Sheep farm biosecurity is a very important element that must be considered to prevent and control the risk of exposure of the sheep farm to serious diseases.
SO, the more sheep farm biosecurity practices you have, the less risk of the unhealthy sheep flock.
Through this article, Dr.provet will address all that's to know about biosecurity in a sheep farm.
This article includes:
What's the sheep farm biosecurity?
How can you plan a program for sheep farm biosecurity?
Principles of sheep farm biosecurity.
Choosing sources and health status of newly purchased sheep.
Isolation.
Movement control.
Sanitation
Biosecurity for feed and water supply.
Principles for bedding biosecurity.
Animal health management.
What's the sheep farm biosecurity?
The measures that are considered to prevent the exposure of the sheep to diseases from outside.
Following the sheep farm biosecurity programs minimizes the risk of any emergent disease, and reduces the chance of disease spreading among the sheep flock.
How can you plan a program for sheep farm biosecurity?
Planning a biosecurity program is the main part of the health plan of your sheep flock, including:
Write the risk assessment of your farming operations and management practices.
Determine the level of the already existing infectious diseases in your sheep flock.
Identify the diseases targeted to be controlled through your sheep farm biosecurity program.
Check the facilities to determine the disease's transmission risk levels.
Prioritize the objectives of your sheep farm biosecurity and write a plan matching your needs.
Place a sign at the entry gate to inform all farm staff how to apply the sheep farm biosecurity plan.
Update this plan annually to ensure the prevention of introducing diseases into your sheep farm.
Record all sheep movements on and off the farm.
Ensure the staff understands their role in applying the sheep farm biosecurity plan.
principles of sheep farm biosecurity
To apply the ideal sheep farm biosecurity, you must consider major principles, including:
Choosing sources and health status of new sheep.
Isolation of new sheep and prevention of contact between the sheep groups.
Movement control aims to prevent the introduction of infection via traffic of all vehicles, animals, and people.
Sanitation and using disinfectants for materials and equipment.
Biosecurity for feed and water provided to the sheep farm.
Principles for bedding biosecurity that aimed to manage the introducing and moving the bedding without any risk of introducing or spreading diseases.
management of the animal health .
Choosing sources and health status of newly purchased sheep
Measures must be considered for purchasing new sheep includes:
Well-known health history of the flocks from which you will purchase new sheep (National Sheep Health Statement).
Asking about the vaccination status of the purchased sheep.
Avoid purchasing old sheep.
Checking the health status of new sheep, including:
Heart rate is 70-90 beats/minute.
The respiratory rate is 10-20 breaths/minute.
The normal body temperature is 39 C degrees.
Alert and bright sheep that's free from pests.
Good contact with other sheep in its flock during grazing.
Refuse the sheep with unusual signs or behaviours, including:
Itchiness, convulsions.
Lameness.
Diarrhea.
Swollen ears, face, or muzzle.
Pulled wool.
Difficult to be driven and fall behind the mob.
Low body weight.
Uncoordinated gait.
Scabs on the skin.
Isolation
The measures that are applied to the new sheep after purchasing, including:
30 days quarantine for all newly purchased sheep.
Quarantine of pregnant ewes till parturition.
Provide secure boundary fences to avoid direct contact of new sheep with your farm sheep.
Ensure that new sheep neither share common grazing nor fence lines with neighbors' sheep.
Drench and vaccinate sheep on arrival to ensure minimizing the risk of new diseases and parasites introduced
Isolate sheep returning from breeding centers, agistment, and shows as well as the newly purchased sheep.
- Movement control
This measure must be considered to control the transmission of diseases to the sheep farm, including:
Ensure minimizing the movement of workers, equipment, and vehicles that may be contaminated into the sheep area.
Record the visitors of your farm to facilitate expecting the cause of any emergent disease.
Restrict the vehicle movements to the designated driveways far from the sheep area.
Inform the transporter of your protocols for sheep farm biosecurity.
- Sanitation
Applying the sanitation measures is an important step for the success of the sheep farm biosecurity, including:
Routinely cleaning and disinfection of feeding and watering equipment.
Disinfection of the sheep handling equipment such as shearing machine and foot trimming equipment.
The equipment that is used for feeding never be used for cleaning.
Ensure cleaning of vehicles used for sheep transportation.
Using effective disinfectants to clean the clothes and boots of the farm staff.
Biosecurity of feed and water
It's a measure aimed to ensure the quality and safety of the feed stock and water, including:
Ensure that feed is free from contamination of raw materials, urine, and fecal matter during transportation and storage.
Water must be managed to reduce the risks of transmission of disease agents or weeds.
Never feed the sheep products made from vertebrate animals, except for gelatin and tallow.
Unload the feedstock after excellent inspection for damage, pests, and contaminants.
Ensure the quality and quantity of water provided are enough.
Well-manage the manure to avoid contamination of pasture and water supply.
Store the feedstock in a manner that protects it from dust, insects, rodents, feral, and domestic animals.
Principles for bedding biosecurity
This measure must be considered to avoid introducing or spreading the disease during the introduction and movement of the sheep bedding, including:
Choose a suitable bedding material that is fit-for-purpose.
Provide a dry and vermin minimized area for storage of the feedstock.
Ensure perfect disposal of soiled bedding, which can be a source of disease.
Management of animal health
It's an important measure for applying sheep farm biosecurity, as it aimed to prevent and control animal diseases, including:
Regular inspection of sheep during the regular husbandry procedures to detect the ill sheep early.
Implementing specific practices to protect the sheep farm from the common diseases existing in the region.
Reporting of sheep with signs of sickness or death.
The frequency of sheep inspections must be increased during periods of higher risk.
Maintaining the sheep flock’s health history, including both health activity and treatment of the sheep flock.
Vaccination of all farm staff against identified risk diseases such as tetanus and Q fever.
Ensuring vaccination of the sheep against zoonotic diseases that can be transmitted to humans, such as leptospirosis.
Proper isolation of diseased sheep and providing it the perfect treatment and supplement.
Finally, the sheep farm biosecurity is the top secret of sheep protection from all susceptible diseases, and so getting all expected economic profits of the sheep farm.
Written by: Dr. Mai Foda
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