slip 

your hand in under the l/k’s rear. Take the hind legs one at a time, flex them and bring 

each foot around into the birth canal. 

When the legs are protruding, you can pull gently until the rear end appears, then grasp 

both the legs and the hind quarters if possible and pull downward, not straight out. If the 

mother is too exhausted to labour any more, try to determine if there is another l/k still 

inside her, if not give her an injection of an appropriate antibiotic or insert an antibiotic 

uterine bolus to prevent infection. If still there is no progress, get the help of an 

obstetrician. 

Lamb/Kid Lying Crossways: It sometimes happens that the l/k is lying across the pelvic 

opening and only the back will be felt. If you push the lamb/kid a little, you can feel 

which direction is it. It can usually be pulled out easier hind feet first, especially if these 

are closer to the opening. If you do push it around to deliver in normal position, the head 

will have to be pulled around. In case it is also upside down, it will need to be turned a 

half-way to come out easily. 

Q. Write short notes on the following three abnormal birth positions of 

lamb/kid (l/k). i) All four legs presented at once, ii) Twins coming out 

together, iii) Twins, one coming out backward. 

All Four Legs Presented At Once: If the hind legs are as convenient as the front, choose 

the hind legs and you would not have to reposition the head. If you choose the front legs, 

head also must be maneuvered into correct birth position along with the legs. Attach 

cords to the legs before pushing back to position the head. 

Twins Coming Out Together: When you have too many feet in the birth canal, try to 

sort them out, tying cords on the two front legs of the same l/k and tracing the legs back 

to the body to make sure it is the same l/k, then position the head before pulling. Push the 

second l/k back a little to give room for delivery of the first one. 

Twins, One Coming Out Backward: With twins coming together, it is often easier to 

pull out the one that is reversed. More often both lambs/kids are reversed, so you will pull 

the lamb that is closer to the pelvic opening. Sometimes, the head of one twin is 

presented between the forelegs of the other twin, a confusing situation but very rare. 

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BABY LAMBS/KIDS 

Q. What management practices do you suggest to take good care of baby 

lambs/kids? 

The following practices are usually taken into consideration. Identification, vaccination, 

docking (only in sheep, if necessary), castration, proper feeding, proper housing 

(protection from severe weather), weaning and deworming. 

Q. Write a note on the use of vaccines in baby lambs/kids. 

Even though the ewe/doe had her Naselgen, there is only a limited immunity passed on to 

the lamb/kid. To protect against certain forms of pneumonia to which the newborn is 

quite susceptible, it should have its own vaccination (intranasal) with Naselgen. The 

ewe’s/doe’s primer and booster injections of Covexin-8 will protect her and will pass on 

this protection to lambs/kids from birth until the age of about nine or ten weeks. Since 

they will still need immunity from tetanus, enterotoxaemia and other clostridial diseases, 

therefore, each lamb/kid should get its own injection of Covexin-8 by the age of ten 

weeks. Local vaccines that meet the requirements should preferably be used. 

Q. What is meant by docking and why is it done? What appropriate methods 

are available for this purpose? 

Docking denotes removal of tail. Although currently it is not in vogue here but it has 

advantages especially in long-tailed sheep breeds. It is not practised in goats. 

Tails should be docked before the lambs are turned out of the lambing pen. This is much 

easier when the lambs are two to three days old and the tail is still small. Long-tailed 

sheep can accumulate large amounts of manure on the wool, attracting flies and then 

maggots (fly strike) and can serve as a general source of filth, interfering with breeding, 

lambing and shearing. 

There are many ways to remove tails. Docking can be done by cutting with a knife, a 

knife and hammer over a wooden block, a hot electric chisel or clamp (this cauterizes the 

wound to lessen bleeding), a Burdizzo emasculator and knife or the elastrator, which 

applies a small strong rubber ring to cut off the circulation, causing the tail to drop off in 

a couple of weeks. The use of the elastrator is the most favoured method. It minimizes 

shock and eliminates bleeding problems. It is also very economical in terms of 

accessories and equipment and is the easiest to learn and use. To remove the tail by 

elastrator, apply the rubber ring at the third joint, which is about 2.5 to 3.5 cm from the 

base of tail. The elastrator rubber rings should be stored in a small wide-mouth bottle 

having a disinfectant or Clorox solution (dilute chlorine solution) to keep them sterile. 

While using dip the elastrator plier and your fingers in clorox solution to disinfect them. 

If the lamb has not been protected with Covexin-8 vaccine then administer 300 to 500 

units of tetanus antitoxin to the lamb at docking. 

Q. What does castration mean? Discuss two important methods used for 

castration of male lambs/kids. 

Castration simply means to render the male animal ineffective for breeding purposes. 

Castration of male lambs/kids can be done as soon as the testicles have descended into 

the scrotum. Two important methods used for castration are: (1) by Emasculator 

(Burdizzo emasculator), 2) by Elastrator (using a rubber ring). 

Emasculator: It is a pincer instrument that gives bloodless castration by crushing the 

spermatic cord and arteries when you clamp it onto them like pliers. There is no loss of 

54


blood, less pain and setback to the lamb’s/kid’s growth and no danger of infection. Check 

that testicles have descended into scrotum, then clamp the emasculator onto the neck of 

the scrotum where it joins the body, on each testicle cord separately. The testicles will 

atrophy in about 30 to 40 days. 

Elastrator: When the lamb/kid is about ten days old and that the testicles have 

descended into the scrotum, you can pull the scrotum through the stretched rubber ring 

over the jaws of the elastrator, which is just a special pliers. Be sure that the testicles are 

down. When the elastrator is removed, the ring tightens around the neck of the scrotum 

where it attaches to the body, cutting off the blood supply. Thus the testicles wither 

within twenty to thirty days. There is no internal haemorrhage or shock and the risk of 

infection is slight. If there is some infection problem, put tincture of iodine on the ring 

after about a week. In hot weather, a fly repellent spray can be used. 

Do not castrate good promising males that you need for breeding or you want to sell as 

breeding males. Moreover, in countries such as Australia, New Zealand, USA where they 

market for meat at the age of five or six months, castration may not be done. Uncastrated 

males will grow faster than castrated males and ewe’s lambs/doe kids. Also their meat 

will be leaner. If you intend to keep the male lambs/kids longer than six months (for 

slaughter), castration is desirable. 

Q. Discuss in detail an ideal programme (or plan) to feed lambs/kids and 

ewes/does. 

