Feeding Facts: Parasites and Nutrition

BY JIMMY PARKER

Parasites are one of the largest obstacles to raising sheep and goats in the Southeast. Our warm, wet environment is parasite paradise and stomach worms, particularly Haemonchus contortus (the barber pole worm), can totally wreck a flock or herd of small ruminants. This is especially true when ewes or does give birth in late spring or early summer. Even though forages are generally at their best in April and May, the hormones associated with the birthing process will generally put the stomach worms into reproductive overdrive and we see a major increase in worm loads a short time after giving birth. This can create a vicious downward spiral for the females giving birth in the late spring or early summer.

When a ewe or doe gives birth this time of year, grass is good but within a short time it will be getting mature enough to have a lower nutritional value. That can be added to the fact that the number of stomach worms is increasing rapidly both because of a hormonal trigger and the fact that our environment is usually ideal for them to reproduce and spread. Those things, along with an increased nutritional demand from producing milk for growing kids or lambs and increasing anemia caused by the adult stomach worm’s appetite for blood, tend to make for a very trying time.

So, the weather is warming up, forage quality is decreasing, anemia is getting worse and the demand for milk production is growing all at the same time. When we couple anemia and heat stress, we get a recipe for not feeling good and for eating less and less each day. Along with the increasing demands to feed babies and replace the massive amounts of blood that the worms are stealing, nutritional needs become very complicated and the animals tend to lose body condition rapidly. Even if the animals all survive this trying time, the reduced gain in the offspring and the use of body reserves by the adult females equal a lower profitability for the producer and smaller, weaker animals as fall approaches.

Given the problems above, what can we do to make things better both for our animals and our bottom lines? While there are currently no silver bullets, there are things we can do to help, both management wise and nutritionally. From a management standpoint, dry lotting the ewes and does on hay and feed is one that works, though maybe a bit extreme for most producers. Rotational grazing and only grazing when the grass is fairly dry will help a great deal by lowering the worm burden. Feeding females that are nursing twins and triplets separately can help as their nutritional needs are significantly higher is also a good idea. Making sure that plenty of fresh clean water and shady areas are available at all times are also key management strategies to alleviate some of the heat stress and help with feed consumption. Creep feeding the lambs or kids is also a valuable option as it tends to reduce the nutritional stress on the ewes and does.

When nutrition is considered, there are also a few things that we should keep in mind. As the weather heats up, anemia causes appetite loss and nutritional needs go up from increased lactation demands, it is usually necessary to provide additional calories and protein from supplements. A quality vitamin and mineral supplement is also something that needs to be considered and constant availability is a key to animal health and to the animal’s ability to replenish the blood lost to the stomach worms. One of many other issues comes from the animal’s immune response to the adult stomach worms. Most animals will have an immune response to a heavy load of stomach worms and the body will try to fight those worms off. Any time the animal’s immune system becomes more active, there is a slight increase in protein needs, and providing some extra protein can at times yield a stronger immune response and give the animal a better chance to survive the challenge. The Purina High Fat Tub is a good option to add calories, protein and some vitamins and minerals and is one of many good options. The Co-op Sheep and Goat feed is another good option to help with the nutritional issues associated with parasites this time of year.

No matter what management strategy you use, an increase in protein and calories can help your animals survive and will most likely add dollars to your bottom line when your kid or lamb crop is marketed in the fall. Steps to alleviate heat stress will make the process much easier and any thing you can do to cut down on the parasite load and parasite exposure will make for heavier weaning weights, healthier ewes and does and a more profitable and much better experience for you the producer.

As the weather heats up, anemia causes appetite loss and nutritional needs go up from increased lactation demands, it is usually necessary to provide additional calories and protein from supplements.