The gazette-times. [volume] (Heppner, Or.) 1912-1925, 1916-10-26
LOSS Of SHEEP
IS EXPLAINED
State Veterinarian W. H. Lytle Tells
How Animals May Become Poison
ed While Being Brought From
| Summer Range.
(By w. H. Lytle, State Veterinarian. }

I
The majority of sheep troubles
seen of late in Morrow county have
been intimately associated with eth
er poisonous plants, particularly Lu-
pine, Alkili, or overlooking followed
| by heavy drinking of water. There
has also been an occasional death
due to what would seem to be Hemor-
rhagic Septicemia, this is an infection
similar to swine plague in hogs and
attracts primarily the lungs when
seen in sheep. This infection no
doubt has been set up by certain
sheep drinking of highly stagant
water and breathing dust.
The large losses have resulted from
an over feeding of lupine. this plant
be longs to the same boticanical fam
| lily as the clovers and alfalfa and is
of such a nature that under certain
conditions a volatile poison. This
same condition is seen in clover and
alfalfa. Sheep when they are fam
tished and have been forced to 60
long without sufficient feed, if turned
| in ON any of the clovers or alfalfa
will become poisoned. This poison
ing is greatly intensified if the ami
mails are afterward allowed to drink
freely of water. This also holds
true in feeding lupine. 1t must be
remembered that only certain con-
ditions will produce poisoning from
lupine, these are generally speaking
allowing sheep to Craze on lupine
forage when animals are hot and
hungry and when the forage is taken
in on an empty stomach. Even in
this condition sheep will not suffer
greatly If water is Withheld from them
for six hours or more. The juices of
the stomach seem to neutralize the
lupine poisoning but when water is
taken into the stomach the digestive
juices are neutralized and diluted and
fermentation and other disease pro-
ducing processes take place.
Sheep owners could protect them
selves by herding carefully, the North
and East slopes of the hills should be
avoided until late in the day. 1t is
on these slopes that the green lupine
s found. The West slopes while con-
tanning the plant here it is dried and
the seed pods have opened and the
seeds which are poisonous have fallen
to the ground. Either the beans
from the mature plant or the green
leaves from the plant at Towering
time are the most dangerous. AS
an antidote Potassium Permanganate
"a red powder) diluted in water in
amounts of five to eight grains
will often relieve the animal if 1t is
given early. Poisonings that result
from the bean seem to be more Sc
we're and frequently will not respond.
Th whole intestinal tract often seems
to be paralized and hence only oils
and salts will be of any benefit in
this condition.
Treatment Is not satisfactory and
UTef6ullOu lIOm Sdllu6 iui Sc qudhSA-
ties of the plant will prove the more
effective. Sheep when returned from
the mountains should either be graz
ed on the south and west slopes or
they should be penned and fed hay
for a few days filling them up we'll
in the morning before turning them
out. Green plants of any kind are
dangerous to sheep when they have
gone long without food as they en-
gorge themselves and often impac-
tions of the third stomach results
from eating too much coarse food.
Some losses have resulted from this
cause here in Morrow county. The
past summer has been favorable for
troubles of the plant poisoning ma
ture and sheep owners should be
CAREFUL until the flocks become ac-
customed to the range.