Progress 10/01/12 to 09/30/15
Outputs
Target Audience:The target audience includes sheep and goat farmers, Cooperative Extension Agents, and researchers working in the area of internal parasite control. This project is part of an integrated extension and research project so individuals in all of these categories were included in the past year. This project focuses on the research associated with the integrated project and specifically included 4 farmers in the copper oxide wire particle study and 15 farmers in the study on the effectiveness of ivermectin for treating animals with symptoms of deer worm infection. Changes/Problems:For objective 3 on immunological response to P. tenuis, there was a shortage of L3 to challenge all of the Control and Infected ewes in October 2014. Instead, 4 of 12 Control ewes and 5 of 12 Infected ewes were challenged orally with 100 L3; the unchallenged ewes were given the suspension media. Thus, in this Second year of the experiment the Control ewes not challenged with P. tenuis were similar to the sentinal ewes that were never treated. Blood was collected the day before challenge with L3 and at days 7, 21, 35, 49, 63, 77, 91, 105, 119, 133, and 146 post-challenge and an ELISA (enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay) was used to determine relative concentrations of IgG antibodies to P. tenuis as assessed by optical density (OD). The OD values were 0.51 for unchallenged Control and 0.51 for Sentinel groups (± 0.009). These were compared by analysis of variance that used a statistical model including Challenge, Ewe within Challenge as a random effect, Days (post challenge including day -1) and the Challenge by Days interaction. Only the effect of ewe was different (P <0.001) and we chose to exclude Sentinel ewes from further analysis. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?The following students received specific training as part of the project: Christine Hitchman, SUNY Cobleskill, and Tristan Peterson, SUNY Morrisville, learned how to handle goats and how to do FAMACHA scoring, fecal sampling, milk sampling, data recording for both sheep and goats. They both were already quite experienced at handling sheep and were working for the St. Lawrence County CC Extension Learning Farm for the summer. Chris Posbergh, undergraduate student at Cornell University, gained experience handling and bleeding goats. Katie Roberts, DVM student at Cornell University, learned how to design surveys and record data. SUNY Canton Vet Tech students, Molly Parent, Jennifer Spencer, and Melissa Marlow, and vet. tech., Michael Schaff, learned to handle, FAMACHA score, fecal sample, drench, and weigh sheep and goats and do data recording. Extension Farm Interns, Molly Parent and Seth Moon, also learned agronomy field evaluation techniques. Cornell undergraduate students, Alyssa Biscoglio, Lea Callan and Kimberly Layne, learned to quantitatively analyze and report small ruminant fecal samples including how to do highly specialized PNA assays using a lectin binding stain. Cornell students, Becky Stronk, Brooke Holstad, and Conor McCabe learned to handle and FAMACHA score sheep and record data. Graduate students, Katherine Churchill and Maureen Valentine gained experience FAMACHA scoring and fecal sampling sheep. Marie Roenke, Animal Science student at Cornell University, learned how to report data in Access and Excel. Cornell University Sheep Farm staff gained proficiency at using pasture sticks to estimate pasture growth and yield. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?The following events were held: Cornell Sheep and Goat Symposium; Oct 26 -27, 2012; 2 days; Cornell Univ., Ithaca, NY; tatiana Stanton - organizer; 165 sheep and goat farmers and educators. FAMACHA certification program - C S&G Sym.; Oct 27, 2013; 6 hours; Cornell Univ., Ithaca, NY; Dwight Bowman and tatiana Stanton - workshop leaders; 36 sheep and goat farmers, 3 foreign veterinarians/grad students. Dealing with Deer Worm - Cornell Sheep and Goat Symposium; Oct 27, 2013 - 1 hour; Cornell Univ., Ithaca, NY; Mary Smith DVM workshop leaders; 60 sheep and goat farmers. Success with Sheep & Goats - CCE of Ontario County; Nov 29, 2013; 1.5 hours; CCE classrooms Canandaigua, NY; tatiana Stanton - workshop leader; 18 sheep and goat farmers. FAMACHA certification program - NOFA-NY Winter Conference; Jan 25, 2013; 7.5 hours; Saratoga Springs, NY; tatiana Stanton - workshop leader; 3 veterinarians, 22 sheep and goat farmers. Pasture Lambing & Kidding - Winter Green-Up Conference; Jan 26, 2013; 