Educating

Small ruminants have unique nutritional requirements that vary from cattle and larger ruminant species. Sheep and goats also differ from one another in their nutritional requirements. This session covers concepts related to applied nutrition for feeding goats and sheep from birth to production settings. The nutrition recommendations covered are for practical use by non-nutritionists or veterinarians who want to assist clients in making feeding guidelines for their sheep or goats.

Goat and sheep dairies are a growing subset of the dairy industry in the United States. Although sheep and goats differ significantly from cattle in some ways, bovine practitioners have a wealth of expertise that can and does greatly benefit the small ruminant dairy industry. The need for greater utilization of knowledge exists and can have a large impact on profitability and sustainability of small ruminant dairies. In this talk, we will review the areas of goat and sheep dairies where bovine veterinarians can have the most influence and how the small ruminants differ from cows in a dairy setting.

Small ruminant dairies experience mastitis at a much higher rate than most producers appreciate. Intramammary infections are frequently subclinical and overlooked as such. In order to develop an effective treatment program, we must first define the problem on farm, then we can create strategies for improving udder health and milk quality. This talk will cover mastitis detection methods along with various treatment programs aimed at sheep and goat udder health in backyard or commercial herd settings.