Torrential rainfall in many parts of the country and a rapid deterioration in ground conditions is encouraging farmers who would normally finish lambs indoors to house sheep. The performance of lambs will be strongly influenced by health issues linked directly to disease and the environment and manner in which they are handled.

Looking at direct health concerns, lameness is an issue that needs to be addressed before animals are housed. If left unchecked, it can lead to outbreaks in housed sheep. Lambs showing any signs of lameness should be grouped together, and either treated outdoors and and delayed from housing, or housed in a separate batch where an intensive treatment programme can be administered.

In terms of worms and fluke treatment, this will be influenced by previous health treatments and the risk profile on the farm.

Housing sheep can often trigger clostridial disease problems

Treatment for liver fluke is tricky, as the majority of flukicides that target early immature or immature liver fluke parasites have a significant withdrawal period, ranging from just over 40 days to in excess of 60 days. It is therefore important to consider finishing timelines in any decision to treat lambs for liver fluke.

Housing sheep can often trigger clostridial disease problems or be linked with an increased incidence of pasteurella pneumonia.

Teagasc guidelines for finishing lambs intensively advise that long-keep lambs, which will be present for six weeks or more, may benefit from vaccination against clostridial disease and pasteurella pneumonia.

Treatment for external parasites is another decision that will be dictated by previous management

The disease profile on the farm and previous experience will feed into decisions for shorter-keep lambs. Orf is a similar concern and is a higher risk where lambs are being purchased in from numerous sources and housed together.

Treatment for external parasites is another decision that will be dictated by previous management. Lice and sheep scab can spread quickly indoors and any signs of infection will require prompt treatment to maintain lamb performance and prevent issues getting out of control.

Environment and management

The environment in which animals are housed will have a big bearing on how quickly lambs settle indoors. Having lambs trained to eat meals before housing will deliver a much smoother transition. Trough space of 30cm per lamb is generally advised, while some horned sheep breeds will require more.

On the subject of horns, horn growth will be faster in lambs finished intensively, and as such, there is a greater risk of horns growing inwards. These should be cut to prevent discomfort and in the worst case scenario, to avoid the tips of horns piercing the skin.

Experience from finishing trials in Athenry also points to hill lambs that have never been housed having a heightened risk of getting their horns stuck in barriers, troughs, feeders and even slats.

Regular monitoring to ensure lambs are eating is essential

At least 0.5sq m floor space should be allocated for hill lambs weighing 25kg and at least 0.8sq m for lambs weighing 45kg to 50kg. Lamb growth during the finishing stage and what effect this is likely to have on the pen’s stocking density and feeding space should also be taken into account as the finishing period progresses.

Regular monitoring to ensure lambs are eating is essential. It can take some horned lambs a long time to start eating sufficient levels of concentrates, with select lambs needing to be moved to separate pens or let back outdoors and offered supplementation at grass. Such shy eaters can generally be found standing at the back of pens.

Troughs should be checked daily

Fresh water is essential, with lambs consuming on average between 4l-8l daily, depending on the dry matter of the diet and intake. Troughs should be checked daily for cleanliness and supply.

Feed formulation

The feeding programme will also have an influence on lamb health. Where feeding ad-lib, lambs should be built up to ad-lib levels over a one-to-two week period, depending on the starting point.

A source of roughage (hay, silage, straw) should continue to be offered. If finishing male lambs, include ammonium chloride at an inclusion rate 0.5% for long-keep lambs to prevent urinary calculi.

Concentrates should be properly balanced, avoiding excessive volumes of starch or finely ground ingredients. Growing lambs weighing less than 35kg will benefit from a diet containing 14% crude protein. This can be increased to 15% to 16% for very small lambs weighing less than 25kg.

Well-grown lambs in the finishing stage will perform satisfactorily at 11% to 12% crude protein. Adequate minerals and vitamins are essential for long feeding periods.