1.5 hours; Latham, NY; tatiana Stanton - workshop leader; 15 sheep and goat farmers, 50 beef farmers. "Management Techniques to Lower Inputs During Lambing and Kidding"- NOFA-NY Winter Conference; Jan 26, 2013; 1.25 hours; Saratoga Springs, NY; tatiana Stanton - workshop leader; 30 sheep and goat farmers. Lambing & Kidding Management - CCE of Ontario County; Feb 21, 2013; 2.5 hours; CCE classrooms Canandaigua, NY; Natasha Pettifor (grad student) and tatiana Stanton - workshop leaders; 22 sheep and goat farmers. Lambing & Kidding Mangement - CCE of Tioga County and Potter/Tioga County Sheep and Wool Grower's Group; Feb 28, 2013; 2.5 hours; Whitneyville, PA; Natasha Pettifor (grad student) and tatiana Stanton - workshop leaders; 19 sheep and goat farmers. FAMACHA certification program - Glynwood Farm Center; May 8, 2013; 4.75 hours; Cold Springs, NY; tatiana Stanton - workshop leader; 1 veterinarian, 20 sheep and goat farmers and interns. FAMACHA certification program - SUNY Delhi; May 18, 2013; 4.5 hours; Delhi, NY; tatiana Stanton - workshop leader; 9 farmers, 2 extension educators, 15 veterinary technician students. NOFA-NY Field Day; Aug 12, 2013; 3 hours; Asgaard Farm, Au Sable Forks, NY; Dwight Bowman, tatiana Stanton, Rhonda Butler (Asgaard owner) - workshop leaders; 16 sheep and goat farmers and 3 Asgaard interns or staff. Cornell Goat & Sheep Health Day; Sep 20-21, 2013/ 1.5 days; Cornell University., Ithaca, NY; tatiana Stanton - organizer; 133 farmers, 4-H youth and educators. FAMACHA certification program - Cornell Goat & Sheep Health Day; Sep 21, 2013; 5.75 hours; Cornell University., Ithaca, NY; Dwight Bowman. Oct. 3-4, 2014, Cornell Sheep and Goat Symposium 2014, Cornell Univ. Ithaca, NY. Also organized Forage track and Parasite track, tatiana Stanton, Co-organizer, 169 participants. Oct 3, 2014, Meeting for farmers, researchers and educators on USDA OREI grant project, tatiana Stanton, Organizer, 19 participants. Nov 19, 2014, CCE In-Service Training, Cornell Univ. Ithaca, NY. Overview of results on Cornell studies on innovative methods of parasite control in sheep & goats, tatiana Stanton, Co-presenter, 15 participants. Jan 25,2015, NOFA-NY. Winter Conference, Saratoga Springs, NY. The Basics of Goat and Sheep Nutrition: Part 1., tatiana Stanton, workshop co-leader, 33 participants. Jan 25, 2015, NOFA-NY. Winter Conference, Saratoga Springs, NY. The Nuts and Bolts of Feeding Goats and Sheep: Part 2., tatiana Stanton, workshop co-leader, 22 participants. Jan 30, 2015, Agricultural Development Program Annual Meeting, Watertown, NY. Parasite management in sheep and goats research report, Western Northern NY. MLT, tatiana Stanton and Mike Thonney, presenters, 31 participants. Jan 31, 2015, Beginning Sheep and Goat Producer Workshop Series,. CCE of Oneida Co. Oriskany, NY. "To Market, To Market: exploring market channels for slaughter lambs and kids" and "Managing parasites and health". Sheep/Goat Farm Economics", and "Nutritional needs: What you should know when you're just starting out?" MLT and tls, tatiana Stanton and Mike Thonney, workshop leaders, 25 participants. Feb 7, 2015, Integrated Parasite Control / FAMACHA© Training and Fecal Egg Counting Workshop, CCE of St. Lawrence Co., Canton, NY., tatiana Stanton, workshop co-leader, 11 participants. Feb 24, 2015, Marketing your sheep and goats, CCE of Delaware Co., Hamden, NY., tatiana Stanton, workshop co-leader, 14 participants. Feb 27, 2015, Sheep and Goat Nutrition and Parasite Clinic, CCE of Saratoga County, Ballston Spa, NY., tatiana Stanton, workshop co-leader, 29 participants. Feb 27, 2015, Agricultural Development Program Annual Meeting, Miner Institute, Chazy, NY. Parasite management in sheep and goats research report, Eastern Northern NY. , tatiana Stanton, presenter, 26 participants. Mar 11, 2015, Raising the Home Flock: Sheep and Goats, CCE of Tompkins County, Ithaca, NY., tatiana Stanton, workshop leader,. Mar 14, 2015, Sheep and Goat Nutrition and Parasite Clinic, CCE of Saratoga County, Ballston Spa, NY., tatiana Stanton, workshop co-leader, 29 participants. April 24, 2015, Potter/Tioga Sheep and Wool Grower's Annual Meeting, Gaines, PA. Keeping Up With Internal Parasites in Sheep and Goats and Hands-on Fecal Egg Worm Identification. , tatiana Stanton, workshop leader, 23 participants. May 30, 2015, Integrated Parasite Control / FAMACHA© Training and Fecal Egg Counting Workshop, Mecklenburg, NY., tatiana Stanton, workshop co-leader, 14 participants. June 3, 2015, Integrated Parasite Control / FAMACHA© Training and Fecal