Sheep owners should check that any pellets they are feeding to their livestock do not contain potentially deadly levels of copper.
Current seasonal conditions are such that many owners are still hand feeding sheep and, with pressure on supplies of feed pellets, some sheep owners have been using feeds that have been manufactured for cattle. Copper is sometimes added to manufactured cattle feeds at rates that can cause copper toxicity in sheep.
Recently, DPIW has been called in to investigate some deaths in otherwise healthy sheep that had been handfed. The cause of the deaths was copper poisoning and the source was manufactured cattle feed.
The maximum level for copper in manufactured feeds that are fed to sheep should not exceed 10 ppm. All feeds manufactured specifically for sheep should be safe. But feeds manufactured for cattle can contain 20 ppm copper. That's safe for cattle, but not for sheep.
Some bags of pellet feeds are sold without information about the mineral elements. So, anyone intending to buy some pellets to feed to sheep should check the label for information about the level of copper. If that information is not available on the bag, ask the retailer.
In sheep, copper is a cumulative poison, which means that a high level of copper in the diet is doing harm even if the animal shows no immediate signs.
For further information, please contact Dr Bruce Jackson, Senior Veterinary Officer, DPIW 6336 5306 or 0407 872 520 or 1300 368 550 for the cost of a local call.
