This chapter deals with record keeping and procedures that take place year-round in a sheep flock, from catching and handling animals, deciding what condition they are in and how old they are, to common tasks such as injecting, drenching and dealing with overgrown feet. In most flocks much time and effort goes into collecting sheep and carrying out these various tasks, so they need to be done efficiently, at the correct time of year, and as few times as possible. Advance planning using your flock health programme should help to streamline handling, but events such as bad weather or sudden outbreaks of disease are likely to mean rounding up sheep unexpectedly. Having a good permanent handling system or an easily used portable system makes such tasks less stressful for sheep and shepherd alike.
Fig. 21 A good permanent handling system on a lowland farm. The concrete floor ensures the pens can be kept clean, and the roof means there is some protection for the shepherds in bad weather.
Fig. 22 Record keeping is important for all flocks – this is a well organized set covering movements, medicines, lambing and mortality.
Fig. 23 A permanent handling system in the north of Scotland. Even in this remote location some of the pens have been concreted to make cleaning up easier.
Handling Pens
Fig. 24 A well constructed outdoor system of pens and a race. The race has a concrete floor and the corrugated iron sheets are placed so that the sheep cannot get their feet trapped.
Fig. 25 This handling system has been put together at minimum cost. When old gates and corrugated iron sheets are used be careful that there are no sharp edges that can injure sheep.
Fig. 26 This track leading to some handling pens is very muddy: these conditions could damage the sheep’s feet, and unless there is a cleaner route back to the field, makes foot bathing a waste of time.
Fig. 27 Mobile handling systems are easily moved around so that sheep can be gathered on the field they are grazing. If being used for more than one flock they should be cleaned regularly to prevent the possible spread of disease. Visiting specialist sheep events is an ideal way to see what equipment of this type is available, and to try it out before purchase.
Catching and Holding
An experienced shepherd with a quad bike, a crook and a good dog can often catch an individual sheep in an open field. For the rest of us, catching a particular animal usually means pushing a group of sheep together in a field corner or bringing them into a handling pen.
Keep the sheep in your sight and go quickly into the group, catching it with a crook or getting hold of it under the neck with one hand, using the other hand on the back to steady it. Do not try to catch it by grabbing the wool over the back. In the case of small pedigree or hobby flocks it is often possible to train the sheep to come for feed into a small pen, or to catch a single sheep by carrying sheep nuts or bread (often a favourite treat for pet sheep) in a pocket. A halter may then be used to restrain the animal if necessary.
Note that it is not a good idea to train rams to come for food from the hand – they may become aggressive and dangerous to handle. There are exceptions, but in general, never make a pet of a ram.
Fig. 28 A quad bike has become an indispensable vehicle for many shepherds.
Fig. 29 A good dog can be an invaluable help in handling and catching sheep, and can save the effort of having to round up the whole flock. However, a bad or untrained dog can upset or even injure the sheep.
Fig. 30 For a small flock, training sheep to come to the bucket can make catching individuals possible; however, do not encourage rams to do this as they can become dangerous.
Fig. 31 Having caught your sheep, hold it firmly under the jaw, using the other hand to steady it if necessary; most will stand fairly quietly like this. Holding the animal firmly against a wall or hurdle will give even more control. Do not try to hold it by grabbing the wool on top of the neck, as it will stru ggle and attempt to get away.
Fig. 32 Handling sheep through a race allows for techniques such as condition scoring to be carried out easily without catching the sheep individually.
Fig. 33 A fairly new handling device that holds sheep by squeezing together the sides of a crate placed in the race; the movable side is operated by a foot plate. It restrains the sheep and makes procedures such as drenching or vaccinating easier and safer, single-handedly if necessary.
Condition Scoring
This is a widely used system of determining whether a sheep is in the correct bodily condition for the stage of its production cycle; it is applicable to sheep of any size. Whilst it is possible to estimate body condition in recently shorn sheep by eye, it can be very misleading to look over the gate at fully fleeced sheep and think they look fit. A thick fleece can mask underlying poor condition, and this is particularly dangerous in the later stages of pregnancy. At this stage, excessively thin sheep are very likely to develop pregnancy toxaemia (twin lamb disease), which can be very difficult to treat successfully. Therefore, monitoring body condition by handling the sheep regularly is an important part of keeping a flock healthy and productive. The technique involves feeling over the loin to assess how easily the bones of the spine (the lumbar vertebrae) can be felt, and how much muscle (the eye muscle of your lamb chop!) and fat is present over them. The scale runs from 0 to 5 as follows:
0: Emaciated, at the point of death, just skin and bone.
