Dr. Brady Campbell, Assistant Professor, The Ohio State University, State Small Ruminant Extension Specialist Here in the Buckeye state, I think it’s safe to say that spring has finally sprung and is here to stay! With more stable weather conditions and pastures beginning to green up, anticipation is building for spring turnout. Like many producers, we’re carefully watching forage growth and soil conditions as we approach the “running of the sheep”—the long awaited move from

By Dr. Beth Johnson, DVM Recently there has been increased interest on the social front encouraging producers to use Lye (sodium hydroxide) as a dewormer. PLEASE do the research; there is no evidence that it works as a dewormer. While lye is a strong alkali with high pH, the concentration needed to kill worms would also be lethal to the animal, and digestive acids and buffers in the animal's gut would reduce the lye's effectiveness anyway. A 1% sodium hydroxide solution, wh

by Susan Schoenian, Sheep & Goat Specialist - University of Maryland Ext.* While dewormers are usually an essential part of internal parasite control in sheep/goats, they aren’t the only option, and their use should be limited to treatment of clinically parasitized animals. The goal of all sheep and goat producers should be to develop alternative strategies for controlling parasites so that dewormer use is minimized and dewormers remain effective. Alternative strategies are u

by Dr. Nicholas Ballaban Prather, D.V.M. Small ruminant producers need to be able to identify common ailments amongst their livestock. Your knowledge can not only help your animals, but it can help you get quicker and effective assistance from your veterinarian. In this article, we are going to discuss three ailments that I see regularly in our large animal practice. Internal Parasites COMMON SMALL RUMINANT PARASITES HOTC Complex Haemonchus, Ostertagia, Trichostrongylus, an