Egg Counting Workshop, Montour Falls, NY., tatiana Stanton, workshop co-leader, 14 participants. July 18, 2015, NOFA-NY: Wild Acres Family Farm Field Day, Great Valley, NY. Making Better Use of Forages and Pasture System including tour of the BFT demonstration farm and discussion/ observation of the OREI BFT grazing trial., tatiana Stanton, presenter/ organizer, 13 participants. Sept 15, 2015, Birdsfoot trefoil demonstration farm field days: Asgaard Farm & Goat Dairy, AuSable Forks, NY., tatiana Stanton, presenter/ organizer, 17 participants. Sept 16, 2015, Sheep and Goat Pasture Walks NNY. Field Day. Cornell Cooperative Extension Learning Farm, Canton, NY., tatiana Stanton, presenter/ organizer, 9 participants. Sept 20. 2015, Youth Goat Education Day, sponsored by Niagara Frontier Dairy Goat Assoc. "Poisonous Plants for Livestock", "The Basics of Goat Nutrition", Genesee County Fairgrounds, Batavia, NY , tatiana Stanton, workshop leader, 20 participants. Sept 23, 2015, Sheep and Goat Pasture Walks Field Day. Gansvoort Farm, Germantown, NY., tatiana Stanton, presenter/ organizer, 19 participants. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?
Nothing Reported
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Objective 1. Document the incidence and age/season of infection of sheep with P. tenuis in the Cornell Teaching & Research Center flock. Detailed queries were developed to obtain data from the Cornell flock data base. A detailed report, including tables and a 3-dimensional data plot that shows the effect of year and season on age at detection, has been posted on our web site at https://blogs.cornell.edu/newsheep/files/2016/01/Ptenuis-Cornell-Flock-2c2663o.pdf. P. tenuis was first recorded in the flock in 2002; the last year with a significant flock size was 2014. There were 3,660 ewes in the flock during this time, representing a total of 11,637 ewe years from 438 in 2014 to 1314 in 2007, which could have consumed P. tenuis larvae on pasture. The number of ewes detected with P. tenuis symptoms ranged from 0 in 2004 through 2006 and in 2008 to 13 in 2007. The proportion of ewes detected with symptoms in any one year ranged from 0 to 1%. The proportion of the potentially-infected 3,660 ewes that were detected with P. tenuis was 1.3% Objective 2. Field test protocols for treating goats and sheep showing symptoms of P. tenuis infection and track age/season of infection in participating herds/flocks. The double-blind A or B coding for treatment with ivermectin or not has not been broken, pending further analysis. But some obvious conclusions can be made from the raw data with 13 goats and 15 sheep treated. All goats (7 A and 6 B) showed improvement. Of the 8 sheep on treatment A, 4 showed improvement, 3 were unchanged, and 1 was worse at follow-up after treatment. Of the 7 sheep on treatment B, 4 showed improvement, 2 were unchanged, and 1 was worse at follow-up after treatment. Thus, it is unlikely that treating with ivermectin in addition to fenbendazole and dexamethasone (or flunixin meglumine for late pregnant animals), will improve the outcome for goats or sheep with symptoms of P. tenuis. Objective 3. In preparation for vaccine development, demonstrate that sheep become resistant to P. tenuis by establishing infections followed by challenges to test for resistance using larvae and antigens available from Cornell's colony of P. tenuis infected snails. A detailed report with a graphical presentation of results is available at http://sheep.cornell.edu/2170-2/. The results show that sheep develop immunity to P. tenuis that could protect them from the paralysis associated with consumption of forage with high concentrations of L3. Although Challenged Control ewes unexpectedly did not exhibit symptoms of infection with P. tenuis, the antibody response to challenge was typical for first exposure. Because dendritic cells in the skin are highly effective at presenting antigens to the immune system, it is likely that a vaccine prepared with killed P. tenuis L3 would be effective. This would require, feces from infected white tail deer, infection of a snail colony, and recovery of L3 P. tenuis. Alternatively, recombinantly-produced surface proteins on P. tenuis L3 could be tested for antigenicity and might make effective vaccines. Objective 4. Field test copper oxide wire particles to control barber pole worm on New York sheep and goat farms over a range of grazing management systems. A detailed report of results is available at http://sheep.cornell.edu/2170-2/. 2013 Goat dairy study. 