Presentation given April 2020

1. PERIPARTURIENT EGG RISE (PPER)
SUSAN SCHOENIAN
Sheep & Goat Specialist
University of Maryland Extension
sschoen@umd.edu
wormx.info | sheepandgoat.com

2.  Temporary loss of acquired immunity
(to parasites) around the time of
lambing/kidding.
 Associated with an increase in fecal egg (and
oocyst) count and adult worm burden.
 Caused by hormonal suppression of
immunity and nutrition stress around
parturition.
 Occurs late gestation through early lactation.
 Affected by different factors, but usually
peaks 30 days after lambing/kidding.
What is it?

3. Ewes/does
 Milk yield and persistence of lactation can
be decreased by 10 to 15 percent in
ewes/does infected with parasites.
 Clinical mastitis is more prevalent in
parasitized ewes.
Offspring
 Ewes/does deposit more worm eggs onto
the pasture, resulting in more contaminated
pastures which will be grazed by offspring.
 Growing lambs/kids ingest more infective
worm larvae, resulting in reduced growth
rates and increased mortality.
Why is it
important?

4.  High production
 Multiple births
 Age of ewe/doe
 Poor nutrition
 Low body condition
 Poor management
 Overstocking/grazing
 Stress
 Season (weather, climate)
Contributing factors

5. Strategies for coping
with the PPER
 Deworming
 Nutrition
 Season
 Zero grazing
 Condensed tannins
 BioWorma®
 Genetics

6.  Traditional (old) recommendation*
Deworm all ewes/does around the
time of lambing/kidding or before
turnout to spring pasture.
 New recommendation
Selectively deworm ewes/does
around the time of lambing/kidding or
before turnout to spring pasture.
DEWORMING
*Selects for worms resistant to dewormers..

7. Targeted selective
treatment (TST)*
 Deworm ewes/does with
FAMACHA© scores of ≥4.
 Deworm ewes/does with body
condition scores ≤2.
 Deworm ewes/does ≥3 offspring.
 Deworm first time mothers
(yearlings), especially those with
≥2 offspring.
 Deworm high producing dairy
females.
*TST = deworm those that require treatment or would benefit most from treatment.

8.  Ewes/does in poor body condition
(≤2) are more susceptible to
parasites around the time of
lambing/kidding.
 Aim for a body condition score of 3
to 3.5 (out of 5) at the time of
lambing/kidding.
NUTRITION
BODY CONDITION

9.  Nutrient requirements increase in late
gestation and lactation, especially for
females carrying and raising multiple births
(and especially triplets).
 Feeding a higher plane of nutrition
beginning approximately 1 month before
lambing/kidding can reduce the magnitude
and duration of the periparturient egg rise.
 Protein supplementation above NRC
requirements has been shown to reduce
fecal egg counts in periparturient ewes. By-
pass protein is especially beneficial.
NUTRITION
YOU NEED TO FEED
MORE

10.  The “Spring Rise”
While the periparturient egg rise occurs in all
seasons, the magnitude is greater when
lambing/kidding coincides with hypobiotic
(arrested/inhibited) larvae resuming their life cycle --
called the spring rise.
 Conception rates and prolificacy are less with fall
lambing/kidding.
 Adequate facilities are required for winter and late fall
lambing/kidding (an added cost).
SEASON
Lamb/kid at a time of the year when
parasites are not prevalent on
pasture, usually (early) winter or fall.

11.  Pasture is not contaminated, as
worm eggs are deposited in barn
or lot, where transmission is
usually negligible.
 Requires good facilities (barn).
 Dry lot is less expensive option.
 Another option is to put lambs/kids
into confinement or dry lot after
weaning, especially early (<90 d)
weaned ones.
 Doesn’t reduce coccidia.
ZERO GRAZING
Lamb/kid indoors or in dry lot

12.  Sericea lespedeza (SL) is a perennial warm
season legume that grows under sub-optimal
conditions.
 SL has been shown to have anti-parasitic
bioactivity against the barber pole worm and
coccidia.
 Animals consuming SL have reduced egg/oocyst
counts and signs of parasitism.
 Bioactivity has been demonstrated in fresh, dry
(hay, meal, or pellets), or ensiled forage.
Feed condensed
tannins
Feeding condensed tannin feeds
has been shown to prevent a
periparturient egg rise in ewes/does.

13.  BioWorma® contains a fungus that kills
roundworm larvae in the manure, thus
preventing the (re-) infection of pastures
with infective worm larvae (L3).
 It is a free-thru product that should be
fed daily during periods of peak worm
transmission, e.g. periparturient period.
Feed BioWorma®
Feed BioWorma® to periparturient ewes/does to reduce pasture contamination.
Based on Premier 1 Supplies prices, 4/16/2020
*Feed for 10 weeks of periparturient period
Product $/15-lb. $/oz
oz/day
100-lb
160-lb. ewe 110-lb. doe
1 day PPP* 1 day PPP*
Livamol® $ 89.50 $ 0.37 1.6 $ 0.95 $ 66.83 $ 0.66 $ 45.94
BioWorma® $ 495.00 $ 2.06 0.1 $ 0.33 $ 23.10 $ 0.23 $ 15.88

14.  Raise breeds that are more
resistant to internal parasites.
 Cross with breeds that are more
resistant to internal parasites.
 Select replacements that are more
resistant to worms*.
 Use sires with proven resistance to
internal parasites.
 Cull ewes/does that are less
resistant to worms.*
GENETICS
*But don’t penalize higher-producing females or lambs/kids from larger litters.

15. 1. On-farm selection*
2. Central Performance (Ram/Buck)
Tests
University of Maryland
West Virginia University (bucks)
Langston University (bucks)
Eastern Oklahoma (bucks)
Virginia Tech (rams)
3. Estimated breeding values (EBVs) via
the National Sheep Improvement
Program (NSIP; nsip.org) and
Australia’s Lamb/KidPlan are the
most accurate method of selection.
Tools of selection

16.  Fecal egg count (FEC) is the
most accurate way to select for
parasite resistance.
 Though variable, parasite resistance
(FEC) in growing animals is a
moderately heritable trait.
 Selecting lambs/kids (weanlings) for
parasite resistance is challenging
because they are very susceptible to
parasites, but infection levels need
to be high enough (>500 EPG)
to identify genetic differences.
On-farm selection for
parasite resistance

17.  Collection of fecal egg count data on
less susceptible adults is a possible
alternative method of selection.
 Periparturient fecal egg count is
repeatable (across years) and low to
moderately heritable (in sheep).
 Culling females with high egg counts
will reduce contamination of pastures
and subsequent infection of young
stock.
On-farm selection for
parasite resistance

18. Everyone needs to
do something to
manage the PPER.
 Deworming
 Nutrition
 Season
 Zero grazing
 Condensed tannins
 BioWorma®
 Genetics

19. SUSAN SCHOENIAN
Sheep & Goat Specialist
University of Maryland Extension
sschoen@umd.edu
wormx.info | sheepandgoat.com
Thank you.
Questions?
Comments?
The next worm webinar will be April 28 noon
FECAL EGG COUNT PRIMER
Dr. Dahlia O’Brien, Virginia State University