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WORKING
TOGETHER
FOR A HEALTHIER FUTURE...
15
LIVESTOCK MATTERS
Veterinary surgeon
Josh Batterham
XLVets practice
Fenton Vets
JOSH BATTERHAM,
FENTON VETS
Giving
lambs
the
best start
Before lambing
The strength and viability of a newborn lamb
will be determined by the health of the ewe
during pregnancy. Although it is outside the
scope of this article, it is essential that the
ewe's nutrition (especially in the latter third of
pregnancy) is carefully calculated to provide
the adequate energy, protein and trace
elements required to support both the growing
foetus, and to maintain reasonable condition
of the ewe. Scanning ewes to enable
managing singles and triplets in separate
groups will not only help minimise twin lamb
disease but will also avoid the overfeeding
of singles (and barreners).
Several diseases that classically cause
abortion in ewes are also capable of causing
the birth of weak or stillborn lambs. One such
disease would be Borders Disease which
classically is seen as 'hairy shaker' lambs.
Advice should be sought from your vet if you
see these for the first time, as it can quickly
become endemic within a flock. Lambs born
weak due to disease/malnutrition of the
ewe will struggle right the way through to
slaughter, so looking after your ewes
pre-lambing is essential.
LAMB ING
A great deal of care and effort goes into successfully rearing a
healthy lamb from birth to slaughter. In order for this to happen as
economically as possible, there are a number of potential pitfalls
that must be avoided along the way. Since prevention is almost
always cheaper than treatment, the wise man will focus on getting
husbandry, nutrition and biosecurity sorted as a matter of urgency.
At lambing
At lambing time, husbandry practices
are key to preventing disease outbreaks.
Simple measures such as keeping pens
clean and ensuring adequate colostrum
intakes will all help to boost the lamb's
immunity and reduce the inevitable
disease challenge around them. Both
watery mouth and navel ill are diseases
associated with inadequate colostrum
intake, poor hygiene and/or high
stocking density. The importance of early
and adequate colostrum intake should
never be underestimated. Every lamb
should receive two pints (one litre) of
colostrum in the first 18 hours. Half of this
(one pint) should be in the first six hours
of life, split between two feeds. All navels
should be dipped in an iodine based
solution as soon as possible after birth,
and ideally again at 24-48 hours.
Stress also causes a drop in immunity
so docking, castration, vaccination and
turn out all at once should be avoided
if possible.