It is our wish that our sheep/goats could have a higher percentage of twins or triplets 

produced by them so that they could be made here a subject of discussion for an ideal 

feeding plan but keeping in view the situation on the ground it simply seems a wishful 

thinking on our part. The ignorance and economic condition of small ruminant producer 

in this country have kept them underfed and ever resigned from being considered for an 

ideal feeding plan. However, an ewe/doe with a single lamb/kid (l/k) should 

approximately have (under our conditions) 200 g/day concentrate ration, while those with 

twins should get at least 350 to 400 g/day plus some hay or good grazing. Lambs/kids 

from heavy milking mothers can gain up to 70% more during the nursing period than 

those from poor milkers. Lambs/kids from good milkers will double their birth weight in 

two weeks. 

An ewe/doe with twins or triplets cannot consume enough roughage to support herself 

and give milk for them to grow, thus she will need sufficient supplemental feed until they 

are weaned. In addition to mother’s milk and the grass, which they start nibbling at about 

ten days old, the growing lambs/kids need grain and hay in their own feeders (called 

creep). Start creep feeding early since it helps to establish their rumen function. Much 

earlier than weaning, the lambs/kids must be eating at least 100 g concentrate a day/head 

plus leafy hay otherwise they will suffer an acute setback in growth at weaning. 

A lamb/kid restricted to milk nursing diet will develop the various compartments of its 

stomach at a slower rate than those started on creep and hay at say ten days of age. As a 

general rule, these compartments are turned on at about three to six weeks of age. In other 

words, an early introduction of the creep feeding is important, especially if you wish to 

wean your lambs/kids early, as is necessary in an accelerated lambing/kidding 

programme when you intend lambing/kidding more frequently than the customary once a 

year. 

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It has been recommended that you prepare your own concentrate mixture using the 

following: 60% maize, 20% oats, 10% bran, 10% soybean meal with about 1% bone meal 

and 1% mineralized salt. This mixture can be coarse ground at first, then fed whole later. 

Since ewes milk heavily for only three to six weeks after lambing, it is therefore 

advisable that the lambs and may be kids also be well adjusted to getting a good amount 

of their nutrition from creep feed and leafy hay. 

Q. What does creep feeding mean? 

The creep is an enclosed space where lambs can enter and eat all they want, but ewes 

cannot enter because of the size of the doors (20 cm wide, 35 cm high) and openings 

(Figure 18). The creep should be sheltered, having good fresh water, well bedded with 

clean paddy straw. If the creep is in the barn, it should be well lighted because lambs like 

it that way and eat better. They can start using creep at ten to fourteen days of age. 

Q. Write a short note on weaning of lambs/kids. 

Weaning denotes separation of lambs/kids from their dams so that they do not any more 

get milk from their udders. Simply cessation of feeding milk to lambs/kids at an 

appropriate age is also termed as weaning. When the lambs/kids are ten days to two 

weeks old, offer them hay free choice since they need it for rumen development. Also 

introduce a little grain. Sprinkle some grain in the water to encourage them to eat. It is 

important to make them eat some solid food. As weaning time approaches, gradually 

substitute water for some milk until they are drinking entirely water. Weaning is 

commonly effected at about eight weeks of age or when lambs/kids triple their birth 

weight and are chewing their cuds. At weaning time, the lambs will adjust better if the 

ewes are removed, leaving the lambs in familiar surroundings. Weaning can be done 

gradually by putting the ewes in a different pasture during the day and then returning 

them during the night. This has the advantage of keeping them from calling to each other 

and disturbing your sleep. Ewes (but not milk goats) should have their grain decreased 

and then withdrawn at least five days before weaning so that their milk supply will 

dwindle accordingly (to lessen the incidence of mastitis). 

Q. Do you think deworming lambs/kids is necessary? Explain. 

Yes! Lambs/kids are much more susceptible to parasite infestation than adults because 

sheep/goats like some other species, develop a degree of resistance to worm infestation 

over a period of time. Lams/kids should be dewormed at weaning time using a safe 

dewormer such as Lavamisole, Ivomec, Panacur or any other more recent drugs. Read 

label directions for proper dosage and note withdrawal times for animals going to be 

slaughtered in due course of time. Lambs/kids on lush, heavily stocked pastures or 

overgrazed pastures may need deworming before weaning and then again when they are 

separated from the ewes/does and placed on clean pasture. Parasite populations thrive 

where warmth and rainfall (or irrigation) are sufficient to promote maximal vegetation 

growth. In some circumstances it may be necessary to deworm lambs/kids every four 

weeks. 

Q. Why do people suggest to use lamb/kid coats for the newborns? 

In certain parts of Pakistan it is very cold during winter. Although sheep/goat flocks 

migrate in winter to comparatively less cold areas, yet newborns are very susceptible to 

chilling because of their large skin area and they are born without the fat covering under 

the skin that serves as a natural insulation against cold and chilling. The use of a coat 

greatly reduces the heat loss, allowing the lamb/kid to direct the energy it consumes 

56


toward growth and fat production. A less expensive disposable coat, very similar to the 

commercial coats, can be made from white plastic bags. By folding the bag lengthwise, 

two coats can be made from a single bag. These are tear resistant but not so strong that 

the lamb/kid cannot walk out of it in case it gets caught or snagged. Since these are 

completely open at the rear and the bottom, therefore, are very sanitary and do not 

confuse or frighten the mother. 

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ORPHAN LAMBS/KIDS 

Q. How does a lamb/kid become orphan? 

An orphan lamb/kid may result from the death of the ewe/doe, abandonment, rejection or 

loss of milk production before the lamb/kid reached weaning age. An ewe/doe may even 

disown one or all her lambs/kids for reasons known only to her. The following are the 

most common reasons: 

The ewe/doe may have a painful or sensitive udder because of overabundance of milk or 

mastitis. She may have delivered one baby in one location, then moved elsewhere and 

delivered the other, forgetting about the first. The lamb/kid (l/k) may have wandered off 

before the mother has had a chance to lick it and become familiar with it. She may have 

sore or chapped teats. Because of a difficult birth, she may be exhausted and not 

interested in her newborn. The newborn may be exhausted with heat/chilled and then be 

abandoned as dead. First time mother syndrome: If a young ‘first-time’ ewe/doe, she may 

be nervous, confused or just frightened of the newborn. Swapping newborns: If two 

ewes/does give birth at the same time in close proximity, occasionally one will adopt and 

bond to the other’s newborn and the second ewe/doe will reject the first ewe’s/doe’s 

newborn. 

