The value of this book cannot be overstated. As a student, many years ago, there were no comprehensive textbooks on sheep medicine, so I was lucky to have Professor Kym A Abbott as an inspiring lecturer. This book is needed by students! Following on from Professor Abbott's first book, The Practice of Sheep Veterinary Medicine, this new text remains the ideal reference for veterinarians in farm animal practice, veterinary and animal science students, agriculturalists and sheep producers. Principally addressing sheep health, welfare and production matters in Australia, this book also covers issues that are of relevance in many other countries of the world where sheep are raised. Sheep veterinary specialist Professor Kym Abbott and his co-authors inform the reader of the science underpinning the occurrence of disease syndromes, giving special attention to commonly investigated problems related to nutrition, reproduction and helminthiasis. Other disease conditions of sheep are discussed in subsequent chapters; first on the basis of presenting signs in the case of lameness and sudden death conditions in which signs can be attributed to disorders of a variety of body systems and then on a body-systems basis. This new edition thoroughly revises and expands on the previous text, adding a review of the systems and strategies available to improve the welfare of sheep in extensive farming systems, a chapter on pain relief, analgesia and anaesthesia for sheep, and a chapter on metacestodes.

The text is illustrated with more than 150 full-colour images and photographs.


Kym Abbott is a sheep veterinary specialist and Adjunct Professor of Sheep Medicine at The University of Adelaide. Editor of the entire work and author of 13 chapters. The following are authors each of one chapter and have agreed to contribute: Simon de Graaf is an Associate Professor of Animal Reproduction and Director of the Animal Reproduction Unit in the Faculty of Science at The University of Sydney. Associate Professor John Larsen is a senior researcher with the Mackinnon Project at The University of Melbourne Veterinary School, Werribee. Philip Hynd is Emeritus Professor of Animal Production at The University of Adelaide. Stuart Barber is Senior Lecturer in Animal Health, Welfare and Production in the Faculty of Veterinary and Agricultural Science, University of Melbourne. Tristan Jubb is a livestock production veterinarian who runs Bendigo Sheep Vets in central Victoria. David Jenkins is an Associate Professor (Veterinary Parasitology) at the School of Animal and Veterinary Sciences, Charles Sturt University, Wagga Wagga, NSW. Andrew Fisher is Chair of Cattle and Sheep Production Medicine, Faculty of Veterinary and Agricultural Sciences, University of Melbourne. Gabrielle Musk is a Veterinary Anaesthetist and Veterinary Officer for Animal Care Services at the University of Western Australia Large Animal Facility, Crawley, Western Australia.



Preface

About the editors

List of contributors

List of abbreviations

1. Veterinary services to sheep farms - Kym Abbott

2. Welfare of sheep - Andrew Fisher and Natalie Roadknight

3. Energy and protein nutrition of grazing sheep - Philip Hynd

4. Clinical aspects of trace element and vitamin nutrition - Kym Abbott

5. Reproduction 1: Factors affecting fertility and fecundity - Kym Abbott

6. Reproduction 2: Ultrasound scanning for pregnancy - Tristan Jubb

7. Reproduction 3: Disorders of ewes in pregnancy and lactation, abortion, prenatal and perinatal diseases of lambs - Caroline Jacobson, Tom Clune, Shane Besier, Stuart Barber, and Kym Abbott

8. Reproduction 4: Investigations of poor reproductive rate in commercial sheep flocks - Tristan Jubb

9. Reproduction 5: Controlled breeding - Simon de Graaf

10. Diseases caused by nematodes and trematodes of sheep - John Larsen

11. Taeniid cestodes and sarcocystis of sheep - David Jenkins

12. Management and diseases of weaner sheep - Kym Abbott

13. Diseases characterised by lameness - Kym Abbott

14. Diseases characterised by sudden death - Kym Abbott

15. Diseases of the integument and eye - Kym Abbott

16. Diseases with signs of neurological disturbance - Kym Abbott

17. Diseases of the alimentary tract - Kym Abbott

18. Diseases of the liver - Kym Abbott

19. Diseases of the urinary system - Kym Abbott

20. Diseases of the blood and lymphatic system - Kym Abbott

21. Diseases of the respiratory system - Kym Abbott

22. Anaesthesia and analgesia for sheep - Gabrielle Musk

Index