102
MORTALITY IN SHEEP AND GOATS IN INDIA
[Vol. XX, Part II,
from all this, each of the farms participating in these schemes has its special problems.
Whatever the general considerations, the problems of farms like those of Banihal
and Quetta, where migration is an annual feature, are quite different from those of
stationary flocks situated in other parts of the country. One cannot order the
weather but one may be able to take steps to avoid the worst effects of it, e.g. by
shearing at a favourable time, by giving protection during lambing, by sheltering
ewes and lambs at time of excessive rain, by giving extra feed at reasonably economic
levels when circumstances demand it, such as to rams before and during service
to ewes before and after lambing, to all stock when grazing is scanty or when heavy
parasitic attack is threatened. Regarding many of these points, the reader's atten-
tion may be drawn to the writings of the late Mr. E. J. Bruen (Bhamburda reports
of 1938-39, 1940-41), of Mr. P. N. Nanda (Hissar report 1940-41), and of Mr. A. E.
Slater (Etah reports).
A problem that requires special consideration is mortality in young stock.
One of the ways to minimize this is to arrange a suitable season of birth so as to
avoid excessively cold conditions for the young and so that they may have a chance
of grazing before the weather turns cold. This matter has received due attention
at several of the farms.
SUMMARY
An analysis is made of deaths among sheep and goats on certain organized
farms in India. The analysis is based on (a) particulars of 100 to 300 or more fatal
cases occurring on each farm over a period usually of at least three years-spoken
of as ' direct sample data ', (b) data extracted from reports submitted annually to
the Indian Council of Agricultural Research.
2. The total number of deaths in sheep analyzed under (a) is 3,548 and in goats
540, and the data are tabulated. Deaths are dealt with under five groupings,
(1) disorders of early life, (2) parasitic disorders, (3) lung affections, (4) old age,
(5) miscellaneous cases, and they have been further considered according to age
at death and the season of its occurrence. Within these groupings, allocations are
somewhat arbitrary. For instance, group 1 includes deaths up to six months of age ;
group 2 includes deaths ascribed to ' debility ', ' diarrhoea ', etc. if parasitic disease
in the flock was known to be widespread ; group 3 excludes cases under six months
of age ; group 4 is confined to animals of six years or over, provided there was no
easily apparent cause such as pneumonia ; group 5 includes sheep-pox, deaths from
wild animal attack and so on.
3. Both direct sample data and data from the reports emphasize the high death
rate among younger animals. Thus, over a series of years nearly two-thirds of the
mortality in sheep is in young stock, and in goats about three quarters of it. Other
figures show that both in sheep and goats the mean annual mortality rate is two to
four times higher in the young than in their dams. The bulk of the deaths occur
in the first three months, the death rate in males being higher than in females.
4. There are suggestions that, (a) mortality in weaned kids is higher than in
unweaned, (b) mortality both in ewes and lambs is relatively higher when
the use are allowed to lamb twice in the year.