15 does were each assigned to the following copper oxide wire particle dosages: 1 g/22 lb live weight (about 6 g/head), 1 g/head and 2 g/head. All does were fecal sampled and FAMACHA scored on days 0, 14, 28, and 42. There was no long term effect of COWP dosage on H. contortus fecal egg counts; geometric means were 1310, 1005, and 1305 for 1 g/22 lb live weight, 2 g/head and 1 g/head, respectively. However 14 days after administering COWP, fecal worm egg counts were reduced by approximately 50% in goats receiving 1 g/22 lb live weight or 2 g/head and remained essentially the same in goats receiving 1 g/head. Copper levels in milk within each sampling day were not significantly different among COWP levels. The highest levels of copper were below maximum allowable levels. In this study, COWP dosages of 2 g/head caused reductions in fecal egg counts similar to dosages of 1 g/22 lb live weight in lactating dairy does but only used 25% (large does) to 50% (small does) as much COWP after accounting for the live weight of the does. Lamb and kid grazing study. Weaned lambs and kids were assigned randomly within each of three farms to Control, low COWP (LCOWP), or high COWP (HCOWP). Animals in the LCOWP group were given 0.5 g COWP. Animals in the HCOWP group were given 1 g COWP. Individual fecal samples and FAMACHA scores were obtained on days 0, 14, and 28 after administration of the COWP. On one farm there was an interaction (P < 0.10) for fecal egg counts between level of COWP treatment and date of fecal sampling, indicating that the effect of COWP depended upon sampling day. Fecal egg counts in Control lambs (not given COWP) increased dramatically from 185 eggs/g on day 0 to 1920 eggs/g on day 28. Fecal egg counts from lambs given either 0.5 g COWP or 1 g COWP actually decreased from 67 eggs/g on day 0 to 14 eggs/g on day 14, with only a modest increase at day 28 to level of 488 eggs/g, much lower than would dictate deworming. But COWP had no effect on any response variables for the other two farms. 2014 At two sheep farms using primarily Dorset genetics, COWP was given two weeks prior to weaning and two weeks post-weaning to young stock within the same lamb crop at three dosage levels (0, 0.5 g, or 1 g) for barber pole worm control in the 6 weeks following weaning. The same levels of COWP dosing were also evaluated in self-weaning lambs and Boer goat kids at two farms. COWP dosing was effective at reducing barber pole worm infections at one sheep farm both pre- and post-weaning but there was no effect on the other three farms. 2015 Kid study. Eight kids each were assigned to the following treatments: Control (no COWP), 0.5 g/head COWP, 1.0 g/head COWP, and 1.5 g COWP/head. Dosing with COWP occurred 2 weeks pre-weaning. Fecal samples and FAMACHA scores were taken every 2 weeks from 2 weeks pre-weaning until 4 weeks post-weaning. Average increase in barber pole worm egg counts was highest for the Control treatment (+4262 epg), lowest for the 1.5 g COWP treatment (+2373) and intermediate for 0.5 g COWP (+3215 epg) and 1.0 g COWP (+3048 epg) over the 6-week study but must await further analyses to test if the differences were significant. Future studies in goat kids, but not lambs, may might include dosages of 2.0 g COWP per head to determine if this higher dosage results in further improvements in barber pole worm control. Lamb study. The effects of conventional pasture (CP), Birdsfoot trefoil (BFT), and a hay-grain diet (HG) were included. Eight lambs each were assigned to: BFT + COWP, BFT alone, CP + COWP, CP alone, or HG + COWP. Lambs that received COWP 2 weeks pre-weaning had lower fecal egg counts for eight weeks post-weaning compared with lambs grazed on BFT alone and lambs grazed on CP alone. In addition, no lambs on the BFT pasture alone, the BFT + COWP or the CP + COWP treatments had to be dewormed over the 70-day experiment. In contrast, 2 lambs required deworming on the HG + COWP treatment, and 4 of 8 lambs grazed on the CP alone had to be dewormed based on severe anemia and weakness. Daily weight gains over the 70 d study averaged 0.3 lb, 0.25 lb, 0.22 lb, 0.18 lb, and 0.16 lb for BFT + COWP, HG + COWP, BFT, CP + COWP and CP treatments, respectively. Further analyses of our COWP and BFT studies will 1) provide better clues as to why the efficacy of COWP varies among farms and 2) help determine whether the use of BFT pastures during post-weaning stress is justified despite difficulties in establishing heavy stands of BFT and its relatively slow regrowth compared to conventional clover/grass pastures.
