Weather challenges: The last seven to 10 days have been very challenging for flocks that have started lambing and for ewes out-wintered in late pregnancy. The forecast remains poor for at least the coming days. For those lambing, it is important that hygiene continues to remain priority. Straw availability is much better this spring and skimping on volumes applied is a false economy.

Where there is pressure on labour and space and it is hard to get penning cleaned, applying lime followed by a deep bed of straw will help to reduce the risk of disease establishing until a break can be gotten to clean and reset.

Lime can also be applied in group pens with the high risk areas generally being along feeding barriers or around drinking troughs. Ensure lambs get a good start by getting enough colostrum (50ml/kg body weight at six-hour intervals).

Where there is no option but to let ewes and lambs outdoors, then targeting fields with the best shelter and letting animals out in small groups is the best approach. Placing troughs for supplementation in areas where the best shelter is will help to entice ewes and lambs to find shelter.

Animals should be released early in the morning, weather permitting, to give the best chance of settling before nightfall. Tasks such as tail-docking or rubber-ring castration should be carried out well in advance of turnout. Ensure ewes are fed adequately as where lambs have a sufficient supply of milk it will help to reduce issues.

Feeding levels may also need to be adjusted for out-wintered ewes to take account of higher nutritional requirements being apportioned to maintenance. Increasing feeding levels by 10% to 15% where ewes are under pressure or introducing supplementary feeding earlier than normal for hill ewes will deliver benefits in helping to maintain body condition.

Silage eye: The adverse weather and introduction of forage supplementation is also reported as triggering cases of ewes contracting sore eyes or temporary blindness. The cause is likely to be silage eye or what in veterinary terms is ocular listeriosis. The ailment is typically associated with sheep eating mouldy silage and in particular where animals are eating in close contact at a round feeder or burrowing their heads into round bales. It can also spike in cold windy conditions (silage blowing into an animal’s eyes) and farmers report it spreading sometimes in the absence of feeding at ring feeders.

Animals will appear with watery eyes that have a cloudy appearance on closer inspection. Eyes are also often swollen or closed. Veterinary treatment generally includes administering antibiotic and anti-inflammatory injections into the tissue around the eye or antibiotic injections and eye ointment.

Anti-inflammatory injections should not be used in the absence of veterinary advice as incorrect administration can lead to abortion in pregnant ewes. The disease risk can be reduced by avoiding feeding mouldy forage, cleaning feeders regularly and not letting excessive forage build up and go stale. This approach will also help to limit the risk of listeriosis.

Triplet survey: A survey is currently being undertaken to gauge farmer attitudes to triplets along with exploring management practices in late pregnancy and from lambing through to weaning. It is being conducted in collaboration by four institutes Teagasc, SRUC and University of Edinburgh and AgResearch in New Zealand. It can be completed here.