Maresa Sheehan from the Dept. of Agriculture’s Regional Veterinary Laboratory in Kilkenny joins Ciarán Lynch on this week’s OviCast with an update on some of the issues she and her colleagues are encountering at the moment.

The relatively mild winter and spring has helped many farms but it has also posed a risk for various parasite challenges from fluke to Nematodirus and Coccidia which are discussed in more detail.

Maresa highlights how April tends to be a high risk period for clostridia issues as the maternally derived immunity in lambs wanes leading to sudden deaths in lambs arriving in the lab.

She then discusses some of the chronic diseases affecting ewes and on this theme, Maresa discuss a new project that will get underway this year which will hopefully shed some light on those thin, pining ewes in flocks.

Finally, Maresa encourages farmers to investigate health issues in their flock as it is the first step to addressing the issue.

For more episodes from the OviCast podcast, visit the show page at:

https://www.teagasc.ie/animals/sheep/ovicast-sheep-podcast

Dr James O’Shaughnessy from the Dept. of Agriculture Central Veterinary Research Laboratory in Backweston joins Ciarán Lynch on this week’s OviCast podcast to discuss Nematodirus disease in lambs.

James starts by describing the life cycle of Nematodirus and how it differs from other stomach worms.

He discusses how it affects lambs and the symptoms to watch out for and he also discusses the limitations of faecal egg counts for this condition.

With the recent release of this year’s Nematodirus forecast, James explains how to use this information and how prevailing weather conditions can affect this from year to year.

James moves on to discuss treatment options, offering some insight on the choice and timing of treatment before then discussing the risk of concurrent infection with coccidiosis and how to approach this.

Nematodirus can cause severe damage to young lambs and James advocates making use of the regional veterinary labs where sudden losses occur to confirm the cause.

Finally, James highlights the importance of correct dosing technique when treating for Nematodirus.

The 2022 Nematodirus forecast can be found here:

https://www.gov.ie/en/press-release/da3e5-department-of-agriculture-food-and-the-marines-2022-nematodirus-forecast/#:~:text=The%20maximum%20Nematodirus%20egg%20hatching,term%20average%20of%20soil%20temperatures

For more episodes from the OviCast podcast, visit the show page at:

https://www.teagasc.ie/animals/sheep/ovicast-sheep-podcast

Co. Kildare sheep and beef farmer, James Johnston, and his Teagasc advisor Dr Rachel Taylor join Ciarán Lynch on this week’s OviCast to give an insight into his system, grassland management and how he is addressing some of the challenges going forwards.

James first outlines his farming system before discuss grazing groups and the use of temporary fencing, fertiliser and soil fertility.

Rachel and James outline the plans for this year’s silage crop, the importance of completing a fodder budget and the role high quality silage has for the winter ahead.

Finally, James outlines how he is incorporating red clover into his system in a new reseed and his plans for over sowing white clover into targeted areas each year going forwards.

For those interested in completing a fodder budget that Rachel outlined can do so here: http://interactive.teagasc.ie/Open/FeedChecker

For more episodes from the OviCast podcast, visit the show page at:

https://www.teagasc.ie/animals/sheep/ovicast-sheep-podcast

The focus for this week’s episode of the OviCast podcast switches to grassland with Ciarán Lynch joined by Dr Philip Creighton to discuss the key priorities for April.

Philip starts by discussing the current grazing situation before then moving on to discuss the key management tasks from grouping up to temporary fencing with Philip explaining the impact this has on grass growth and animal performance.

He offers some advice on fertiliser application during April and the impact that this has on the system.

He then discusses planning next year’s winter fodder on farms emphasising the need to focus not only on quantity but quality silage.

Finally, Philip highlights the upcoming round of spring grass walks that will be held nationwide.

For more on food and fodder security go to:

https://www.teagasc.ie/animals/beef/food-and-fodder-security/

For more episodes from the OviCast podcast, visit the show page at:

https://www.teagasc.ie/animals/sheep/ovicast-sheep-podcast

Dr Tim Keady joins Ciarán Lynch on this week’s OviCast to discuss the management of triplet rearing and yearling ewes post-lambing.

Tim starts by highlighting the need to have a system to deal with multiples in prolific flock outlining the various options that are available.

He takes us thorough the economics of rearing the third lamb on a ewe and discusses the energy requirements post-lambing with Tim outlining the supplementation strategy to make up the shortfall. Plus he outlines the role of condition score and suitability of ewes to manage in this system.