Publications
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Progress 10/01/13 to 09/30/14
Outputs
Target Audience: The target audience includes sheep and goat farmers, Cooperatative Extension Agents, and researchers working in the area of internal parasite control. This project is part of an integrated extension and research project so individuals in all of these categories were included in the past year. This project focuses on the research associated with the integrated project and specifically included 4 farmers in the copper oxide wire particle study and 15 farmers in the study on the effectiveness of ivermectin for treating animals with symptoms of deer worm infection. Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? The following students received specific training as part of the project: SUNY Canton Vet Tech students, Molly Parent, Jennifer Spencer, and Melissa Marlow, and vet. tech., Michael Schaff, learned to handle, FAMACHA score, fecal sample, drench, and weigh sheep and goats and do data recording. Extension Farm Interns, Molly Parent and Seth Moon, also learned agronomy field evaluation techniques. Cornell undergraduate students, Alyssa Biscoglio, Lea Callan and Kimberly Layne, learned to quantitatively analyze and report small ruminant fecal samples including how to do highly specialized PNA assays using a lectin binding stain. Cornell Animal Science students, Becky Stronk and Brooke Holstad, learned to handle and FAMACHA score sheep and do data recording. Graduate students, Katherine Churchill and Maureen Valentine gained experience FAMACHA scoring and fecal sampling sheep. Marie Roenke, Animal Science student at Cornell University, learned how to report data in Access and Excel. Cornell University Sheep Farm staff gained proficiency at using pasture sticks, etc. to estimate pasture growth and yield. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? FAMACHA certification program; 12 October 2013; 5 hours; CCE Oneida County, Waterville, NY; tatiana Stanton - workshop leader; 1 SUNY ag. student, 1 ext. educator, 9 farmers FAMACHA certification program; 26 October 2013; CCE Otsego & Rensselaer Counties & the Leatherstocking Shepherds Assoc., New Berlin, NY; 6 hours; Dr. Rachel Frazer, DVM and tatiana Stanton - workshop leader; 1 veterinarian, 1 extension educator, 15 farmers. FAMACHA certification program; 10 November 2013; 3 hours; Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine, Ithaca, NY; tatiana Stanton - workshop leader; 7 vet. students concentrating on small ruminant management. NNY Winter FAMACHA certification program; 16 November 2013; 5 hours; Essex County, NY. Betsy Hodge - workshop leader; 19 farmers and youth. Cornell Cooperative Extension In-Service Training- Livestock Session; 19 November 2013; 3 hours; Cornell Univ. Ithaca, NY. Preliminary results from Cornell studies on deer worm and on using COWP to control barber pole worm in sheep and goats. Michael Thonney and tatiana Stanton - presenters; 16 CCE livestock educators. NNY Fall Sheep & Goat Week (4 workshop series), "Innovations in parasite management for sheep and goats"; 2.5 hours; tatiana Stanton - workshop leader; 3 December 2013; Watertown, NY; 10 farmers, 3 veterinarians, 3 ext. educators raising sheep or goats NNY Fall Sheep & Goat Week (4 workshop series), "Innovations in parasite management for sheep and goats"; 2.5 hours; tatiana Stanton - workshop leader; 4 December 2013; Canton, NY; 17 farmers, 1 veterinarian NNY Fall Sheep & Goat Week (4 workshop series), "Innovations in parasite management for sheep and goats"; 2.5 hours; tatiana Stanton - workshop leader; 5 December 2013; Malone, NY; 4 farmers, 1 state animal health