Ovelhas e cabras - Portal do Professor - Ministério da Educação

Sanitation management is
essential for the herd’s health
Ovelhas e cabras Sheep and goats
2
Knowledge of the physiological conditions and normal behavior of the animals, as well as basic sanitary
management practices, are indispensable for maintaining a healthy and productive herd.
All animals in the herd should be dewormed at the beginning of the rainy season and every 60 days
during the dry season. Females should be treated at the beginning of the breeding season and 30 days after
giving birth. Lambs should be treated three weeks after their first release to pasture.
Vaccination against foot-and-mouth disease is not mandatory for sheep and goats. The vaccination
should include protection against rabies, clostridiosis, contagious ectima and caseous lymphadenitis. The
incidence of diseases in the breeding region and the recommendations of a veterinarian determine the
vaccination schedule.
The success of producing sheep and goat meat depends on adoption of efficient reproduction
management techniques. The basis of good reproduction rates is the selection of young females that have
reached 70% of their adult weight for the breed chosen and that are healthy.
Females should be fertile, prolific and have good mothering skills that result in high survival rate for
lambs when weaned.