1: Very thin, each bone is sharp and easy to feel, very little muscle present, which feels hollow.
2: Lean, the bones can be felt individually but are rounded, muscle is present but feels flat.
3: Fit, the ends of the bones can be felt with pressure, they are smooth and rounded. The muscle is full and rounded.
4: Fat, the ends of the bones can only be detected with firm pressure and are covered with a layer of fat. The muscle is rounded and covered with fat.
5: Very fat, the bones cannot be felt and the muscle is covered with fat.
People experienced in the technique often use half scores, particularly 2½ and 3½, but this is not absolutely necessary. The main aim of scoring is to decide whether sheep are too thin, are fit for purpose, or too fat, and then to manage accordingly, for example by separating into groups, or altering stocking density or feeding management.
The key times to condition score breeding sheep are:
- A few weeks before tupping time to ensure that both rams and ewes are in optimum condition for mating.
- During mid-pregnancy to ensure that weight and condition is not being lost too rapidly.
- Six to eight weeks before lambing is due to start, to ensure that condition has been maintained and to assess how much concentrate feeding is necessary.
Fattening lambs are handled in the same way to check how close to marketing they are, with extra handling over the ribs and the base of the tail to assess muscle development and fat cover.
Fig. 34 It is impossible to tell accurately by eye the body condition of a sheep carrying a full fleece.
Fig. 35 The correct position of the hand over the loin when carrying out condition scoring.
Fig. 36 It is simple and quick to score sheep in a race, and it should be done every time they are gathered. Either hand can be used, but it is best always to use the same one.
Fig. 37 The fleece of this sick-looking sheep masks her extreme thinness. She was in condition score 1.
Fig. 38 This recently shorn sheep is obviously too thin, certainly less than score 2, but perhaps more than 1 (1½ if using half scores).
Fig. 39 This sheep is in fit condition, about score 3. The loin is well covered, but the position of the bones can be seen and they would feel rounded.
Fig. 40 This sheep is too fat, at least score 4. The position of the bones would be difficult to feel because she is carrying a lot of fat over them.
Ageing
The age of a sheep is normally estimated by examining the incisor (front) teeth present in the lower jaw. Apart from in old sheep that have started to lose teeth, there are eight incisors (four pairs), which meet against the dental pad of the upper jaw. There are no incisors in the upper jaw (usually – although one of the authors has seen a Suffolk lamb with two temporary incisors in the upper jaw, but these were not replaced by permanent teeth).
Lambs are usually born with no incisors, but these start erupting soon after birth, and all eight temporary incisors are present within a few weeks. Occasionally lambs are born with some teeth already erupted – these are very sharp, as anyone who has had to assist in lambing one of these will testify! Lambs retain their temporary incisors through their first year. At this stage it is possible for inexperienced people to confuse this age group with three- to four-year-olds with a full mouth, but the general appearance of the animal should confirm whether it is young or older.
The age at which the temporary teeth are replaced by permanent teeth can be quite variable, as indicated in the table. Generally yearlings would have their first pair fully erupted by one and a half years, two-year-olds would have two pairs, and all permanents would be present by three to four years of age. The shape and size of the permanent incisors is very variable, and the age at which these begin to be lost also varies greatly. Short, spade-shaped teeth tend to be retained longer than long, narrow teeth. It is possible that eating food such as turnips or molasses buckets may speed up incisor tooth loss.
| Number of permanent teeth | Common name | Usual age at eruption | Range |
| 2 (1 pair) | Two-tooth | 1yr 3mth | 1yr–1yr 6mth |
| 4 (2 pairs) | Four-tooth | 1yr 9mth 1yr | 6mth–2yr |
| 6 (3 pairs) | Six-tooth | 2yr 3mth | 2yr 3mth–3yr |
| 8 (4 pairs) | Full mouth | 2yr 9mth | 2yr 9mth–4yr |
| 1 or more lost | Broken mouth | Over 4yr |
Fig. 41 This eight-month-old lamb shows typical temporary incisors. These are more triangular than permanent teeth, but it can sometimes be difficult for inexperienced people to distinguish between the teeth of a well grown lamb and an adult sheep with a full set of permanent teeth.
Fig. 42 This yearling has cut one central permanent incisor and has already lost the first and second temporary incisors on the other side. The other central permanent incisor will soon erupt, followed a few months later by the adjacent one.
Fig. 43 This yearling has both permanent central incisors so is about eighteen months old.
