Warm season grass forage option
Forage crabgrass emerges quickly and is ready for grazing at four to six inches tall in approximately 40 days.
Small Ruminants
About
Wisconsin’s small ruminants provide meat, milk, and fiber to meet the growing local and national demand for quality products. Extension Specialists and Educators support the economic viability of Wisconsin’s sheep and goat producers with the following resources.
Webinars
The Small Ruminant Webinar Series provides research-driven solutions to popular sheep production issues. It also connects sheep and goat producers to useful tools, techniques, and tricks of the trade & tips from the field.
Articles
Biosecurity for bringing home new sheep and goats
Biosecurity steps must be in place before the animals arrive to ensure the health of the new and existing herd or flock members and livestock owners.
Resources for Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) in Cattle
Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) is an emerging issue that poses a significant threat to the health and well-being of dairy herds.
Lamb and Kid Care – the First 72 Hours
Rosie Busch, DVM, UC Davis Cooperative Extension, will cover the common presentations for sick kids and lambs within the first few days of life and practical methods to increase the likelihood of a positive outcome.
Abortion & Respiratory Disease in Sheep and Goats
This session explains how these pathogens spread, clinical signs, diagnostic strategies, necropsy and sample collection, and prevention practices producers can use to protect flock health.
Step into biosecurity with clean and disinfected boots
Keeping your livestock safe from microbes, including bacteria, viruses, and fungi, is the biosecurity goal that all farms should have. Wearing clean, sanitized footwear helps meet this goal as foot traffic moves microbes to and around the farm.
Use the proper syringe and needle when vaccinating cattle
Using the right equipment when vaccinating your cattle requires the right tools. The correct syringes and needles must be used in addition to a well-designed and functioning headgate to restrain cattle so injections may be safely administered in the neck area.
Easy in, easy out: Incorporate biosecurity upon the introduction of new animals
For decades, livestock producers have moved animals on and off the farm by way of sale, leasing, renting, and between other facilities or pastures owned by the farm. With these movements comes the risk of the introduction or spread of disease.
Cleaning and sanitizing multi-dose syringes and transfer needles
Properly cleaning, sanitizing, and storing multi-dose syringes and transfer needles will reduce contamination from many viruses, bacteria, and fungi. The steps described here use only tap and distilled or deionzed (purified) water and do not render the equipment sterile.
Utilize life cycle and fecal egg counts to manage sheep parasites
Understanding the relationship between forages, sheep, and parasitic stomach worms (helminths) is the first step in creating a management strategy to increase animal production and decrease anthelmintic resistance (AR