The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Livestock => Sheep => Topic started by: princesslayer on March 03, 2015, 02:26:34 pm
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May be a silly question, but when the lamb us born, cord is broken and placenta delivered, what's the best way to dispose of it? We wil be lambing outdoors, and I'm not interested in sheep, rats or anything else eating it! Thanks
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I use an arm length glove (cos I don't use them for much else!) to pick it up, turning the glove inside out as you go to gather it all up. Knot the end of the glove, then bin it. If the sheep is going to eat it I think they will do so straight away rather than leave it to fester for a while, so if you see one, pick it up and dispose of it.
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You haven't said how to dispose of it Footbar ..... should legally be incinerated or collected by animal disposal at great cost ............... princesslayer ... natural disposal (!) if outdoor lambing is likely to be best option.
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(Household) Bin. :) I have <20 sheep - I suppose if you have hundreds then ... officially you must dispose of it like you would fallen stock.
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Tis a good question ... there is no item for "bags of placenta/afterbirth" on my fallen stock collection price list! lol
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My sheep and goats get to it usually before me....
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I leave it out in the field, crows, birds of prey, magpies, foxes etc will eat it, never had one last more than one night.
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Ewe eats it, dogs eat it or when we had them, Muscovies eat it. I know you said you're not interested in anything eating it, but why not - it's good meaty protein which minutes before was feeding the lambs. Certainly you don't want it lying around as it will attract foxes and other predators, but it's not dirty or yucky, not initially anyway.
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(Household) Bin. :) I have <20 sheep - I suppose if you have hundreds then ... officially you must dispose of it like you would fallen stock.
Ive just had a look on our household recycling instructions.....Mmmmm, cant find "placenta" so far :-J ;)
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Foobar, if your area is anything like ours surely crows will on it in an instant if you left it in the open
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I'm sure they would but I don't want to attract them, or foxes, or anything else that can also take a liking to my sheep & lambs!! :)
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Thanks all. I'm not squeamish just don't like the idea of attracting extra beasts to my garden, where they'll lamb. Especially rats (nasty blighters), foxes (eat my chickens) and crows (peck my lambs eyes out perhaps!) All that said, if the ewe wants it, she can have it, if not I'll bin or burn.
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I collect mine and bury them in my muck heap, no sign of it when I have dug well rotted manure for the garden !!!
I have on very rare occasions put a dead newborn in the heap as well, again no sign of it later ! not even bones !! :innocent:
Very very rare that it has been dug up by night visitors either.
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I bagged mine and put them in the bin (only 2) my neighbour told be to be sure to get rid because if the dogs find and eat it can make them go blind ??
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If the sheep is eating it is it a good idea to take it away, they can choke on it.
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We incinerated ours in the Rayburn. The only problem with that is the smoke then smells of roast lamb for a while, which I do find mildly disconcerting!
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I bagged mine and put them in the bin (only 2) my neighbour told be to be sure to get rid because if the dogs find and eat it can make them go blind ??
??? ??? Never heard that one before!!
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I bagged mine and put them in the bin (only 2) my neighbour told be to be sure to get rid because if the dogs find and eat it can make them go blind ??
I wonder if your neighbour was thinking about worms?
However, I am not sure that the egg oocysts would be in a placenta :thinking:
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I bagged mine and put them in the bin (only 2) my neighbour told be to be sure to get rid because if the dogs find and eat it can make them go blind ??
No idea why it would make a dog go blind! Sheep pre-programmed to eat the placenta because it will attract predators but rather indigestible for a ruminant.
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Hi,
We bought a dog at a sheepdog sale, OH went to get it from the guy and put it in the back of the pick up, it was dark when we got home. The next morning when I went to do the dogs, the new one greeted me with his eyes shining bright luminous green, which is a sure sign that there is a big problem with the eyes. To cut a long story short, I had to take the dog to an eye testing vet who confirmed that the dog was indeed going blind, and that the probable cause was toxoplasma, which the dog could have contracted from eating infected sheep placenta, but also from eating sheep bones or raw sheep meat from an infected animal. Also a few days later I had an appointment to have my eyes tested, and mentioned to the optician about the dog, she was horrified that I wasn't wearing rubber gloves when cleaning this dogs kennel, as apparently had I accidentally touched my eye with his excrement on my hand I too could have contracted it.
Since then I have been very careful not to let my dogs eat the cleanings, although it is very difficult as they seem to be irresistible to dogs.
Regards
Sue
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Toxoplasma gondii has a reservoir of infection in the rodent population. Rodents and birds are infected with the oocysts. Young cats then catch and eat them and the cysts are passed by the cats into feed, bedding and pasture, where they will survive for up to two years. It's one of the reasons why pregnant women don't do lambing. All warm blooded animals are susceptible.
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I find that the first time round ewes eat it, and then later on its less likely!
don't know if that is common to others?
err. now this will get folks blood up and mine on occasion, but living in France..
i have seen in particular the hunters leave stuff out for road kill, and the odd
sheep placenta ie.
the rational is that the predators already know to look there. so dieters them from
going much further as they are regularly shot if they do. hmm, I have to say the fox's
here do seem to keep a distance from houses.
though having read the posts this sounds like a nightmare for oocysts.
i'll keep my eye on that one