Fig. 44 The normal appearance of a two-year-old sheep, which has two pairs of permanent incisors.
Fig. 45 A sheep with six permanent teeth, which would make it between two and a half and three years old.
Fig. 46 A full-mouthed ewe of about four years old, with an excellent set of permanent incisors. These are broad and short and unlikely to be lost prematurely.
Fig. 47 An old, broken-mouthed ewe about to lose another loose incisor tooth.
Ear Tagging and Flock Records
All sheep flocks, even small numbers kept purely as pets, need to be registered with Defra, and a flock register listing movements on and off the farm must be kept. All sheep born after 31 December 2009, which are not to be slaughtered within twelve months, have to have two permanent methods of identification, one of which must be electronic. These will usually be eartags, although rumen boluses as first used in the National Scrapie Plan schemes are also acceptable. The tags must carry the UK flock number and an individual number. For lambs intended for slaughter within twelve months a single batch tag with the flock number visible is required. There are complex rules about tag colour and the application of replacement tags, and about the information that must be kept in the flock register, so you are advised to look for up-to-date information from Defra (www.defra.gov.uk).
There is a variety of design of tags, none of which has been shown to be foolproof, and there will always be sheep that lose tags in spite of manufacturers’ best efforts. This often results in torn or misshapen ears. One answer would be to use microchips placed under the skin as is used for dogs and horses, however these are not approved at the moment as there is a tendency for them to move in the body and therefore a risk of one turning up in your Sunday roast!
Fig. 48 This lamb complies with current tagging requirements: it has a tag in each ear, one of which is electronic.
Fig. 49 A hand-held ‘wand’ for reading electronic tags, together with a variety of tag shapes and colours available. The manufacturers will advise on what is required.
Fig. 50 An electronic tag reader designed to be part of a handling system.
Fig. 51 This sheep has a misshapen ear resulting from tag placement. The tags are better placed rather nearer to the base of the ear, but not so near that they dig into the ear cartilage ridges on the inner side.
Fig. 52 A lamb with a very swollen ear which is filled with blood (a haematoma) following incorrect tag placement.
Fig. 53 This sheep has lost a tag, leaving a large tear in the ear.
Fig. 54 Not a tag injury, but a deliberately made notch as utilized on some farms to provide permanent flock or individual identification.
Storing Medicines and Recording their Use
There are strict regulations about the purchase and use of veterinary medicines. Details of the information required in your medicines’ book can be obtained from your local Trading Standards Office, and records must be kept for five years. Medicines can be expensive and should be stored in a clean, dry, cool (but not freezing) place. A stock of sterile disposable syringes and needles can be obtained from your vet – a suitable selection for sheep is 20ml, 10ml and 5ml syringes, and 19g 1in needles, plus 16g 1in needles for injecting calcium. For lambs, 2ml syringes with 21g ⅝in needles are suitable for most injections. A plastic divided tray with a handle is a good way of keeping these organized and clean. You also need a sharps container for the safe disposal of needles.
Fig. 55 Use a sharps container to dispose of needles and other sharp objects safely.
Fig. 56 A well organized and clean cupboard used for the storage of drugs.
Fig. 57 A tray containing empty and partially used antibiotics with used syringes in far from sterile or even clean conditions.
Fig. 58 All veterinary medicines, syringes and needles should be stored in a clean, dry, cool place away from the light. Some drugs, such as the dark-coloured one on the right, are sensitive to light.
Injecting
The most common reason for injecting sheep is for vaccination (see Chapter 4 for details of schedules). In addition there are injectable products that can be used for scab treatment and control, antibiotics for sheep suffering from diseases such as footrot or pneumonia, and other products such as vitamin and mineral preparations that may be necessary in certain circumstances.
Any injection should be done carefully to make sure the injected material is put cleanly in the correct site. An incorrect or dirty injection technique can result in abscesses developing, and sick or even dead animals. Syringes and needles should be sterile, and needles should be changed regularly and disposed of into a sharps container.
Always read the instructions, which will tell you how the material should be given, and the withdrawal period during which the animal must not be sold for meat, or, for dairy sheep, the length of time that milk cannot be used. The types of injection are:
Subcutaneous (under the skin): The usual site is high on the neck, close to the base of the ear. An alternative is to use the woolless area behind the elbow. The skin is pinched slightly to make a ‘tent’, injecting into the base of this. Mistakes include:
- injecting into the wool only
- injecting straight through both sides of the ‘tent’ of skin
- injecting too deep so the material goes into the underlying muscle – this can happen if a sheep moves its head suddenly or if sheep are being injected at speed in a race.
