In the next couple of weeks on many farms lambs will be arriving with increased frequency. It was really a case of the usual suspects around disease issues on early lambing farms.

A mild December and early January played favourably for lambs, with some flocks having lameness issues arising from mild conditions indoors.

So, as we prepare for lambing, what can we do to ensure it is a successful couple of weeks.

Having a flock health plan can really help profitability, production and welfare.

It should contain measurements we need to watch and also a little bit about standard procedures you carry out on farm.

I always look at scanning percentage, lambing percentage, turnout percentage and weaning percentage.

These figures allow me to see where production losses might be occurring. The reality is between birth and 48 hours we are seeing between 10% and 15% losses in Irish flocks. So, in this article, I’m going to focus on seven simple areas at lambing time. Make a checklist and target losses of <5% this spring.

1 The nutrition of the ewe

Seventy-five per cent of the foetal growth occurs in the last six weeks before birth.

This puts a huge challenge on the ewe, especially those carrying twins and triplets. We need to separate the ewes and know what they are carrying.

This is fundamental to managing the ewe pre-lambing but also for lambs.

A healthy ewe will have a healthy placenta and a good strong healthy lamb. They also start preparing colostrum in their udders two weeks out from lambing.

As colostrum is fundamental to lamb survival, the ewe’s diet pre-lambing is critical to get right. This must be a mixture of energy to maintain the growth, with protein and the right amount of minerals.

For the last number of years, I’ve seen flocks lambing in with poorer colostrum production.

As it can have such an influence on lamb health, getting nutrition right is key. Supplementing with a ration high in energy and protein close to lambing can really help. We also can’t afford to have ewes too heavy as this can lead to issues around lambing time. Take out any lame or thin ewes and give them more attention.

2 Housing

Most flocks will lamb indoors, which brings about the challenge of increasing stocking density and one of the biggest factors at lambing, which is hygiene.

Having the right amount of space for ewes coming up to lambing is so important.

It can ensure enough feed space and reduce the risk of prolapses. Fresh water in every pen including lambing pens is also critical.

A freshly lambed ewe can drink up to 10 litres of water. Have some space set aside where fresh water can be given in individual pens.

Hygiene at housing reduces the spread of diseases such as lameness in ewes and watery mouth in lambs to name two.

Having good ventilation allows fresh air to keep sheds dry and good drainage is essential underneath the animals.

At lambing time, ensure you have a source of hot water to clean equipment.

Lambing pens should be well bedded and warm, with straw being the ideal material. Have plenty of space at 1.5m2 per lambing pen; this allows the ewe space to get down and lamb. If you have had issues with watery mouth in previous years, lambing pens should be cleaned and limed between ewes.

3 Lambing time

Always use a glove and plenty of lube. Remember, sheep are good at hiding pain.

After 15 minutes of intervention with no progress, stop and call for help. After a hard lambing, ewes should receive an antibiotic and a painkiller or anti-inflammatory.

With ring womb, don’t keep handling and dilating unless the cervix is light and progress is being made.

A lot of losses occur from giving lambs hardship at lambing. Always milk out colostrum and stomach tube weak lambs at birth.

If you notice a lot of meconium (yellow staining) of the newborn, it can be an indication of lambing going on for a while.

4 Colostrum

Getting in 50ml/kg in the first feed and almost a litre in the first 24 hours is critical.

Colostrum contains the essential immunoglobulins or proteins that provide the young lamb with immunity to fight infections. When dealing with diseases such as watery mouth ensuring quality colostrum is ingested quickly is key.

We want lambs to stand quickly and suckle a clean udder

Remember colostrum also contains vital sources of energy for the new lamb and also helps lubricate the young gut.

Ewes that have mastitis should also be marked as they may be poor producers of colostrum or be down a gland the following year.

While we use lots of colostrum supplements, nothing beats mothers’ milk.

Synthetic replacers or cows milk should only be used where the mother has a poor supply or when topping up weak lambs.

Colostrum should be sourced from dairy herds free of Johne’s disease and tested to check quality.

All bottles and stomach tubes need to be sterilised between use.

5 Hygiene

The two big diseases of young lambs are watery mouth and joint ill.

Having clean bedding for young lambs is key to reduce buildup of faeces which can contain bacteria such as E coli. So plenty of fresh straw should be prioritised for lambing pens.

Having fresh clean bedding under ewes close to lambing helps keep udders clean also.

Wearing gloves when handling lambs in flocks that have joint ill problems is really important.

Some flockowners will even disinfect all lambing equipment and have hand sanitiser to reduce spread of infection between lambings.

All navels should be washed with iodine or chlorhexidine solutions as soon as possible after birth.

Problems with poor navel care can lead to navel infections and infections deeper in the abdomen (the navel is directly linked to the liver of the newborn). These cases can lead to tucked up lambs and high mortality.

6 Hypothermia

One of the biggest killers of young lambs is the cold. We have to look after the smaller lambs such as twins and triplets in particular.

We need to be focused on spotting at-risk lambs and also simply keeping an eye on the weather. Warming boxes can be terrific for weaker lambs.

A good heat source for cold lambs is essential

My advice is to have one with a thermostat on the heater set at between 38°C and 40°C. Once lambs have been warmed up, I advise giving intraperitoneal glucose – about 40mls of 20% glucose.

I also find warm soapy enemas very good for these lambs to get the gut going.

Some infections can cause weak lambs to be born, it is important to investigate these lambs.

If warming up, giving fluids etc doesn’t work.

7 Post-mortems

While no farmer wants to lose lambs it is a reality of sheep production.

These lambs can give us valuable information about what we can do differently.

When opening up lambs, we will check if colostrum has been consumed, if there was any damage done from lambing and fat cover around kidneys.

Simple things that can feed back in to our management. We can also check navels and take samples for further investigation.

Conclusions for a successful lambing to minimise losses

Focus heavily on BCS of ewes. Look at getting the diet right to maximise colostrum production. Have housing set up with space for ewes around lambing time.

Have an easy system for the sheep and the farmer.

Any sheep that are handled should receive pain relief. Place huge emphasis on getting lambs up to suck, clean utensils and bottle colostrum where necessary.

A good warming box can be a great investment as well as careful attention to hygiene. If losing lambs or ewes, always find out why.

Get simple management right to make 2019 your best lambing yet.