Q. How would you persuade the ewe /doe to accept her newborn? 

It requires a lot of patience and ingenuity. If an ewe/doe has a single lamb/kid which she 

rejects, you have double trouble, one that of a hungry lamb/kid (l/k) and the other of an 

uncomfortable mother. You want to get her to accept her newborn. If she rejects one of a 

pair of twins, either you can convince her to accept it or you can attempt to graft it onto 

another mother who has lost her l/k or has only a single. Your first consideration is the 

urgent need for the l/k to receive colostrum, so either roll the mother on her side and put 

the newborn’s nose against her teat to get it to nurse or milk the dam and feed the 

newborn with a bottle. Try to provide the l/k with several nursings of the vital colostrum, 

either from its own mother or from another. 

In most cases, the newborn is hungry and thus very cooperative. Tickling it under its tail 

helps stimulate the sucking reflex. First feeding thus gives you a little time to arrange a 

forced acceptance by the mother. Do not leave a rejected newborn unattended with the 

mother, since she may injure it by stepping on it or butting it. Should the mother reject 

the newborn after it starts to nurse, not before, check her udder for sensitivity as well as 

check the l/k’s teeth. A little filing can remedy sharp teeth. Treat the teats if they are sore 

or lacerated. Keep the dam tied where the newborn can nurse until she accepts it. 

Generally it is said that once an ewe/doe rejects a l/k for any reason, it is hard to fool her 

into accepting it. However, there are a number of things to try. These are a sort of brain 

washing techniques or ‘fool the sense of smell’ methods: 

i) Use foetal fluids from the mother to which the l/k is to be grafted (either its 

mother or another one) and smear over the newborn. This is considered one of 

the most effective methods of grafting. 

ii) Rub the newborn with a little molasses water to encourage the mother to lick 

it. 

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iii) Use an ‘adoption coat’ or ‘fostering coat’ made of cotton, which is stretched 

over an accepted l/k for a few hours, it will absorb the smell and can then be 

turned inside-out and stretched over the newborn you wish to graft. 

iv) In case she is a ‘first-time mother’ or she is not very tame, a tranquilizer will 

sometimes work well to calm her. 

v) Another method which might sound a bit cruel, is to flick the tips of the 

mother’s ears with a switch until she becomes so rattled that she urinates from 

the mental stress. She may then accept the l/k. 

Q. How would you proceed for ’forcible acceptance’ of lamb/kid (l/k) by her 

mother? 

If polite attempts do not succeed then it is time to get tough. One possibility is to pen or 

tie the mother in such a way that she cannot hurt the newborn. You may need to tie her 

hind legs together temporarily so that she cannot keep moving and thus prevent the l/k 

from nursing. You may need to help the l/k by holding the mother and pushing the 

newborn to the right place. Make sure the ewe/doe has room to lie down and has plenty 

of feed. In any such attempt, be sure she gets water often with molasses mixed in it, for it 

may be difficult to leave water in front of her. It may take one to five days before she 

surrenders to accept the l/k. 

Care and judgement has to be exercised in assessing the size of l/k that you are 

attempting to graft. An orphan l/k that is one or two weeks of age may be so aggressive at 

nursing that it will frighten the ewe/doe. Also, if there is a significant difference in age 

and size between two lambs/kids placed on an ewe/doe, the weaker l/k may not be able to 

compete with the larger one and will suffer restricted growth or at times may be starved 

completely. 

The most typical situation is the birth of twins and the rejection of just one of them. 

Spraying the rear end of both lambs/kids with a confusing scent is the easiest thing to try 

and most often it works. If the mother starts showing hostility toward one of her twins, 

then do not wait until she starts butting it, rather take positive action right away. The most 

reliable and successful way is to tie her up and adopt the rest of the procedure as stated 

above. In the meantime, if another ewe/doe goes into labour and delivers one newborn, 

you might choose to graft the rejected l/k to it. 

Q. How would you graft an orphan lamb/kid on a different ewe/doe? 

Have a bucket of warm water ready and also an empty bucket. Have the rejected (orphan) 

l/k nearby and watch the lambing/kidding. If fortunately you are able to catch the water 

bag, put its contents into the empty bucket. As the delivery is completed, dip the waiting 

orphan into the water bag liquid, or if you did not catch the water bag, dip the orphan into 

the warm water up to its head, then rub the orphan with the newborn, especially the tops 

of the head and the rear ends. Present them both to the ewe’s/doe’s nose and usually she 

will lick them and claim them both. Do not neglect the newborn when you are working 

with the orphan. Now, if the mother delivers twins, you may have to take the orphan 

(reject) back. Dry it off and keep trying to get its mother to take it (or bottle feed it 

yourself). While grafting an orphan on an ewe/doe, be sure that the orphan l/k is less than 

a week old otherwise the new l/k will not get its share of milk. Therefore, both of them 

will have to be supervised carefully. 

Q. How would you give an orphan lamb/kid to an ewe/doe who has lost her 

lamb/kid? 

60


When you find an ewe/doe who has delivered a dead l/k and you have a young orphan 

who needs mother, dip the l/k in warm water containing a bit of salt and some molasses. 

Dip your hand in the same warm water and wet its head. By the time she licks off the salt 

and molasses, she usually has adopted the l/k. When it is a l/k that is several days old and 

does not need the colostrum as much as a newborn, this gives you an opportunity to milk 

out and freeze some of this valuable fluid. 

Q. Why is the method of using ‘dead lamb/kid skin’ for fastening like a coat 

over the orphan not desirable for grafting an orphan onto an ewe/doe? 

Skinning a dead lamb/kid is not simple unless you are adept at it. The process is messy 

and unsanitary since you may not know why the l/k is dead and could result in 

transferring germs and disease. It is therefore, not advisable. Instead another less messy 

method may be adopted. Rub a damp towel over the dead l/k, then rub the towel on the 

orphan. Before doing this, wash the orphan with warm water, giving special attention to 

washing the rear end, which is the first place, the ewe/doe checks in determining whether 

the l/k is her own. 

Q. What is meant by a bottle lamb/kid? 

When the mother of a l/k has died or has no milk or has been incapacitated by pregnancy 

disease or calcium deficiency (at least temporarily) or completely refuses to accept her 

baby, such l/k then becomes a bottle l/k. Such lambs/kids are considered a real headache 

for the flock owner/supervisor. 

