| Flock Health Status and Disclosure |
Tamarack Lamb & Wool
The Tamarack flock has been closed to new females since 1985. Rams are purchased with care, and are quarantined and tested prior to being used in the flock. AI is used when possible.
The Tamarack flock has never had foot rot, foot scald, Q fever, B. Ovis, or Scrapie. No sheep has been suspected or diagnosed with jonnes.
The Tamarack flock has been participating in the volunteer scrapie certification program and will be reaching certified scrapie free status in the Spring of 2007.
The majority of our sheep are either RR or QR as the majority of our lambs have been sired by RR rams since 2000. Scrapie genotype testing of rams available at seller's expense. Scrapie genotype testing of females available at buyer's expense.
Eradication of OPP began in 1987 with whole flock tests, and by 1991 the last OPP positive sheep was removed from the flock. Subsequent annual random testing has found no positives since 1991. The sales agreement includes a limited guarantee that the purchased sheep will test negative for OPP.
Eradication of Caseous Lymphadinits began in the Mid 90s through vaccination and culling. The vaccination was discontinued in 1999 and no CL's have been found since then. Recently testing of sale sheep (at buyers expense) have found no positive sheep for Caseous Lymphadinitis.
There are only three possibly contagious health issues in the Tamarack flock.
1) Parasites: Internal parasites exist as they do in all sheep.
2) SoreMouth: We do occasionally see a very mild strain of soremouth (orf), which seldom amounts to anything more than a small scab on the nose, and in the distant (more than 10 yrs ago) past, we had a few late term abortions which responded to tetracycline in late gestation. We do recommend two doses of LA 200 in late pregnancy as a safeguard.
3) Liver Fluke: Rarely (about one in 100 sheep) have deer liver fluke infection (F. Magna). Deer liver fluke is covered 100% in our guarantee.
All sheep are sold with a written health and breeding soundness guarantee.
We do NOT raise bottle lambs to later sell as quality breeding stock.
Bottle lambs are sold as bottle lambs. Bottle lambs that we raise go to the slaughter market.
We do NOT feed animal based protein products to our sheep.
We do NOT feed hormones or antibiotics to our sheep.
We do NOT use herbicides or pesticides on our land.
For more information or questions, please contact:
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Good health and good sense are two of life's greatest blessings.
Syrus