Causes of lamb morbidity and mortality in the Ethiopian highlands

Abstract

Presents a study carried out on farms and on-station at Debre Berhan from July 1989 to December 1990 to determine the causes of morbidity and mortality of lambs up to 6 months of age. It showed pneumonia (bacterial and/or verminous), starvation-mismothering exposure (SME) complex, gastrointestinal parasites, enteritis, abomasal impaction and physical injuries to be important health constraints on productivity. Lambs with low birth weight tended to die from SME. Morbidities and mortalities due to infectious causes increased in order lambs suggesting that infectious were acquired with age when body resistance was lowered due to inadequate nutrition and poor management. Suggests that heavy lamb losses could be overcome by health management interventions such as foster mothering, warming lambs during the cold season and vaccination with polyvalent vaccines against pasteurelosis, clostridial infection and Dictyocaulus filaria.