Sheep restraint
 Sheep are timid animals. They do not seem to enjoy
being stroked or petted
 The usual response is to flee when frightened and they
may cause serious injury to themselves in their effort
to escape
 Sheep have extremely strong flocking instincts and
tend to behave as a group
When catching sheep, several points are key
 Individual sheep need to be separated from the
flock: this is often done by first driving the flock
into an enclosure pen, then cornering a single
sheep against a fence or wall.
 The sheep may try to flee by going through the
fence or climbing along the fence or wall
 Another common tendency to avoid is catching
them by grabbing the wool: this can easily pull out
the wool and bruise or rip the skin
 Grabbing by the horns (when present) must be
done with care to avoid breaking them
 Sheep are held by
circling the neck with
one arm and placing
the other arm around
the rump
 The rear end may also
be controlled by
placing an arm over the
back to grasp the skin
fold of the lower flank
 Many procedures can be
done by simply backing
the sheep into a corner,
straddling the animal
between the handler’s legs,
and squeezing the sheep
shoulders firmly between
the legs.
 The head or neck can be
controlled in this position
 Procedures such as
examination of the
hooves, shearing, and
vaccination require
immobilizing the animal
with a technique known
as “setting up”
 This method esentially
sits the sheep down on
its rump: without
contact the feet with the
ground, the animal
cannot struggle and
basically becomes
submissive to the
handler
Lamb restraint
 Small lambs are carried
by placing one hand
under the body and
between the forelimbs
to support the
sternum, and other
hand around the neck
 Castration and tail
docking are performed at
an early age, usually in the
first to second week of life
 For these procedures, the
lamb is restrained in
dorsal recumbency with
its back in the handler’s
lap or against the
handler’s body.
Goat restraining
 Although similar to sheep in size, goats are entirely
different in temperament and behavior.
 Goats are gregarious and seem to enjoy the
company of other species of animals
 Goats form social hierarchy within a group and
dominant males and females can be identify
 Goats may show aggression, usually in the form of
head-butting. This usually preceded by raising the
hair on the spine, stamping the front feet and
making a characteristic sneezing/snorting noise
 One hand is used to grasp the beard while other
arm is placed around the neck to control the head
Horns
 If the horns are
present, they may be
used for head
restraining
 Horns should be
restrained near their
base
 Goats resent being
held by the ears, and
owners consider ear
restraining to be
abusive
 Another method is to
stand alongside the
goat and hold the
muzzle in one hand;
the other hand reaches
over the back and
grasp the near hind leg.
* If you have a good
back!!!
Neck collars
 Goats readily accept
neck collars or chains,
which provide a
convenient hold on the
animal.
 Goats do not tolerate
being set up like sheep
 Small kids are usually held
in the lap for procedures
such as dehorning
 The kid is placed in sternal
recumbency on the lap by
folding its front legs
beneath it and the
handler’s forearms are
placed on the back and
pressed down to keep the
kid for rising
Basic Physical Examination
Rectal
Temperature
Heart
Rate
102.5
70-90/min
range
102.0-104.0
102.0
70-90/min
range
101.5-104.0
Respiratory
Rate
12-25/min
15-30/min
Basic Physical Examination
 The direct hands-on physical examination typically
includes:
-temperature/pulse/respiration (TPR)
-heart/lung auscultation
-abdominal auscultation and assessment of rumen
function (1-2/minute)
-hydratation status
-examination of mucous membranes
UDDER
Temperature
 Temperature is taken
rectally
 When taking the rectal
temperature of goat, a dark
brown , waxy ,material may
be seen near the anus; this
secretions is normal and is
produced by sebaceous
glands under the tailhead
 Pulse is taken on the
femoral artery is most
convenient in sheep
and goat
 The respiration rate is
best taken by counting
chest excursions from a
distance prior to
herding or handling
 Auscultation of the heart
and lungs is performed as
for the cow and horse
 Heart auscultation is
performed using the same
anatomical landmarks
 The borders for lung
auscultation in ruminants
are between ribs #5
cranially and #11 caudally
 Mucous membranes should
be pink and moist , with
capillary refill time of 1-2
seconds
•Pale to white is suggestive of haemonchosis,
•Yellow to light brown is suggestive of hemolysis secondary to copper toxicosis,
• Large prominent vessels in the bulbar conjunctiva is indicative of toxemia
Famacha (Anemia guide)
•Bulbar and
Palpebral
Conjunctiva
•Bottle jaw:
•haemonchus
Head
 Listeria: Unilateral cranial nerve damage:
 flaccid paralysis of the ear, eyelid, muzzle, cheek, +/- nostril
 excessive drooling and/or tongue protrusion indicating an inability
to swallow
 Polioencephalomalacia: No menace response with an intact




pupillary light reflex
Acetone odor: ketosis typically associated with pregnancy
toxemia in the sheep.
Vomiting in the small ruminant: toxic plant ingestion,
rhododendron and azalea commonly recognized in the Eastern
US
Respiratory disease: Mucopurulent discharges
Ulcerative or proliferative lesions: lips, muzzle,nostril
 ORF or bluetongue
Head - Swellings
 Large, firm, round swellings:
behind the ramus of the
mandible or between the
mandibles
 caseous lymphadenitis affecting
the parotid or submandibular
lymph nodes respectively
 Swellings located along the
cheek
 abscesses, salivary gland
mucoceles, or impacted cud
 Firm, nodular swellings along
the lower jaw often indicate
actinobacillosis in the sheep.
MSK
 Secondary to a neurologic, metabolic, or infectious disease
 Gangrenous Mastitis
 Parasitic migrations within the spinal cord often begin as a hind
limb lameness
 Lambs and kids with White Muscle Disease (deficiency in vitamin E
and selenium) will present as stiff and unwilling to ambulate
 Footrot, overgrown hooves
 CAE Arthritis is extremely common in goats leading to lameness
and enlargement of the carpal joints
 Scoliosis
Diagnostic sampling
 The jugular vein is
most often used for
venous sampling.
 In sheep it may be
accesed with the
animal standing or in
the “set-up” rump
position
 Alcohol is suitable for
disinfecting the skin
 An 20-ga x 1 needle is
generally preferred
 Vacutainer system may
also be used

Ovine
and
Caprine
One person can set up a sheep and
obtain a jugular vein blood sample
One person restrains the sheep by straddling the shoulders and holding the
head, while the other person obtains a jugular vein sample.
 In goats the standing
position is used.
 For standing procedure in
either species, the animal
is straddled and back the
animal against a solid
object.
Young animals may be restrained
standing
Blood collection on lambs
 Small lambs are carried by
placing one hand under
the body and between the
forelimbs to support the
sternum, and other hand
around the head and
support the neck on
handler’s body
Injections
 Shot Site Locations: SQ is
given behind or in front of
the front legs, IM in side of
the neck.
 Semitendinosus/semimembr
anosus muscle. The sciatic
nerve , which lies on the
sciatic grove , must be
avoided
 Do not inject more than 5 ml
per IM injection site
Weighting a goat