inspector, 1 ext. educator NNY Fall Sheep & Goat Week (4 workshop series), "Innovations in parasite management for sheep and goats"; 2.5 hours; tatiana Stanton - workshop leader; 5 December 2013; Plattsburgh, NY; 13 farmers, 1 veterinarian, 1 ext. educator Catskill Regional Agriculture Conference; 16 January 2014; Delhi, NY; "Plants Toxic to Ruminant Animals"; 1 hour; tatiana Stanton - workshop leader; 40 farmers Catskill Regional Agriculture Conference; 16 January 2014; Delhi, NY; "Innovative methods to control parasites in small ruminants"; 1 hour; tatiana Stanton - workshop leader; 35 farmers. Small Ruminant Feeding & Nutrition, 26 March 2014; 2.5 hours; CCE of Delaware Cty, Hamden, NY; tatiana Stanton and Maureen Valentine (CU grad. student) - workshop leaders; 24 farmers Keeping up with internal parasites in your goats and sheep - what's new out there? NOFA-NY Winter Conference; 24 January 2014; 3 ¼ hours; tatiana Stanton - workshop leader; 1 veterinarian, 29 prospective or current sheep and goat farmers. Innovations in parasite management project description. Northern New York Agricultural Development Program Western Annual Meeting; Watertown, NY; 31 January 2014; 1 hour; Michael Thonney; 11 farmers. Control of Parasites in Pastured Small Ruminant Livestock through the Use of Pasture Management, Botanicals, and Pharmaceuticals. 2014 Northeast Pasture Consortium Annual Conference, 5 February 2014; 2 hours; University Park, PA. Katherine Petersson and tatiana Stanton - workshop leaders; 75 grazing consultants, researchers, educators and farmers. NNY Winter FAMACHA certification program, 8 February 2014; 5 hours; Jefferson County, NY. Betsy Hodge-workshop leader; 10 farmers (severe snow storm). Innovations in parasite management project description. Northern New York Agricultural Development Program Eastern Annual Meeting; Chazy, NY; 28 February 2014; 1 hour; Michael Thonney; 12 farmers. Copper toxicity, internal parasites, and reproductive management of sheep. 15 March 2014; New York Sheep & Wool Symposium; Hudson, NY; 2 hours; Michael Thonney; 14 farmers. FAMACHA certification program concurrently with Parasite Protozoas in Cattle workshop; 25 April 2014; 4.5 hours; SUNY Delhi, Delhi, NY. Dr. Dwight Bowman, Jan Liotta and tatiana Stanton - workshop leaders; 9 farmers and educators, 10 vet. tech students certified in FAMACHA; 14 others attended cattle session. FAMACHA certification program; 26 June 2014; 6.5 hours; Glynwood Farm Center, Cold Springs, NY. tatiana Stanton - workshop leader; 10 farmers, 2 farm interns. Alternative Forage Crops for Sheep & Goats NOFA-NY Field Day; 2 August 2014; 2 hours; Sunny Acres Farm, Athens, NY. Jim & Debbie Taylor assisted by tatiana Stanton - workshop leaders; 9 sheep and goat farmers (mix-up on publication of date). Nutrition and parasite management; 14 August 2014; day-long consulting with 8 Amish Sheep Dairy Farmers around Fultonville, NY; Michael L. Thonney. Internal parasite management project description; 13 September 2014; 1 hour; Western Ontario Lamb Producer's Tour at the Cornell University Sheep Farm; Michael Thonney; 37 farmers. Niagara Frontier Goat Education Day, 20 September 2014; Batavia, NY. Controlling worms and coccidia in goats; 1 hour; tatiana Stanton - workshop leader; 25 youth and adult goat raisers. Niagara Frontier Goat Education Day, 20 September 2014; Batavia, NY. Hands-on fecal sample evaluations; 1 hour; tatiana Stanton - workshop leader; 12 youth and adult goat raisers. Nutrition and internal parasite management recommendations for Amish Dairy Sheep Farmers; 26 September 2014; 2 hour meeting; 20 farmers; Michael Thonney. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?