Q. What care needs to be given to a bottle lamb/kid? 

The first need of a bottle lamb/kid is to have its nose mucus wiped off to enable it to 

breathe. Even if the ewe/doe is weakened by a hard labour and/or has no milk, she should 

be allowed to clean the l/k as much as she will; if unable to nurse, she will still claim it 

and even as a bottle baby it can stay with her. If the mother does not lick off its nose, you 

wipe it off, then dry it and put iodine on its navel at once. Now it needs some real 

colostrum, either from its mother who may have rejected it or is too weak to stand up 

(roll her over and help the l/k) or from another mother who has just given birth, or 

defrosted from the freezer. Buffalo or cow colostrum are the next best substitutes for 

ewe/doe colostrum. In certain countries there is commercial preparation of colostrum 

powder called Colostryx. It is milk whey antibody product for lambs/kids and transfers 

certain amount of immunity to the newborn when mixed with diluted canned milk or cow 

milk for the first day. 

For orphan l/k, the best thing is to give one or two ounces of another ewe’s/doe’s 

colostrum for the specific antibodies. Then mix one ounce colostrum powder (if none of 

the colostrum available) with one cup warm water for the first twelve to eighteen hours of 

feeding. After that one ounce colostrum powder with two cups of warm water for the next 

day. Then one ounce colostrum powder can be mixed with 950 ml of canned milk diluted 

with ½ water. After that just use lamb/kid milk replacer. For the first 48 hours you can 

feed the newborn every three hours with no more than ½ cup per feeding. On the third 

day you can add child’s vitamin drops. It is possible, but no doubt, difficult to raise a 

colostrum-deprived l/k. The l/k is too young to receive Covexin-8, therefore, you need to 

administer antiserum in order to protect it temporarily against enterotoxaemia and 

tetanus. 

Q. Can buffalo or cow colostrum be used beneficially to feed a lamb/kid as a 

substitute for its mother’s colostrum? 

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Yes! It may be substituted. A pregnant buffalo or cow can be vaccinated with sheep/goat 

vaccine Covexin-8 or a locally available vaccine, several times and the first two milkings 

of colostrum will be high in antitoxins and give lambs/kids good protection (it would 

provide an enormous quantity of colostrum for freezing). The lambs/kids can still be 

vaccinated at six to nine weeks, which will then protect them up to twenty-four weeks. 

The best time to inject buffalo or cow would be 5 ml Covexin-8 six weeks prior to 

calving, with a booster dose of 5 ml two weeks before calving. 

Q. What is a milk-replacer and what are its main contents? 

Milk-replacer is a high protein high energy feed. A lamb milk-replacer contains 30% fat, 

24% protein on a dry matter basis and no more than 25% lactose. High lactose levels can 

cause diarrhoea and bloat. It is suggested that when used during the first week the 

replacer should at least be diluted up to 20% dry matter. Since ewe milk contains higher 

percentage of fat, therefore, more fat has been provided in a lamb milk-replacer. Fat 

percentage in a kid milk-replacer may range from 20 to 25%. Milk-replacers are fully 

fortified with vitamins A, D and E and necessary minerals. In a number of countries, 

milk-replacers are commercially prepared and marketed for calves, lambs, kids etc. 

However, livestock producers, feed industry as well as the provincial Depts. of Livestock 

& Dairy Development in this country have not shown any interest so far in this respect. 

Q. How would you take care of a bloated bottle lamb/kid? 

Although this is an infrequent situation yet it can happen if the l/k is overfed or if it 

drinks too fast (nipple hole too large). Immediately cut back on the amount of milk being 

given and give one small feeding of two ounces of milk containing one tablespoon (for 

l/k under one month) or two tablespoons (for l/k over one month) of human antacid 

medicine with simethicone or mucaine. If it does not take in the bottle, give with spoon. 

It is important to control the volume of milk fed per feeding to bottle lambs/kids. A 

yellow semi-pasty diarrhoea is the first sign of overfeeding. If this occurs, substitute plain 

water or oral electrolyte solution (such as ORS or Nimkol) for one feeding because the 

l/k needs fluid. Reduce the volume of milk until the condition clears. If the droppings 

become more loose, treat for diarrhoea. As with other animals, the water needs increase 

with age in case of orphan or bottle lambs/kids, especially when they start eating grain 

from the creep feeder. Therefore, dilute their regular feeding with more water or 

substitute an occasional feeding with plain water. 

Q. Suggest a feeding plan for an orphan lamb/kid 

Age Amount 

1-2 days 2-3 ounces, six times a day approximately (colostrum) 

3-4 days 3-5 ounces, six times a day (gradually changing over to milkreplacer) 

5-14 days 4-6 ounces, four times a day and start with leafy hay and crushed 

grain 

15-21 6-8 ounces, four times a day, along with concentrate mixture and 

days 

22-35 

days 

leafy hay 

Slowly change to ½ litre, given three times a day. When lamb/kid 

is three months old, may feed whole grain and alfalfa or good 

gazing containing 25% grain, but the ration be changed very 

gradually 

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PROBLEMS OF NEWBORNS 

Q. What measures may be adopted to aid a weak lamb/kid at birth? 

A lamb/kid might have been weakened by a protracted or difficult birth. In this case it 

may be suffering from anoxia (lack of oxygen) or have fluid in its lungs. The first few 

minutes are critical. If it gurgles with the first breaths or has difficult breathing, dry off 

the nose, grasp the newborn firmly by the rear legs, swing it upward vertically in a 

gentlearc, catching it momentarily on the return end of the upswing with the free hand so 

that the newborn is stopped abruptly with the head up in a vertical position. This helps in 

two ways: i) centrifugal force aids the movement of the fluid from the lungs and ii) the 

weight of the viscera presses on the diaphragm, causing a forced expiration. When you 

catch it vertically on the upswing, the weight of the viscera falls in the opposite direction, 

causing a forced inspiration. Normally two or three ‘swings’ will suffice. Be sure that you 

have a firm grasp on the newborn (since it will be very slick) and that there are no 

obstructions in the path of your swing. 

Q. If the heart is beating, but the newborn is still not breathing, what to do? 

In such a situation, artificial respiration becomes mandatory. Grasp the lamb/kid by the 

nose so that your thumb and fingers are slightly above the surface of the nostrils. Inflate 

the lungs very gently (newborn’s lungs small and may be ruptured) by blowing into the 

nostrils until you see the chest expand. Release the pressure and gently press on the chest 

to express the air. Repeat procedure until it begins to breathe. If your attempts are still 

unsuccessful, sometimes a cold water shock treatment will work. Put the newborn in cold 

water in a drinking trough keeping its head out. The shock may cause the lamb/kid to 

gasp and to breathe. Sometimes a finger inserted gently in the throat will stimulate the 

coughing reflex and thus breathing may start. Then make sure the newborn is warmed 

and help it to nurse. 

