Abortion-causing agents: last week’s note on dealing with abortion generated some queries on distinguishing between the different causes of abortion.
As mentioned last week, sporadic cases of abortion may not be linked to infectious agents. Where infectious agents are the underlying cause there is no way of accurately identifying the agent responsible by visual assessment, and as such the submission of samples to your vet or a laboratory is the best route of action.
The most common infectious agents are toxoplasmosis and chlamydia/enzootic abortion, and it is important to point out that both agents can be present at the same time. With toxoplasmosis where a naïve pregnant animal is infected in the first 60 days of gestation the result is usually absorption of the foetus and the ewe identified as barren.
Where infection occurs between day 60 and day 120 of gestation, the disease manifests in abortion in late pregnancy and mummified foetuses or the delivery of stillbirth lambs or weak lambs which succumb to high levels of mortality. There is a lag phase from infection in the ewe to expression of clinical symptoms of approximately six weeks, but this can be reduced to four weeks where there is a high challenge in the environment.
With enzootic abortion, ewes tend to abort after day 90 of gestation but they can also bring to full term and result in the birth of weak lambs.
Where confirmed, strategic use of antibiotics can lessen its impact. Administering oxytetracycline to remaining pregnant ewes on the back of veterinary advice can increase the number of live lambs born.
The success of this will be influenced on timing of administration.
Ewes should typically be treated at day 100, or after a diagnosis has been made, and again at day 120, or 20 days later with the programme advised by your vet. This response is most useful in a spread out lambing pattern, with the majority of abortions likely to have already taken place in a tight lambing flock.
Census deadline: the deadline for returning hardcopy returns of the 2025 annual sheep and goat census is 31 January 2026.
The only acceptable proof of postage is registered post and the return must be posted so that it arrives at the destination by 31 January. There is a later deadline of 14 February for returns submitted online via myagfood.ie or the Department’s Animal Identification and Movement (AIM) services app.
Field storing FYM: with ground conditions proving challenging, getting sheds cleaned prior to lambing and manure spread will be difficult. Farmyard manure (FYM) can be field stored during the permitted spreading period for organic nutrients.
It should be stored in a compact heap taking account of buffer zones. It must be stored 20m from any surface water, lake shoreline or turloughs likely to flood, 50m from any water source supplying water for human consumption and 250m providing 10m3 of water per day or serving 50 or more people.
Where FYM is stored in a yard then it must be stored on a concrete apron where all runoff, including rainfall falling on FYM, can be collected and stored. While on the topic of cleaning sheds, washing and disinfecting is the desired approach but where this is not possible then applying lime or powdered disinfectant may help prevent bacteria from spreading and disease establishing.
Abortion-causing agents: last week’s note on dealing with abortion generated some queries on distinguishing between the different causes of abortion.
As mentioned last week, sporadic cases of abortion may not be linked to infectious agents. Where infectious agents are the underlying cause there is no way of accurately identifying the agent responsible by visual assessment, and as such the submission of samples to your vet or a laboratory is the best route of action.
The most common infectious agents are toxoplasmosis and chlamydia/enzootic abortion, and it is important to point out that both agents can be present at the same time. With toxoplasmosis where a naïve pregnant animal is infected in the first 60 days of gestation the result is usually absorption of the foetus and the ewe identified as barren.
Where infection occurs between day 60 and day 120 of gestation, the disease manifests in abortion in late pregnancy and mummified foetuses or the delivery of stillbirth lambs or weak lambs which succumb to high levels of mortality. There is a lag phase from infection in the ewe to expression of clinical symptoms of approximately six weeks, but this can be reduced to four weeks where there is a high challenge in the environment.
With enzootic abortion, ewes tend to abort after day 90 of gestation but they can also bring to full term and result in the birth of weak lambs.
Where confirmed, strategic use of antibiotics can lessen its impact. Administering oxytetracycline to remaining pregnant ewes on the back of veterinary advice can increase the number of live lambs born.
The success of this will be influenced on timing of administration.
Ewes should typically be treated at day 100, or after a diagnosis has been made, and again at day 120, or 20 days later with the programme advised by your vet. This response is most useful in a spread out lambing pattern, with the majority of abortions likely to have already taken place in a tight lambing flock.
Census deadline: the deadline for returning hardcopy returns of the 2025 annual sheep and goat census is 31 January 2026.
The only acceptable proof of postage is registered post and the return must be posted so that it arrives at the destination by 31 January. There is a later deadline of 14 February for returns submitted online via myagfood.ie or the Department’s Animal Identification and Movement (AIM) services app.
Field storing FYM: with ground conditions proving challenging, getting sheds cleaned prior to lambing and manure spread will be difficult. Farmyard manure (FYM) can be field stored during the permitted spreading period for organic nutrients.
It should be stored in a compact heap taking account of buffer zones. It must be stored 20m from any surface water, lake shoreline or turloughs likely to flood, 50m from any water source supplying water for human consumption and 250m providing 10m3 of water per day or serving 50 or more people.
Where FYM is stored in a yard then it must be stored on a concrete apron where all runoff, including rainfall falling on FYM, can be collected and stored. While on the topic of cleaning sheds, washing and disinfecting is the desired approach but where this is not possible then applying lime or powdered disinfectant may help prevent bacteria from spreading and disease establishing.
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