Nothing Reported
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Objective 1. Document the incidence and age/season of infection of sheep with P. tenuis in the Cornell Teaching & Research Center flock. With the flock size averaging about 400 ewes, 56 ewes were diagnosed with P. tenuis between 2002 and 2014, Of these, 18 were 8 to 12 months of age, 21 were 1 to 2 years of age, 5 were 2 to 3 years of age, 4 were 3 to 4 years of age, 4 were 4 to 5 years of age, and 4 were older than 5 years of age. Additional analyses are in progress, but the age distribution suggests that ewes mainly show symptoms of P. tenuis at young ages. This implies that many other young ewes consume low enough numbers of larvae that they develop immunity without developing symptoms. Objective 2. Field test protocols for treating goats and sheep showing symptoms of P. tenuis infection and track age/season of infection in participating herds/flocks. This project is a field test of the effectiveness of ivermectin to treat ewes and does infected with Parelaphostrongylus tenuis (P. tenuis). So far, 13 goats from 4 farms and 13 sheep from 4 farms have been treated, half with ivermectin, fenbendazole, and dexamethasone (or, if pregnant, flunixin meglumine) and half without ivermectin, but with the other drugs. This is a treatment-blind study and the code for treatment is known only to a person not participating in the study. Of 13 sheep, 9 improved at the end of the 5 day treatment period but one euthanized because of complications with pregnancy toxemia and uterine torsion. The remaining 8 either remained in the breeding flock or were sold as normal market animals. 1 ewe showed no improvement but lambed with triplets 3 days later and then greatly improved and remained in flock. 3 sheep showed no improvement or worsened and were euthanized. Of 13 goats, 11 improved at the end of the treatment period and continued to improve, 1 was unchanged at the end of the 5 day treatment period but gradually greatly improved, 1 was worse but gradually greatly improved and has remained productive in the breeding herd. All treated goats ended up remaining in the breeding herd or being sold as normal market animals. Three other animals excluded because they also showed signs referable to brain diseases such as polioencephalomalacia. Thus, we were unable to determine if their problem was truly deer worm and they were given thiamine as well. All of these improved. Other animals were excluded because they had close by slaughter dates. Objective 3.In preparation for vaccine development, demonstrate that sheep become resistant to P. tenuis byestablishing infections followed by challenges to test for resistance using larvae and antigens available fromCornell's colony of P. tenuis infected snails. In October 2013, 12 ewes were each orally dosed with 20 L3 of P. tenuis to induce immunity. Of the 12 ewes, 1 showed signs of P. tenuis infection in December 2013. She was treated and recovered. 12 control ewes were orally given the suspension. Blood samples were taken every two weeks through March 2014 and processed for measurement of P. tenuis antigens. These results were equivocal, with higher levels for the 12 infected ewes compared with the control ewes, but levels in 7 sentinel ewes were almost as high as those in the infected ewes. Objective 4. Field test copper oxide wire particles to control barber pole worm on New York sheep and goat farms over a range of grazing management systems. Studies focused on determining whether the timing of COWP administration in relationship to weaning was an important determinant of the effectiveness of COWP in recently weaned lambs. At two sheep farms using primarily Dorset genetics, COWP was given two weeks prior to weaning and two weeks post weaning to young stock within the same lamb crop at three dosage levels (0, 0.5 g, or 1 g) for barber pole worm control in the 6 weeks following weaning. The same levels of COWP dosing were also evaluated in self-weaning lambs and Boer goat kids at two farms. On one farm the self-weaning lambs were further divided and compared for Clun Forest versus Romney genetics. The effect of three levels of COWP dosing (0, 1 g, or 2 g) and of genetics (Clun Forest versus Romney) on worm infection was also compared on the lactating dams. Pasture management practices and mineral composition of pasture and supplementary feed that might influence the effectiveness of COWP treatment were also recorded. Preliminary analyses indicate that COWP dosing was effective at reducing barber pole worm infections at one sheep farm both pre- and post-weaning but there was no effect on the other three farms. Further analyses of our data will provide better clues as to why the efficacy of COWP varies among flocks.
Publications
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Progress 10/01/12 to 09/30/13
Outputs