Intramuscular (into a muscle): The best site is into the muscles in the mid-part of the neck above the level of the vertebrae. Use a needle no longer than 1in, and stick it in at right angles to the skin. For a young lamb the safest site is into the front thigh muscles – this is painful, so try to use an injection that can go under the skin if possible. Mistakes include:
- injecting near a major nerve. This is most likely to happen if you inject into the rump, or particularly the back of the thigh. The result will be temporary or even permanent nerve damage and a paralysed leg
- causing damage to a high-value muscle mass such as the rump or leg. Some injections are irritant and may leave permanent damage, spoiling an important part of the carcase
Fig. 59 Bluetongue vaccine being given under the skin using an automatic syringe.
Fig. 60 Giving a subcutaneous injection: a fold of skin is held and the injection is given into the base of this.
Fig. 61 Injecting sheep with a full fleece requires care to make sure the material being injected goes under the skin. In this picture the wool high on the side of the neck has been parted and a fold of skin is being held ready for injection. The woolless area of skin inside the front leg is also a suitable site for subcutaneous injection.
Fig. 62 The upper part of the middle of the neck is a suitable site for intramuscular injections, unless the sheep is very thin. This is also a low value part of the carcase.
Fig. 63 Do not inject in the back of the thigh as it is very easy to inject near the main nerve running down the back of the leg, causing paralysis.
Fig. 64 Injecting in the muscle in the front of the thigh is safer, but this is a high value part of the carcase so is better avoided.
Intravenous (into a vein): This method will generally only be used by a vet. Blood samples are also collected from a vein
Drenching and Bolusing
The most common reason to drench sheep is to worm them, although vitamin and mineral drenches are used in some flocks. Boluses or capsules containing copper, cobalt or selenium are also sometimes given, and the accepted method of permanent identification for the National Scrapie Plan has been by giving a heavy ceramic bolus containing a microchip which settles in the bottom of the rumen.
The design of drenching guns has changed little since automatic guns were first used, but recently a redesigned gun, said to make drenching easier, has been introduced in conjunction with a new wormer. Drenching should always be carried out carefully, as careless use can injure the back of the throat – incidents of this type leading to deaths occur every year. Before using it, the gun should be checked for accuracy: fill it with water and measure the amount ejected using an old syringe or measuring cylinder. Underdosing with wormer is one of the contributors to the development of resistance in worms to anthelmintics.
To use, hold the sheep’s jaw firmly and gently pass the nozzle into the mouth sufficiently far to prevent the animal spitting out the dose, but not so far that the throat is damaged. Boluses are given in a similar way, being careful to avoid getting the applicator between the cheek teeth as the bolus may get chewed.
Fig. 65 Check that the gun is delivering the correct amount of drench by first emptying the dose into a measuring cylinder. You can also use an old syringe to do this.
Fig. 66 Hold the sheep’s jaw firmly to drench.
Fig. 67 Be careful not to damage the sheep’s throat by forcing the gun too far. Deaths from dosing gun injuries are quite common and are completely avoidable by taking care.
Fig. 68 A new design of worming gun intended to make it easier to administer the drench and less tiring on the hand.
Dagging/Crutching
Dagging is necessary when sheep get very soiled around the rear end because of loose faeces or scouring. This is often the result of a heavy worm burden, but it also happens at times of the year when sheep are eating a lot of lush grass. It is then necessary to shear off the dirty wool, both for reasons of hygiene, and also because in warm weather blowflies are attracted to the soiled area where they lay eggs that quickly hatch into maggots, resulting in the animal becoming ‘struck’.
Crutching is the process that involves shearing wool from around the tail area, particularly in ewes before lambing, in order to keep the area clean and to make it easier to observe how lambing is progressing. Removing too much wool can leave the udder very exposed, which is thought to be one of the factors involved in triggering acute gangrenous mastitis (black bag).
Fig. 69 This animal is clean around its rear end and is obviously not scouring.
Fig. 70 This sheep has a lot of faecal material (dags) at its back end, and needs cleaning up. In warm weather fly strike is very likely.
Fig. 71 A shearing machine being used to ‘crutch’ the sheep so that it is less likely to become soiled.
Fig. 72 A victim of fly strike. The wool has been clipped off the rump and the extent of the affected area can be clearly seen.
Fig. 73 Most sheep are shorn by contractors.
