Most of the time when you get a flock health emergency, the vet and local livestock supply stores are closed for the weekend, and sheep farm and ranch specialties dealers are days away by mail.

Wise flockmasters should therefore have certain supplies on hand at all times to cover the most common problems that cause the greatest losses each year.

But what to stock in your sheep first aid kit?

Here are some lists to get you started. The first "Absolute Essentials contains the items recommended as especially urgent. The second list is good to have—sometimes also urgent—but not as "usual." I am greatly indebted to sheep vet extraordinaire Don Bailey, DVM for assembling the essential data for this first aid kit.

Absolute Essentials Kit

Drugs, Chemicals & Nutrients

___	Combiotic® (Penicillin/Streptomycin)
___	Dextrose 5%solution for weak lambs (or Karo syrup)—Lactose would be preferred though, if available
___	Iodine 7% tincture for lamb navel disinfectant: or 4 parts water mixed with 1 part Nolvasan®; or any standard topical antibiotic wound dressing spray; or (in a pinch) 1 part copper sulfate mixed with 9 parts water
___	Iodine scrub, antiseptic, dishwashing detergent (for difficult lambing deliveries)
___	Propylene Glycol (for pregnancy disease or Ketosis)
___	Uterine boluses (for assisted deliveries and retained placentas)
___	Slaked lime for disinfecting pens (a.k.a. slack lime or hydrated lime). Powder sold in 50 lb. bags at building supply stores
___	Eye ointment antibiotic for lambs
___	Pepto-Bismol® liquid and lamb scour tablets
___	Disinfectant (Betadine®-or equivalent)
___	Powdered colostrum (unused portion can be kept tightly sealed in freezer)
___	5-grain aspirin
___	Worming medicines

Essential Hardware

___	Lamb stomach-feeding tubes (14 to 16-inch catheter tube)
___	Syringes: At least four each of 3cc, 6cc and 10cc sizes; one size 50cc for multi-dose gun-type syringe; and two size 60cc for use with the lamb stomach-feeding tubes (a single size 140cc is way more convenient, if available)
___	Hypodermic needles: One dozen each of 20 gauge x 1-inch, 18 ga. x 1-inch, and 18 ga. x 1/2-inch
___	Towels
___	Bearing Retainers (keep a few on hand just in case—for holding in vaginal prolapses)
___	Lambing snare
___	Plastic sleeves (a roll or box of 50), the kind used for cattle artificial insemination
___	Burdizzo® emasculator or Elastrator-style ring applicator (for castrating and docking)
___	Clean buckets
___	Shepherd's crook
___	Ewe halter
___	Heat lamps, clamp-on style
___	Heating pad with low-heat settings
___	Nursing bottles and nipples

"Nice To Have On Hand" Kit

Drugs, Chemicals & Nutrients

___	Vitamin A+D (injectable or water-soluble)
___	Clostridium Perfringens C & D antitoxin (for enterotoxemia in lambs if their ewes haven't been vaccinated on time)
___	Vitamin E/Selenium compound (Bo-Se for white muscle disease)
___	Tetanus Antitoxin
___	Formaldehyde or other foot rot treatment
___	Frozen colostrum
___	Milk replacer powder
___	Sore mouth vaccine (only if problem exists on premises)
___	Pine tar or KRS spray
___	Sulmet® (sulfamethazine liquid) and/or ___ Aureomycin tablets (for scours)
___	Sulfon-O-Mix® and sulfa tablets (for pneumonia and coccidiosis)
___	Bloat remedy
___	Mastitis infusion tubes
___	Sheep dip or tick dust
___	Keto-stix® (ketosis test strips)
___	Blood stopper powder (for docking and castrating by knife)
___	Nutri-Drench® weak lamb reviver nutritional liquid

"Nice-To-Have" Hardware

___	Hand-held milking device (EZ-Milker®—nearly a necessity in saving lambs, colostrum, time and frustration. Gently milks out sore udders.)
___	Livestock thermometer
___	Scalpel, blades & surgical scissors for navel and eyelids work
___	Nylon rope—2.5 feet (for difficult deliveries)
___	Knife
___	Marker paint and number set
___	Balling gun (giving oblets)
___	Drenching dose syringe (2 and 4 oz.)
___	Sheep shears or electric clippers
___	Soap
___	Ear tags
___	Hoof trimmers
___	Oxygen tank with valve & tube
___	Pocket Flock Book

For the small items, a large fishing tackle box or workman's tool box make it easier to keep everything neat and clean.

Flockmaster's Essential Flock Health Library

One more item that ought to be on hand in every sheep operation is a set of good sheep veterinary books. These can seem expensive, but each book should last a lifetime. Plus with the first lamb each reference saves, it has paid for itself. The video won't last as long and can't be taken to the barn or field. Here is a list of those items that have proved most worthwhile, and are available from advertisers in and the Bookstore:

Books

___	The Veterinary Book For Sheep Farmers by David Henderson, DVM. (Nearly 700pp of quick, easy to understand sheep health lore)
___	Managing Your Ewe (Laura Lawson's easily-understood book has helped many thousands of sheep growers avoid flock problems for decades)
___	Storey's Guide To Raising Sheep (Has guided hundreds of thousands of new sheep raisers for over 30 years)
___	Storey's Barn Guide To Sheep (shows pictures of actual procedures)
___	Lamb Problems (Laura Lawson's book on easy recognition and treatment of over 150 lamb troubles)
___	Merck Veterinary Manual (Contains concise info on all aspects of animal and bird ailments—especially recommended for advanced sheep growers who also keep other livestock and pets, about 2700pp)
___	Gates' Practical Guide To Sheep Disease Management (By the folks at Pipestone Vet Clinic—a handy little sheep vet book with some remedies and info not found elsewhere)
___	BACK ISSUES OF (Don't throw these away. It is surprising how often you will find tricks and secrets not in any vet manual that will save you thousands of dollars in lost livestock or ease those aching muscles with news ways of doing things. Keep in a safe place with easy access and re-read as opportunity arises.)