Target Audience: The target audience includes sheep and goat farmers, Cooperative Extension Agents, and researchers working in the area of internal parasite control. This project is part of an integrated extension and research project so individuals in all of these categories were included in the past year. This project focuses on the research associated with the integrated project and specifically included 4 farmers in the copper oxide wire particle study and 15 farmers in the study on the effectiveness of ivermectin for treating animals with symptoms of deer worm infection. Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? The following events were held: •Cornell Sheep and Goat Symposium; Oct 26 -27, 2012; 2 days; Cornell Univ., Ithaca, NY; tatiana Stanton - organizer; 165 sheep and goat farmers and educators. •FAMACHA certification program – C S&G Sym.; Oct 27, 2013; 6 hours; Cornell Univ., Ithaca, NY; Dwight Bowman and tatiana Stanton - workshop leaders; 36 sheep and goat farmers, 3 foreign veterinarians/grad students. •Dealing with Deer Worm – Cornell Sheep and Goat Symposium; Oct 27, 2013 - 1 hour; Cornell Univ., Ithaca, NY; Mary Smith DVM workshop leaders; 60 sheep and goat farmers. •Success with Sheep & Goats – CCE of Ontario County; Nov 29, 2013; 1.5 hours; CCE classrooms Canandaigua, NY; tatiana Stanton - workshop leader; 18 sheep and goat farmers. •FAMACHA certification program - NOFA-NY Winter Conference; Jan 25, 2013; 7.5 hours; Saratoga Springs, NY; tatiana Stanton - workshop leader; 3 veterinarians, 22 sheep and goat farmers. •Pasture Lambing & Kidding – Winter Green-Up Conference; Jan 26, 2013; 1.5 hours; Latham, NY; tatiana Stanton - workshop leader; 15 sheep and goat farmers, 50 beef farmers. •“Management Techniques to Lower Inputs During Lambing and Kidding”- NOFA-NY Winter Conference; Jan 26, 2013; 1.25 hours; Saratoga Springs, NY; tatiana Stanton - workshop leader; 30 sheep and goat farmers. •Lambing & Kidding Management - CCE of Ontario County; Feb 21, 2013; 2.5 hours; CCE classrooms Canandaigua, NY; Natasha Pettifor (grad student) and tatiana Stanton - workshop leaders; 22 sheep and goat farmers. •Lambing & Kidding Mangement – CCE of Tioga County and Potter/Tioga County Sheep and Wool Grower's Group; Feb 28, 2013; 2.5 hours; Whitneyville, PA; Natasha Pettifor (grad student) and tatiana Stanton - workshop leaders; 19 sheep and goat farmers. •FAMACHA certification program - Glynwood Farm Center; May 8, 2013; 4.75 hours; Cold Springs, NY; tatiana Stanton - workshop leader; 1 veterinarian, 20 sheep and goat farmers and interns. •FAMACHA certification program – SUNY Delhi; May 18, 2013; 4.5 hours; Delhi, NY; tatiana Stanton - workshop leader; 9 farmers, 2 extension educators, 15 veterinary technician students. •NOFA-NY Field Day; Aug 12, 2013; 3 hours; Asgaard Farm, Au Sable Forks, NY; Dwight Bowman, tatiana Stanton, Rhonda Butler (Asgaard owner) - workshop leaders; 16 sheep and goat farmers and 3 Asgaard interns or staff. •Cornell Goat & Sheep Health Day; Sep 20-21, 2013/ 1.5 days; Cornell University., Ithaca, NY; tatiana Stanton - organizer; 133 farmers, 4-H youth and educators. •FAMACHA certification program – Cornell Goat & Sheep Health Day; Sep 21, 2013; 5.75 hours; Cornell University., Ithaca, NY; Dwight Bowman, tatiana Stanton - workshop leaders; 38 sheep and goat farmers. The following students received specific training as part of the project: • Christine Hitchman, SUNY Cobleskill, and Tristan Peterson, SUNY Morrisville, learned how to handle goats and how to do FAMACHA scoring, fecal sampling, milk sampling, data recording for both sheep and goats. They both were already quite experienced at handling sheep and were working for the St. Lawrence County CC Extension Learning Farm for the summer. • Chris Posbergh, undergraduate student at Cornell University, gained experience handling and bleeding goats. • Katie Roberts, DVM student at Cornell University, learned how to design surveys and record data. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?
Nothing Reported
What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?
Nothing Reported
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Objective 1. Document the incidence and age/season of infection of sheep with P. tenuis in the Cornell Teaching & Research Center flock. Data are continually being collected in the Cewe database. Only one additional ewe had been infected during the current reporting period. Objective 2. Field test protocols for treating goats and sheep showing symptoms of P. tenuis infection and track age/season of infection in participating herds/flocks. Seven animals were treatedfrom 5 of the 15 herds and flocks enrolled in the double-blind study by the end of the first year of this project. Thus, it is too early to draw conclusions about the effectiveness of including ivermectin in the treatment protocol. Objective 3. In preparation for vaccine development, demonstrate that sheep become resistant to P. tenuis by establishing infections followed by challenges to test for resistance using larvae and antigens available from Cornell's colony of P. tenuis infected snails. During the reporting period of this project, 31 ewes from the March 2013 lambing period were assigned to treatments and snails were infected with P. tenuis larvae to produce the L3 larvae to provide an immunological dose to the 12 ewes assigned to that treatment. Objective 4. Field test copper oxide wire particles to control barber pole worm on New York sheep and goat farms over a range of grazing management systems. 45 does on one dairy goat farm were allocated at random among three levels of copper oxide wire particle (COWP) dosages: 1 g/22 lb live weight, 2 g/head, 1 g/head. All does were fecal sampled and scored on days 0, 14, 28, and 42 for anemia by the FAMACHA method. 45 lambs at each of three farms were randomly divided into Control (no COWP), LCOWP (0.5 g/head), or HCOWP (1 g/head) with 15 lambs per group. Pooled fecal samples were taken from lambs prior to starting the study and on days 14 and 28 after administration of copper oxide wire particles. Strongyle egg counts were calculated for the fecal samples from all four farms and the staining procedures to determine the percentage of barber pole worm eggs in each sample were ongoing. Milk and plasma samples from the dairy goats had been analyzed but were awaiting complete statistical analysis.
Publications
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