1 Tackling footrot: a good few flockowners will now be focusing on housing ewes for the winter as they approach lambing. Housing brings an increased risk of lameness. There are a number of infectious diseases but footrot is one that tops the list for most farmers.

The bacteria that causes this infection likes moist, damp conditions and when sheep are housed close together, it is an opportunity for the bacteria to spread.

When we take sheep in, it is good to take out lame animals and investigate the lameness. Any lame sheep should be treated to make sure they don’t carry the infection into the house. Ideally, any lame sheep should be kept separate.

Many flocks are getting good results with the footrot vaccine. Protocols differ, with some using two shots to begin with, while others find one shot works well. The timing is critical with this vaccine. It is best used before the biggest risk period (which is most often housing). It is better used one month or more out from lambing and given under the skin on dry wool. Clean needles and dry wool are essential when injecting.

The vaccine can be administered to the whole flock. Sheep that remain lame after vaccination need to be checked for other conditions. These sheep can also be chronic carriers and should be ear-notched. Vaccination alone won’t sort your lameness issues but it certainly seems to be a great help. It is a good time also to run sheep through a footbath, and nothing beats clean, dry bedding to further reduce the risk of disease.

2 Low-protein silage: with some flocks I’ve seen increasing issues, albeit in small numbers, around poor or no milk production at lambing. What happens in some of these cases is that ewes will lamb with little or no colostrum and take a couple of days to come into any recognisable milk production. When I investigated these cases, there was one common theme and that was the crude protein of silage fed pre-lambing was very low. This has a negative effect on lactogenesis (milk production) coming up to lambing time. It is now worth testing the silage being fed to ewes for energy and protein. Having this knowledge now can make a huge difference. If it is a problem, supplementation three to four weeks before lambing can make a big difference with something as simple as soya bean meal.

3 FECs and housing: often winter housing is at a time when some flocks get their first fluke dose (others have got many more). This will also depend on the year and how wet the farm is. Some faecal egg counts (FECs) can give farmers a good indication of what levels of fluke and worms are in the flock – even by taking a pooled sample from six to eight of the thinner ewes in the bunch. This will give you some ideas around levels of fluke. Also, if previous fluke dosing has been carried out, you should not see large amounts of fluke eggs. If ewes have been housed, then the choice of dose should be based on some of the knowledge you have got from tests, farm history, etc.

4 Body condition scoring: after scanning, farmers will have marked ewes for parity. It is also a good time to put your hands on ewes. Pull out any very thin or very fat ewes. Combine this information with energy or DMD of your silage and you can quickly plan a feeding regime for your flock. Thin ewes could be good for dung sampling for worms and fluke. They also need feet and teeth checked and some extra feeding to prepare them for lambing. Review their condition and if it is not improving, ask why? Is there an underlying disease?

Heavy ewes also require management. The more time you have for this, the better. Remember, 75% of foetal growth is in the last six weeks before lambing so any sudden changes of diet increase the risk of twin lamb disease. Heavy concentrate feeding close to lambing is poor at putting on condition but good at ensuring big lambs. All changes to the diet should be slow and steady.

5 Clean out and disinfect lambing pens: it is a good time of year to make sure lambing pens are cleaned and disinfected. The best time might be the summer but if it hasn’t been done it should be a top priority. With some farms being short on straw this year, it is important that it is prioritised for the lambing pens. It is a great insulator for lambs (remember cold is still a big killer in lambs). If you have had crypto or coccidiosis in lambs last year, this needs more attention. My protocol is to power-wash on day one and use dry steam on day two. On the third day, use a product licensed to kill cocci and crypto and disinfect every surface in the lambing pens.

6 Minerals: for many sheep farmers, there are lots of options around minerals – buckets, licks powders or boluses. There can be big differences across minerals in flocks so some sampling is a good way to go. Farmers should consider a silage mineral analysis and six to eight bloods for iodine and selenium. Where copper is an issue, liver samples should be sent to the lab for investigation. This gives a better indication of supplementation needed.

7 Low blood calcium: a big one we don’t often see is low blood calcium pre-lambing in our ewes. While we associate this with sheep down before lambing, it is often affects our sheep without being noticed. Most flocks can balance this by adding magnesium in the diet of pregnant ewes for three weeks before lambing. Get your forage sampled to check the risks for low blood calcium in your flock before lambing. Things you don’t want to see are high potassium (K), low magnesium (Mg) and high calcium pre-lambing in silage analysis.

8 Vaccinating for pneumonia: before lambing, some farmers will take this time to vaccinate ewes for pneumonia, often combining it with clostridial vaccinations. This covers the ewe for a peak risk time of housing and lambing. There will also be some cover for lambs through the colostrum allowing sheep farmers to vaccinate lambs a little later with their first shot. Most of these vaccines can be given with wormers or minerals. So if handling ewes pre-lambing, it is good to get as much done as possible in one handling. The best advice is draw up a treatment plan with your own vet for your flock.

9 Abortions: any abortions that occur can be sampled by your vet. A new PCR test on the cotyledons (circular attachments on the placenta) can be done by swabbing these to get a diagnosis. Many say it is pointless and little can be done. This may be true for toxoplasmosis but in the case of other infectious agents, it is best to find out early to plan any flock treatments. It also gives you a better idea for abortion vaccination if you are considering it.

Always take great care with aborted materials. They may infect other ewes but also some of the diseases can affect humans, particularly pregnant women.

Finally, I hope 2019 is a good year for all the farming families up and down the country. Farm well and farm safe.