Sheep - AgRIS

c) Sick and weak animals will be retained at the corrals and fed and watered by the labourer
under the supervision of Stock Assistant and Farm Manager.
d) Tail docking will be done by the Stock Assistant within first month ofthe life ofthe lambs.
Instructions and medicines for the purpose should be issued by the Veterinary Officer.
e) Regular testing against i.e. Johnes, Tuberculosis, Contagious diseases and elimination of
positive reactors be practised.
In sheep enterprise the prophylactic measures pay rich divi- dends. In semi aridlarid areas,
the risk of parasitic infestation is less due to dry nature of soil and high wind velocity. Curative
treament should only be done in case of costly exotic and crossbred animals.
The following programme is advisable against ecto and endo-para
sites and also for the prevention of main sheep diseases.
i) Drenching
1) Drench sheep with Phenovis/Thiabendazole/Banminth or Nilverm anthelmintics before
onset of rains, during rainy sea-son after cessation of rains and before spring showers.
2) Frequency of drenching may be increased in exotic and crossbred animals under
unfavourable weather conditions.
3) Frequency of drenching may also be increased in young lambs which are more prone to
parasitic infestation.
ii) Dipping
1) Dip sheep in plung type sheep dip against ecto parasites infestation.
2) Resort to dipping about a week after each shearing opera-tion.
3) Use B.H.C.,D.D.T., Garathion, Malathion and Cimathion as the dipping agent under the
proper supervision of a veterinar-ian.
iii) Vaccinahon
1) Vaccinate flocks against most common diseases like Enterotoxaemia, Sheep-pox and
Haemorrhogic Septicaemia at appropriate time of the year.
2) Deal Foot and Mouth, Foot rot and Foot diseases properly.
3) Give anti-septic foot baths to check these diseases.
Sheep in India are mostly maintained on natural vegetation on common grazing lands,
wastelands and uncultivated (fallow) lands, stubbles of cultivated crops and top feeds (tree
loppings). Rarely they are kept on grain, cultivated fodder or crop residues.
There are no pastures in this country, as one understands the term in pastoral countries like
Australia and New Zealand. There are, however, some natural pastures, which are mainly in the
fores areas. The type of grasses inthese pastures varies from area to area on account of varying
climatic conditions in different parts of the country. There are three types of forests, i.e.
government, civil and panchayat forests. The quality and the type of pastures in these forests
vary, depending upon their maintenance and management.
It is the topography of these pastures and their carrying capacity, which determine the
grazing routine of sheep flocks as well as their grazing behaviour. As said earlier, most of the
sheep flocks in this country are migratory and their area of migration may vary from 80 to 480
km; other flocks are partially migratory, because they migrate with 24 to 32 km oftheir
homesteads. There are hardly any flocks which can be considered staionary in the sense
understood in those countries where flocks are confined to fenced pastures belonging to
individual owners or companies. By and large the grazing hours of our sheep are also limited
on account of the presence of wild animals, which put them at a disadvantage vis-a-vis the
sheep in countries where they can graze throughout the 24 hours of the day without any fear of
wild animals. These conditions make our sheep long-legged, as they have to travel long
distances to get their food. They can eat faster than exotic animals, which are accustomed to
graze their pastures in peace. The differences in their grazing habits are conspicuous when they
are grazed along with the local ones soon after their arrival in this country. Unless special
efforts are made to help the exotic sheep to get adequate grazing, they are unable to compete
with the local ones.
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