Similarly Tim talks about his work with yearling or one year old ewes and how they need separate management, highlighting their nutritional requirements and the potential supplementation strategies to ensure they stay on track.

For more episodes from the OviCast podcast, visit the show page at:

https://www.teagasc.ie/animals/sheep/ovicast-sheep-podcast

With many farms in the middle of lambing, this week’s OviCast focuses on artificial reared lambs with Michael Gottstein Head of Sheep in Teagasc.

Michael starts off by highlighting the need to have a system in place to deal with orphan or pet lambs on farms.

He outlines the various systems available and the importance of getting them set up on the feeder system early.

As this can be a costly system mainly due to the milk replacer input, we discuss the importance of grouping up lambs in weekly batch sizes to facilitate their transition to cold milk and introduction of concentrate and roughage, with Michael outlining a number of practical tips to help prepare them for weaning.

Finally, Michael outlines the target inputs for the system and the costs involved.

For more episodes from the OviCast podcast, visit the show page at:

https://www.teagasc.ie/animals/sheep/ovicast-sheep-podcast

Vet Tommy Heffernan, aka Tommy the Vet, joins Ciarán Lynch on this week’s OviCast to discuss joint ill infection in lambs.

Tommy starts by explaining the condition in a bit more detail and then discusses the bacteria that can cause the condition and their potential sources.

Tommy describes the presentation of the condition, routes of transfer and how that infection affects the joint.

He also highlights how doubling down on the basics of hygiene and colostrum management have a big impact on reducing risk of the condition.

For treatment, Tommy offers his insights on effective treatment methods before finishing up with him urging farmers to revisit the basics and look at making the overall system easier to operate during lambing.

For more episodes from the OviCast podcast, visit the show page at:

https://www.teagasc.ie/animals/sheep/ovicast-sheep-podcast

Vet Cara Sheridan, ruminant technical advisor with MSD Animal Health, joins Ciarán Lynch on this week’s OviCast to discuss various aspects of dealing with orf on farms.

Cara starts by explaining a bit more about the condition, where it typically occurs and some of the predisposing factors.

She discusses the vaccination process detailing the timing of administration and interval until immunity is reached.

Cara then takes us through the actual vaccination procedure highlighting some practical tips and pitfalls before finally, discussing treatment options in the face of an outbreak.

For more episodes from the OviCast podcast, visit the show page at:

https://www.teagasc.ie/animals/sheep/ovicast-sheep-podcast

As we head into peak lambing season we also start to encounter flock health issues on farms and on this week’s OviCast is Dr Shane Mc McGettrick of the Department of Agriculture Regional Veterinary Lab (RVL) in Sligo to discuss this issue in more detail.

Shane starts by encouraging farmers to submit samples where they encounter problems with abortions or increased mortality this spring and to identify the cause and start to address the issue.

Shane describes the common issues they see in the lab at this stage of the season and takes us through the submission procedure for samples and what is required as well as discussing the timeline from submission of samples until results are available.

As some of the conditions that cause issues on farms are zoonotic, particularly in the case of a number of the abortive agents, Shane highlights why we need to take extra care to protect human health.

He also discusses why aborted ewes should be isolated form the main flocks early to minimise spread and finally, he urges caution when considering purchasing foster ewes and introducing them to the flock during this busy period.

For more episodes from the OviCast podcast, visit the show page at:

https://www.teagasc.ie/animals/sheep/ovicast-sheep-podcast

Sheep Specialist, Damian Costello, joins Ciarán Lynch on this week’s OviCast with a preview of the Teagasc Hill Sheep Conference that is taking place on Thursday, 24th February in the Clayton hotel in Sligo at 7pm.

This marks the return of the conference to an in-person event but as Damian explains, there is also an option to join online via Zoom with registration - details are on the Teagasc webpage.

Damian profiles the speakers and the topics that will be covered on the night and how they have a broad appeal to many in the industry, and not only those directly involved in the hill sector.

Finally, Damian explains how attendees, both in-person and online. will have the option to ask questions of the speakers on the night.

For more details please visit:

https://www.teagasc.ie/news--events/national-events/events/hillsheepcon22.php

For more episodes from the OviCast podcast, visit the show page at:

https://www.teagasc.ie/animals/sheep/ovicast-sheep-podcast