Q. How would you warm a newborn lamb/kid if it gets too cold due to 

exposure? 

If a newborn is so cold from exposure that its mouth and tongue feel cold or cool to the 

touch, then apply external heat instead of warming it with a heat lamp, because the 

newborn has lost its ability to maintain and control its body temperature. The quickest 

method to warm a chilled newborn is to immerse it in hot water, comfortable to touch, 

keeping its head out, then gradually heated to about 110 to 115°F (43-46°C) over a period 

of 5 to 10 minutes. Move its legs around in the water to increase circulation. Keep it in 

warm water until its body temperature is near 102°F now the mouth and tongue feel 

warm. Rub the newborn dry, give warm milk if it will suck and wrap it in a blanket until 

it begins to regain its strength. Heated water has advantages over a heat lamp, as it is 

faster, easier to control the temperature and does not tend to dehydrate the newborn. Be 

sure that water is heated gradually otherwise death due to shock may take place. If, 

however, the temperature of newborn is 102 degrees, there is no need of excessive 

heating and unnecessary use of heat lamp, because too much of a temperature differential 

will predispose it to pneumonia. Soaking the newborn in water removes its natural odour, 

involving the risk of rejection by its dam. 

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An alternative to warm water is hot air. The newborn can be put in a small box and 

through a small opening in the box, hot air may be provided from the nozzle of a hair 

dryer. The head of the animal is to be kept out of box for fresh air. It should be warm 

enough but not too hot. The newborn needs to be turned and rubbed and its legs exercised 

occasionally. When its body temperature is 100°F, see if it will suck or else use a 

stomach tube. Maintain heat until its temperature is normal. A severely chilled newborn 

may need four hours of heat to return to normal temperature. 

When there is no electricity nor a hair dryer, you may use a hot water bottle (not hot 

enough to burn). Put the animal in a small box and apply the heat first to belly where it is 

the most needed. For extremely chilled newborns this would not be sufficient. 

Q. How to proceed with feeding of a weak lamb/kid? Discuss. 

A weak newborn that has not been able to stand up to try to nurse within half an hour will 

need help. Hold it up to the dam if she will stand still, or put the dam down and hold the 

newborn to nurse. The same procedure may be used for a stronger newborn if it has not 

located the right place and begun to nurse within one hour after birth. For a very weak 

newborn, you may have to give the first feeding from a baby bottle with the nipple 

enlarged to about the size of a pin head. Use two ounces of the dam’s colostrum, warm, 

to give it strength. Do not force the newborn, if it has no sucking impulse otherwise the 

colostrum will go into its lungs and cause death. Try the dextrose injection, using 50 ml 

of a 5% dextrose solution in saline, warmed to body temperature, and inject in divided 

doses of 5 or 10 ml per injection site subcutaneously (neck area or behind the armpits). 

Then wait for half an hour to see if this gives it energy and the desire to suck. If not, then 

try the stomach tube feeding method. 

Q. Discus the importance of colostrum feeding to newborn lambs/kids. 

In case the newborn has not yet regained its sucking instinct, colostrum may be fed 

through stomach tube as the newborn is in dire need of energy. If you do not have 

colostrum then cow’s milk, diluted canned milk, milk replacer, electrolyte solution (or 

Gatorade) or clean water with a small amount of corn syrup will suffice. Feed about 1 

ounce. Experienced farmers state that it is not necessary that the very first feeding be 

colostrum (to avoid confusion it is emphasized here that this would be applicable to those 

cases which yet lack sucking instinct or where colostrum is not available immediately), 

but the newborn must receive colostrum in subsequent feedings during the first few hours 

of life. The ability of the newborn to absorb antibodies in the colostrum is a straight-line 

decrease from time of birth to approximately 16 hours of life. The gut of the newborn 

does not break down the proteins in colostrum, rather absorbs them unchanged; thus the 

antibodies remain intact and are immediately usable. After about 16 hours, the newborn 

loses its ability to absorb the life-protecting antibodies, no matter how much colostrum 

you feed. It is thus urgent that the newborn gets its colostrum feedings soon. Some 

reports suggest (need further investigation) that newborn lambs are completely dependent 

on colostrum to protect them against certain diseases for they get no protection from 

antibodies transferred to them while they are still in uterus. 

Q. Name the possible substitutes for colostrum when the colostrum of the dam is 

not available to its newborn lamb/kid. 

The following can be used in place of colostrum but these may not be called as 100% 

substitute for colostrum. Colostrum from another newly lambed ewe, or from a goat 

having a newborn, cow colostrum, frozen colostrum from these species, commercial 

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colostrum powder “Colostryx” milk whey antibody product for lambs. In addition, there 

is an Emergency Colostrum Formula, having the following constituents and can be fed 

for the first two days after birth: 

26 ounces milk (½ canned milk, ½ water) 

1 tablespoon cod liver oil or castor oil 

1 tablespoon glucose or sugar 

1 beaten egg yolk 

Q. What care is required in injecting dextrose to a very weak newborn 

lamb/kid? 

Dextrose injections can be given if the newborn cannot suck and you do not have or you 

cannot comfortably use the stomach tube feeding. Dextrose injection is meant to provide 

quick energy to the very weak newborn. You can purchase 50 ml of 5% dextrose solution 

in saline from an animal health supplier. Warmed to body temperature, this solution is 

injected subcut in divided doses of 5 to 10 ml per injection site. Any area of loose skin on 

the neck or behind the armpit is a proper injection site. Never inject direct into the armpit. 

Do not worry about the small bumps on the injection sites. They will resolve rapidly. Use 

a sterile disposable 18-or 20-gauge needle. Sterilize the top of the vial with alcohol, wipe 

dry, and insert a disposable sterile needle into the stopper to fill the syringe. Leave this 

needle in the vial and use a separate needle to make the injections, to avoid contaminating 

the glucose solution. Even the slightest contamination will grow very rapidly in glucose, 

spoiling the vial for further use. Always refrigerate the glucose solution after opening and 

do not use it if it becomes cloudy. Calcium solutions containing dextrose or 50% dextrose 

should only be used intravenously, because these are very irritating to tissue. 

Q. Discuss the stomach tube emergency feeding method and the precautions 

required in this connection. 