Shearing
This is a skilled procedure, often carried out by contractors these days. For information about wool and for instruction on shearing, see the British Wool Marketing Board at www.britishwool.org.uk.
Turning Over
Apart from at shearing time, the main reason for turning sheep over is to examine the feet. Most shearers are very skilled at turning even the heaviest sheep, but for less experienced people turning can pose problems, and there is certainly a knack to it. It is actually possible to examine individual feet by restraining the sheep against a wall or hurdle and lifting them as you would lift a horse’s foot, particularly with a very heavy or tall sheep. An alternative is to use a turning crate, of which there are several designs. Some are easier to use than others, so it is always worth trying them out before investing a lot of money. There are alternative methods of turning from that illustrated, depending on how tall and strong you are, and on the size and weight of the sheep.
Fig. 74 It is possible to examine feet by picking them up as you would a horse’s hoof.
Fig. 75 To turn, start by standing at one side of the sheep, holding it firmly under the jaw…
Fig. 76 …then turn the head away from you towards the shoulder and unbalance it by pushing at the bottom of the flank and using your knee…
Fig. 77 …and the sheep should collapse on to its side. Keep the head firmly turned away to prevent it getting up…
Fig. 78 …Keeping the head turned, get hold of the front leg ready to sit the animal upright…
Fig. 79 …and sit it up quickly, resting its back comfortably against your legs.
Fig. 80 A ‘shepherd’s chair’, an alternative simple and cheap method of turning up a sheep.
Fig. 81 Another type of cradle to sit sheep in, to examine their feet.
Fig. 82 A turn-over crate: there are several designs, and some are easier to use than others. Check how easy different designs are to use by visiting specialist sheep events.
Examining and Trimming the Feet
A lot of time and effort is expended by shepherds in examining and trimming feet; however, much trimming that is done is unnecessary, and where trimming is necessary, it is often done too harshly. Horn grows at the rate of about 1mm a week, or roughly 5mm per month. When the rate of wear is the same as the rate of growth, the foot remains the same shape. When the under-foot conditions are soft or wet, the horn may not become worn so the claws, and particularly the outer walls, lengthen, and become overgrown.
There is some controversy as to whether feet should be trimmed or not. We advocate that when the claws are basically sound, only grossly overgrown or loose horn should be carefully trimmed away. You should never cut so deeply that the foot bleeds: this is painful for the sheep, and may result in the development of a toe granuloma, which results in a chronic foot problem developing. Where the horn of the outer wall is separated from the underlying laminae, as in shelly hoof (white line disease), the loose horn can be carefully pared away to prevent mud and stones becoming impacted as this can lead to infection and pus developing under the wall of the claw, resulting in a very lame sheep.
For more advice on foot paring when sheep are infected with footrot or contagious ovine digital dermatitis, see Chapter 14. Remember that gathering sheep into dirty pens, or pens with sharp stones in the floor, can soften and damage the feet.
Fig. 83 Well-shaped feet that need no trimming; this should be the type of animal to choose when selecting breeding stock.
Fig. 84 Any foot trimming should be done with care, and only if really necessary.
Fig. 85 These feet do need careful trimming. The abnormally long claws may crack, and if the crack is in sensitive tissue the sheep will become lame.
Fig. 86 Trimming should never cause bleeding. This is unnecessary, painful, and may result in the development of a toe granuloma.
Fig. 87 A foot from a slaughterhouse, showing how easy it is to cause damage by cutting too deeply. The cut at the toe has exposed the sensitive tissue under the horn; in the live animal this would bleed profusely and a toe granuloma would probably develop at the site.
Fig. 88 A toe granuloma, almost certainly caused by previous over-trimming at the toe.
Fig. 89 These feet do not look particularly overgrown, although the inner claws on both feet are rotated so that the wall overgrows under the affected claws.
Fig. 90 When the feet are viewed from underneath you can see that the wall of both inner claws has grown long and has curled underneath. This may result in mud and small stones becoming trapped.
Fig. 91 The excess horn can be carefully cut away. Because the outer wall is rotated it is not possible to return the foot to a normal shape; if this is attempted the foot will be cut too deeply.
Fig. 92 Comparison of a trimmed and an untrimmed foot. The abnormal rotation of the wall of the trimmed inner claw can be clearly seen.
Fig. 93 Both feet trimmed, viewed from underneath.
Fig. 94 Both feet trimmed, viewed from the front. The appearance has not altered much, as little horn has been removed from the toes. The outer walls of the rotated claws will grow long again, particularly if the sheep is on damp or soft ground.