[Ladygrey]

Can Schmallenburg spread from animal to animal??

Had two abortions on the dairy farm last week so under investigations, worried it can spread to my sheep?

  to everyone affected

[Small Farmer]

SBV is transmitted by midges.  Any infection happened some time ago and there is no evidence of any other transmission process.


There's a load of information, badly presented, here

[SallyintNorth]

As SF says, it's transmitted by midges.  So it can only transfer from cattle to sheep, or sheep to other sheep, when there are (actively biting) midges about to carry it.

Equally, when the cattle contracted it - probably around 6-8 months ago to be having birth defects now - then there must've been biting midges about at that time to infect the cattle, whereever they were.  If they were near your sheep at that time, then hopefully your sheep contracted it then and will now be immune.

The birth defects arise when the disease is contracted in the first 1/3 or so of the pregnancy, they say.

[feldar]

Had a bad night, we had to shoot a ewe. The lambs were so twisted up in her hubby couldn't separate them. He could get them apart initially but when he tried to lamb her the fused legs caught around each other and two lambs just kept coming together.
Ewe was getting tied and in pain so we made a decision and put her out her misery.
I know some would say why not c-section her but i'm afraid our ewes are not pets and it's just not financially viable for us to pay for a relitively older ewe to be operated on when she is only worth a cull ewe price in the end.
My hubby would not entertain lambing her again, she lost her lamb last year but we fostered twins on to her, so it is a shame but i know it's for the best, this would have been her last year anyway.
On a happier note i did lamb a lovely big ewe lamb this morning from one of our show ewes so the positives cancell out the negatives. I just wish we didn't have any negatives!!

[Brucklay]

So sorry Feldar - I read you posts with trepidation - hoping its good news.


But its good to know what this virus can cause.


Good luck with 'big show lamb'

[Tilly]

 
 Lovely to see the picture of "The Captain`s" Portland Lamb .
 
 With the threat of Smallenberg hanging over us all, doesn`t it make every healthy lamb born EXTRA  SPECIAL  .

 
 

[zarzar]

just looking at the captains pic i was think how could the tribe of 7 we got from him of been so cute lol
one very cheeky and all always hungry.but all lovely in there own way

[kanisha]

Sad news Feldar for everyone concerned . Was this ewe with the ones you mentioned earlier as i thought it was just shearlings you sent away then brought back?

[feldar]

Yes she was! it would appear two ewes can be grazing in the same field next to each other and one get bitten and the other not. So some of our older ewes have it too.
We bought a ewe from Devon and she lambed this morning, nice ram lamb, so she must have been bitten this summer but the ewe we had to shoot has never left the farm and she had SBV. Very frustrating, because we can't rely on natural immunity, we will have to vaccinate when it becomes available.
We could blood test but i hate to think how much that would cost.
There are still midges and moths flying around even after all this cold weather! just hope the infected ones have died!!

[SteveHants]

Yeah - I saw midges up on the tops of the downs a couple of weeks before I put the rams in....had me excessiveley paranoid, that.


Apparently some flocks literally next to me had it last year and I didnt - but all the ones I know who have had it have been early lambers.


I really hope I dont get it, chasing down Schmal ewes is not going to be fun.

[Hazelwood Flock]

I'm hoping my lot were bitten after shearing, midges can't find much skin to bite on a woolled up Greyface Dartmoor! Start lambing next month so time will tell  .
Sorry to hear you are going through it again Feldar / The captain, here's hoping you don't see any more....

[feldar]

I think all you late lambers will probably be ok   mainly because your ewes should have been bitten by the time the tup goes in also the cold must slow the midges down surely. If you did get any i would have thought it would only be a few because we've only really had a small amount in a flock of 50+ lambers.
Had a crazy morning though. Have you ever had 2 ewes lamb, one a twin the other a single and 3 sheep are laying claim to one lamb , one laying claim to other and no-one wanted the third! took a while to sort that one out i can tell you! at one point had lambs and sheep going in all directions, all hollering for each other and one near to lambing, being a pain in the bum, cause she wanted all of them and kept beating her way into the pen. I was exhausted by the time i got them all sorted and fed. Then i had to go to work

[TheCaptain]

Have you ever had 2 ewes lamb, one a twin the other a single and 3 sheep are laying claim to one lamb , one laying claim to other and no-one wanted the third! took a while to sort that one out i can tell you! at one point had lambs and sheep going in all directions, all hollering for each other and one near to lambing, being a pain in the bum, cause she wanted all of them and kept beating her way into the pen. I was exhausted by the time i got them all sorted and fed. Then i had to go to work

No, thank god!!!


Just been arguing with the vet about the bill received for them coming out to see the dead lambs, even though we said we'd take them to the surgery as we suspected schmallenberg but she didn't believe it would be so had to see the ewes - and they wonder why farmers don't bother informing them!!!

[TheCaptain]

Just come in from lambing one of x breed ewes. Twins both with SBV, too distressed to put into words how awful that was. Truly gutted for the little mites and for the ewe as she turned out to be a really good mum, thankfully she seems to be doing alright. 4 out of 5 with SBV, not good times

[SallyintNorth]

Captain I'm so sorry 

I can hardly imagine what it must be like.