Stomach tube feeding is resorted to in case of a severely weak lamb/kid with no sucking 

impulse. Sheep/goat supply companies have devised a ‘Lamb/kid Reviver’ for this 

purpose. When it is not available, get a male catheter tube from a drugstore and use it 

with a 60-cc hypodermic syringe for a direct feeding into the newborn’s stomach. The 

tube should be about 40 cm long. Before inserting to inject milk, disconnect the tube 

from the milk-filled syringe to determine that the tube is actually in the stomach and not 

in the lungs. An injection into the lungs can kill the newborn. The tube should be kept in 

warm sterile solution, because wet tube slips in more easily. If you put your thumb and 

finger along the outside of the neck and pass the tube with other hand, you can actually 

feel the tube as it goes down. A tube into the lungs will usually elicit a cough. To further 

confirm, hold a wet finger at the protruding end, if the finger feels cool from moving air, 

the tube is in the lungs and not in the stomach, so remove and try again. It is easier for 

two people to operate the stomach tube, but it is possible with one person. Hold the 

newborn’s body (on a table) with your left forearm, making a straight line between the 

newborn’s head, neck and back. Open the mouth of the animal with fingers of left hand to 

insert the tube, which should be sterile, warm and wet. Insert the tube slowly over the 

tongue, back into its throat, giving the animal time to swallow. Then push the tube down 

its neck and into the stomach. The average insertion distance is 25 to 28 cm. Do not insert 

it too far, but insertion should be far enough. 

When you have confirmed the correct position of tube, insert the end of the catheter tube 

into the syringe filled with 2 ounces of warm colostrum (or warmed canned milk, 

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undiluted, for this feeding only) and slowly squeeze the milk into the newborn’s stomach. 

Withdraw the tube quickly, so that it will not drip into the lungs on the way out. Use this 

procedure cautiously and only when you feel that without it the newborn would surely 

die. 

Q. Give a list of diseases that commonly occur in lambs/kids. 

Most of the diseases given in the list below inflict lambs as well as kids with the 

exception of one or two. Pneumonia, scours in nursing newborns, navel ill, constipation, 

entropion (inverted eyelids), urinary calculi (stones, water belly), white muscle disease 

(stiff lamb), enterotoxaemia (overeating disease), parasites, tetanus (lockjaw), 

coccidiosis, acidosis (grain engorgement, acute indigestion, founder), polio 

(polioencephalomalacia). 

Q. Describe the causes, prevention and treatment of pneumonia in lambs/kids. 

Pneumonia is probably responsible for more lamb deaths than any other disease. On 

average, it is responsible for as much as 31 to 54% death loss in lamb/kid population. It is 

caused by drafts in cold damp housing, floor drafts in lambing/kidding pens with solid 

bottoms such as cement concrete, exposure to infectious agents, overheating of lambing 

pens and then exposure to cold. Mechanical pneumonia will be dealt with separately. 

It goes without saying that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Proper 

management is the key to success in the prevention of pneumonia as well as so many 

other ills. Adequate ventilation in the lambing/kidding barn is necessary. Windows in 

barns with grills and covered with burlap bags or any material to stop draft, will check a 

build up of ammonia-laden stagnant air. Concrete floors should have a thick layer of 

paddy straw or sugar cane tops bedding to prevent floor drafts. If pneumonia is a 

recurring problem in your young lambs/kids, make sure that selenium and vitamin E 

levels in your ewes/does are normal, since lower levels result in immunosuppression and 

increased susceptibility to infection. Another successful treatment is the use of an 

intranasal vaccine, Nasalgen-IP or any other effective vaccine. Parainfluenza III (PI-3) is 

a common viral disease of cattle but has been documented as a major cause of respiratory 

disease in sheep. Under conditions of stress coupled with a bacterial exposure, it can 

cause a high incidence of fatal pneumonia both in lambs and adult. 

The Nasalgen-IP vaccine is simply to be sprayed into the nostril (1ml in each nostril of 

ewe and ram; lambs given the same amount in the same way during the first 10 to 18 

hours of life. It functions on the same immunological parameters as the oral polio vaccine 

in humans. Lambs/kids may be given an injection of pen-strep immediately during first 4 

to 5 hours of birth. This will also help to protect from pneumonia. 

Q. What do you know about mechanical pneumonia in newborns? Discuss. 

Mechanical or ‘foreign body’ pneumonia results when fluids or other foreign matter 

enters the lungs, such as excessive birth fluids or milk in the lungs of newborns. An 

abnormal birth position or any interruption of the umbilical blood supply to the yet 

unborn lamb/kid results in an oxygen deficit, which in turn stimulates the respiratory 

reflex, causing the animal to attempt to breathe before birth is complete. This causes 

inhalation of excessive volume of foetal fluids, thus resulting in mechanical pneumonia. 

Also, forced bottle-feeding of a newborn with impaired sucking reflex, improper stomach 

tubing or oral medication can allow fluid to enter the lungs. If it is a mild attack, it would 

subside within a few days. Some suitable antibiotic such as oxytetracycline may be 

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administered to avoid complications. When it is a severe infliction, often the result is not 

very hopeful. 

Q. Give a detailed account of scours in nursing kids. 

Scours denotes diarrhoea in newborn kids/lambs. It has many causes. The yellow kind of 

scours is the least serious and is caused by overfeeding of milk, either from bottle or 

because a strong lamb/kid is sucking a mother who has an excess of milk. If bottle 

feeding, then substitute a feeding with water or oral electrolyte solution (1 litre water, 2 

ounces dextrose, ½ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon sodium bicarbonate) or Nimcol. In case 

milk-replacer powder is being used, reduce its amount until the condition resolves. If the 

lamb/kid is nursing, milk out the doe to reduce the amount of milk available and give the 

lamb/kid a feeding of water or Nimkol to satisfy its appetite. Two teaspoons of Pepto- 

Bismol or Kaopectate or one tablet of entox in powdered form mixed with water will help 

firm up the droppings and form a protective coating in the intestine; second dose may be 

given after four hours. 

If the scours continue for more than a day, infection may be suspected and the lamb/kid 

will need preventive treatment for dehydration and infection. Oral electrolyte solution 

should be given to replace the electrolyte loss and tetracycline as an antibacterial therapy. 

White scours are very serious and usually indicate E. coli infection, which can result in 

rapid dehydration, toxaemia and death if not treated immediately. In most cases it is 

caused by filth, poor sanitation; contaminated bottle, nipple, milk, feeders or kidding pen 

(in case of sheep, a lamb sucking on a dirty wool tag from an uncrotched ewe, plus all 

causes stated above). 

