Urban Livestock & Equine Veterinary Services provides complete medical and surgical care for sheep and goats. Whether you have a couple of pet miniature goats in your backyard, or your large flock of sheep is helping to preserve a heritage breed, we can provide quality care for your small ruminants. Routine preventive care includes wellness examinations, vaccinations, hoof trims, disbudding and castration surgery, pregnancy diagnosis, fecal egg counts, and nutrition consultations. We provide in-hours and after-hours emergency care for ill or injured sheep and goats. Our office can accommodate goats and sheep for surgeries or other appointments, if you would rather transport them to us. Complex surgeries such as cryptorchid castrations and caesarean sections will be performed in our surgery suite in order to provide the best care for your animals. The most common problems we see in goats and sheep include complications from at-home banding or disbudding by a non-veterinarian; digestive and respiratory illnesses; lameness due to hoof rot, arthritis, or fractures; urinary or reproductive tract issues; abcesses, including those caused by Caseous Lymphadenitis or CL; dystocia or complications giving birth; diarrhea and/or dehydration in young kids or lambs.
Forages such as grass or grass hay should make up the majority of the diet for all sheep. Additionally a small amount of alfalfa hay can be fed to growing, pregnant and lactating sheep. Alfalfa hay should only be fed sparingly to non-pregnant ewes and rams. High percentages of alfalfa in the diet can also increase the risk of frothy bloat in sheep.
