FARM NOTES

Rotorua Morning Post, Volume 1, Issue 97, 15 December 1931, Page 7

FARM NOTES

parasitic gastritis CAUSES HUGE ANNUAL LOSS TO THE DOMINION. METHODS OF TREATMENT. (Copyrigjht. — All Rights Resjfcrved.) j Parasitie gastritis in lambs and | hoggets is undoubtedly responsible ! for a greater annual loss to sheepI farmers in the Dominion than in al- ! fnost any other disease or ordinary ; cause of mortality Some authorities | have estimated the annual loss to New | Zealand farmers to exceed one mili lion sheep per annum from this cause. alone. Whether or no this is an exaggeration, it is fairly certain that, accprding to the season„,the per eentage of deaths among. young sheep ranges from five to 20 per cent. Not 1 only does this large number of lambs l and hoggets actually die, hut those I which have heen affeeted and yet surj vived are stunted in growth, produci ing a elip of inferior and tender wool. ■ Further, their constitutions become so undermined that they never de~ velop into robust animals. In his report on tbe 1928-29 sea- • s'on, the Director of Live Stock Division of the Department of Agriculture, pointed out the serious losses which occurred from this cause during the year. The report notes, inter alia, "once such a Condition becomes established it is almost impossible to avoid heavy mortality — -only those with strong constitutions will be able to survive. In such cases the lambs eat sparingly and cannot be induced to take artificial food. All Sheep Infected. At this stage remedial treatment frequently does more harm than good, for even if the parasites are destroyed the animals have not sufficient recuperative powers to enable them to

recover. The crux of the whole matter may be found in the statement that "the only hope of avoiding heavy mortality among lambs and hoggets is to prevent their being affeeted with these worms." Once heavy infection takes place on can do little more than watch animals stagger about, undersized, scouring and anaemic, instead of jumping and romping with superahundant energy. Practically all sheep are said to De infected with these internal parasties to a greater or lesser degree — most of our pastures are .teeming with the eggs and newly-hatched worms, await ing re-entry to their host, the sheep, by way of the grass eaten. How, then, may infection be prevented in j such cireumstances ? Successfully to i combat such a pest it is necessary to [ possess some knowledge of the life j history of both host and parasite. Briefly, the larnb eommences to eat J grass at four to six weeks of ! age. It is from then onwards subject ! to infection, although it is only when j the worms have become firmly established in comparatively large num- , bers — usually by December or January — that they make their presence evident in the condition and appearance of the lamb's growth, and f atten ing to an extent rarely appreciated by the farmers. Subsequently, a short, hard cough develops, indicating the species of worm which affects the lungs when they become established. At this stage it is practically impossible to eradicate the worm by medicinal dosing, as any drug or astringent strong enough to kill the worms when diluted with the contents of the undoubtedly seriously affect the already enfeebled lamb. Other Yarieties. Besides this only one of the three known varieties of worms — and that the least harmful — the "strongulus contortus" or twisted wire worm, is affeeted by drenches, as it feeds on .the -contents of the fourth stomach and bowels. Of the two other varieties, one burrows into and lives on the lining membrances of the stomachs; while the other perforates the stomach and intestinal tissues, enters the blood stream, and conveyed by this, ultimately causes pneumonia. Fortunately, the eggs from these parasites cannot incubate within the sheep. They are voided in the exeretions, hatch on the moist surface soil, and as minute worms climb the grass blades and, with the food eaten, re-enter the host. In their most delicate and immature state all these parasites must therefore pass through the paunch of the sheep. It is here the stock owner has most chance of destroying them before they reach maturity in the fourth stomach. In many instances a medicated salt lick has proved effective — -one which, although containing a "strong germicide, doesn't injure the sheep, yet destroys the minute worms which enter the paunch. An abundance of minerals improves the animals' appetite, fortifies it against the attacks of such parasites as liver-fluke, intestinal worms, etc., and prevents "perv'ented" appetite, which leads to animals eating all sorts of rubbish in an effort to satisfy the craving for minerals.