If white scours is a recurring problem in your baby kids, keep yourself in touch with a 

competent veterinarian. Some scour medications contain vitamins in addition to 

antibiotics. 

With bottle kids, discontinue milk feeding at once. For one day, feed either limewater (¾ 

teaspoon slaked lime to 2 litres water: add the lime to water, shake it several times during 

the day and then let it stand until it is clear. Drain off the clear liquid as limewater) or a 

similar oral electrolyte solution @ 2 ounces after each three hours to prevent dehydration. 

A colostrum deprived kid is very susceptible to bacterial scours. 

Give electrolyte solution only for one day or until the diarrhoea ceases, then return to 

milk feeding but give smaller quantities than before. To prevent bacterial scours, some 

producers give each kid/lamb 1cc of benzathine penicillin at birth, subcut. While 

medicines are definitely useful in scours, good management and sanitation will prevent 

many problems. 

Q. What is meant by navel ill? Write down its causes, symptoms and treatment. 

Navel ill is a term used to describe infections from various organisms that gain entrance 

to newborn lamb/kid’s body through the umbilical cord shortly after birth. The illness 

becomes serious within a few days. By treating the umbilical site with strong tincture of 

iodine soon after birth and seeing that the newborn nurses its mother for colostrum within 

the first hour, you can minimize the danger of navel ill. A second application of tincture 

of iodine about 12 hours later is a good practice. Clean bedding in the lamb/kid pen will 

lessen the chance of infection. Acute form of navel ill causes a rise in temperature, 

newborn declines to suck and often a thickening (abscess type) can be felt around the 

navel. Death may follow soon. 

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Tetanus is one of the serious diseases caused by a bacillus that can enter through the cord. 

Some protection against tetanus is obtained by vaccinating the ewes/does in the last two 

months of pregnancy (two separate injections) with Covexin-8, which protects the mother 

and passes protection to the newborn in the colostrum. This vaccine is for tetanus, 

enterotoxaemia and all clostridial diseases that may strike lambs/kids. A similar vaccine 

is also available from VRI, Lahore. Since navel ill can be caused by various bacteria, help 

from a competent veterinarian may be sought. 

Q. Write a note on constipation in lambs/kids. 

A constipated newborn looks uncomfortable, stands in a humped up manner, no signs of 

droppings or only a few hard ones. Sometimes the newborn will grind its teeth and if 

constipation continues, will go into convulsions and may die unless medicated. 

Administer two tablespoons of mineral oil or one tablespoon castor oil for two weeks old 

and ¼ to ½ cup mineral oil (carefully) for two months old lamb/kid. Repeat the dose if 

necessary. 

‘Pinning’ is fairly common in under a week old newborns. The faeces collect and dry into 

a mass under the tail, produce a gluing effect there, resulting into plugging up the 

lamb/kid. If not noticed and corrected, the newborn will die. Clean the dried faeces with a 

damp rag, trimming off some of the wool/hair if necessary. Disinfect the area if it is 

irritated and oil it lightly to prevent further sticking. Check the animal frequently. 

Occasionally a lamb/kid can suffer from a rare birth defect in which it is born without 

anal opening. Such cases will often go undetected for the first few days until the 

distended abdomen and discomfort are observed. Quick detection and surgery is the only 

treatment. The animal can be saved if the birth defect is not too severe. 

Q. Are the white muscle disease and stiff lamb two different diseases? 

No! These are not different diseases, rather two names for the same disease. White 

muscle disease in lambs is caused by insufficient selenium in the soil and thus in the ewe 

feed, combined with a deficiency of vitamin E. Fodder/hay from deficient (in selenium) 

areas should not be fed to ewes after third month of pregnancy or during lactation unless 

supplemented by whole-grain wheat (where wheat is abundant) and mineralized salt with 

selenium (Se) in it. Treatment should also include vitamin E.An injectable preparation 

containing both Se and vitamin E is given to the ewe 2 to 4 weeks before lambing. 

Animals that develop stiff lamb disease have difficulty getting up or walking and are 

gradually affected by muscle paralysis. Once muscle changes occur, these cannot be 

reversed. Lambs born with stiff neck will respond to SE treatment. 

Q. Write a brief note on acidosis in lambs/kids. 

Acidosis is sometimes also referred to as ‘acute indigestion’, ‘founder’ or ‘grain 

engorgement’, is a diseased condition which occurs very rarely under our conditions 

since sheep/goat producers here, probably cannot afford high plane grain feeding to their 

lambs/kids. However, the problem may arise in lambs/kids being raised as pets by certain 

people. The children in the family out of love for their pets might overfeed them with 

grains, leading to engorged lambs/kids. Thus excessive lactic acid is produced by the 

fermentation of high energy diet. As a result, the acidity in rumen increases and severe 

digestive upset occurs, which may prove fatal. Important symptoms include inappetance, 

depression, lameness, coma and death. At least 70% roughage is a safe ratio for 

lambs/kids under our conditions. Any shift to a higher grain percentage should be very 

gradual. Here, acidosis is commonly encountered in adult male sheep/goats purchased for 

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slaughter a few days to a few weeks before Eid-ul-Azha. People are excited to see their 

animals fattened well before slaughter on Eid. Thus sometimes they resort to overfeeding 

of grain to which the animals are not accustomed. This leads to a gross imbalance of 

grain-to-roughage ratio and a severe digestive upset. Several such cases meet a fatal end 

every year. 

Q. What conditions are commonly responsible for tetanus in lambs/kids? 

Navel cord, castration and tail docking (if really necessary) can put lambs/kids in danger 

of tetanus. It is advisable to booster the ewes/does with Covexin-8 during the last months 

of pregnancy (two separate injections) as is the practice in several western countries. This 

vaccine provides protection against all clostridial diseases. However, if the dams were not 

boostered with Covexin-8, then you should administer 300-500 units of tetanus antitoxin 

at the time of castration. The antitoxin will protect the lambs/kids for about two weeks, 

while the wounds are healing. An application of tincture of iodine takes good care of 

navel cord. Another application of iodine after 12 hours is further useful. 

Q. What is the other name of overeating disease? Give the causes and symptoms 

of this disease along with preventive measures. 

Overeating disease is also named as enterotoxaemia. It is caused by Clostridium 

perfringens and can strike the biggest and best lambs/kids. Fairly young lambs/kids who 

are getting too much milk from their heavy milk dams also fall prey to this disease. Too 

heavy grain feeding or an abrupt change in feed may also be the causes of this disease. 

Older lambs/kids carrying a heavy load of tapeworms are especially vulnerable. Wet 

bedding, chilling or high summer temperatures can cause a variable feed intake that is 

conducive to disease outbreak. 

Diarrhoea, convulsions or sudden death are the characteristic symptoms. Since prevention 

is the very best plan, therefore, vaccinate the ewe/doe with Covexin-8, a 5 ml priming 

dose between breeding and 6 to 8 weeks prior to lambing/kidding and the booster 2 ml 

dose 2 weeks before parturition. In following years, the dam will need only booster dose. 

The immunity provided by the dam will protect the newborns till about 10 weeks of age, 

provided they got the normal amount of colostrum. After 10 weeks age, the lambs/kids 

should be vaccinated with a priming 5 ml dose and 2 ml booster dose of Covexin-8 about 

a month later. Vaccines available from VRI, Lahore, can partially serve the same 

purpose. Some people use chloro-tetracycline to control enterotoxaeimia, but 

immunization (prevention) seems a more healthier and sure way. 

Q. Do you think that lambs/kids may have the problem of urinary calculi? 

Yes! The problem is there. It is a problem of growing ram lambs/buck kids that are over 

one month old, castrated or not. The salts they excrete in the urine can form stones, which 

may lodge in the kidney, bladder or urethra. Of the following, one or more causes can 

result in this problem: 

• Low water intake due to unpalatable water or too cold weather. Keep both salt 

and fresh water in easy access. 

• Ration high in phosphorus and potassium such as wheat bran, maize fodder, 

and low in vitamin A. Add ground limestone or dicalcium phosphate 1 to 2% 

of the ration to make Ca: P approximately 2:1. 

• Growing crops under heavy fertilizer, with high nitrate content. 

• Hard water may be partly the cause. Add ammonium chloride to feed about 

1/5 ounce per day/head, using technical grade. 

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• Animals fed pellets only have more of this problem (so far not fed here). 

• Hormonal changes occur when ram lambs/buck kids are castrated at less than 

4 weeks age. The absence of testosterone after castration keeps the urethra 

from growing to its maximum diameter. If it is a persistent problem, may 

castrate your animals after 6 weeks. 

• Sorghum-based rations as well as cottonseed meal add to the risk of calculi. 

Maize oil cake and soybean meal are less apt to cause problems. Animals 

having urinary calculi strain to urinate, dribble urine (sometimes bloody), 

stand with back arched, switch tail, and may kick at stomach. The blockage of 

the urinary tract causes pain, colic and eventually the rupture of the urinary 

tract into the body cavity, hence the name ‘water belly’ and death. 

If an animal appears to be straining and unable to urinate, put him on a dry floor for an 

hour or so, unless there is a blockage, he will urinate in that time. Turn the animal up and 

feel for a small stone that can be gently pushed down the urinary passage. Sometimes 

manipulation with a small catheter tube may dislodge the stone. It is reported that in 90% 

cases, the blockage is at the outer end of urinary passage. If the stone can be felt right at 

the end and cannot be dislodged with gentle pressure, help of a competent veterinarian 

may be sought, who may administer a drug having a dilating action or a smooth muscle 

relaxer to permit the calculi to pass or may even remove the stone surgically. 

Q. What type of disease is coccidiosis? Discuss its causes, symptoms and possible 

measures of medication. 

Coccidiosis is an acute contagious parasitic disease spread between sheep by faecal 

contamination of feed and/or water. Coccidiosis in lambs causes severe diarrhoea, 

sometimes bloody but usually dark. Faeces may be got examined for the presence of the 

coccidian oocysts and use Amprolium or any new drug developed for this purpose. 

Deccox or Bovatec is fed continually to control coccidiosis and improve feed efficiency. 

Deccox can be mixed into salt @ 900 g in 22 kg of loose salt, fed free choice. Ewes 

should receive this continuously from 30 days before lambing till after the lambs are 

weaned. Strict sanitation and proper arrangement of feed and water containers to prevent 

contamination. Lamb may be prevented from walking in feeders so that no manure gets 

into them. 

Q. Discuss the parasite problem in lambs/kids. 

Mature ewes/does eliminate millions of parasite eggs in their droppings each day. Thus 

the lambs/kids are subject to infestation with parasite larvae from the pasture. While 

ewes/does should be dewormed before lambing/kidding, the parasite problem may recur. 

The parasites seriously arrest the lamb/kid growth and a severe infestation can cause 

anaemia and death. By avoiding overstocking of ranges and mandatory rotation of 

pastures, parasite load can be reasonably reduced. It should be introduced as a standard 

practice to deworm the lambs/kids when they are separated from their dams at weaning. 

Use Ivomec or Levamisole or any other deworming drug that is safe for the youngones. 

Q. Write a note on polio (polioencephalomalacia) in sheep. 

Polio is a noninfectious disease of sheep. Clinical symptoms are blindness, depression, 

incoordination, coma and death. Exact predisposing mechanisms are not clear. It is 

caused by an acute thiamine (vitamin B1) deficiency. Ruminal contents contain high 

levels of thiaminase (an enzyme that destroys thiamine). It was found in 1974 that all 

strains of a common rumen bacteria (Clostridium sporogenes) produced thiaminase. 

Treatment with 0.5 g thiamine hydrochloride leads to rapid recovery. Treatment may be 

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repeated after two days. A lamb recovered from this disease can contract it again, if diet 

remains the same as before. 

Q. What do you understand by entropion? Write a brief note on it. 

Entropion denotes inverted eyelids. When a lamb is born, often its lower or sometimes 

the upper eyelid or both eyelids are rolled inward. When this happens, the eyelashes 

irritate the eyeball, causing the eye to water constantly, inviting infection and even 

blindness. It is hereditary, but more prevalent in wooly-faced breeds. Do not keep such a 

lamb for breeding. Mark it for slaughter. Inspect each lamb at birth so that the condition 

is found soon and corrected. There are more than one way to correct it. You can roll the 

eyelid(s) outward and hold in proper position by a clip or sewing. Using two little metal 

clips (surgical clips) is easier than stitching. They can be clipped into place with forceps 

or small pliers and left on for a few days. For sewing, use white cotton thread and a sharp 

needle. Roll the eyelid out, put the needle through a small piece of skin and sew it down 

(the upper eyelid would be sewn to the forehead and the lower eyelid to the jaw). In a few 

days the eyelids will have conformed to a normal position and the stitches can be 

removed. Use a mild antiseptic in stitching or applying clips. 

71

Sheep and Goat Production: Part II

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