Lambing preparation and how to minimise potential problems

Sheep can always come up with new problems and challenges, making every lambing time different. Preparation can help minimise these problems. Having ewes in the right body condition score and offering the right nutrition are probably the top two most important factors to a successful lambing time.

Condition scoring ewes two months before lambing will help gauge how the flock is doing and give a little room for grouping sheep and feeding appropriately – hill ewes will ideally be in condition score 2-2.5 and commercial ewes in score 2.5-3.

Realistically preparation for achieving this will have started before tupping. Forage analysis is useful for calculating the diet and the better the energy and/or protein in a forage the less cake is needed, therefore, discuss forage analysis with a nutritionist before buying concentrates and check the ingredient list of concentrates to ensure quality ingredients are used.

It is a good idea to blood sample a few ewes three to four weeks before lambing to check their energy and protein levels, this will help to ensure the intake of essential nutrients from the diet is adequate.

Clostridial vaccination of ewes before lambing is essential and helps to protect lambs from dysentery, pulpy kidney, and braxy in the first few weeks of life. It may also be worthwhile dosing ewes for fluke at the same time – speak to your vet to find out if this is required in your flock and which is the best product to use.

Treating sick animals early increases the likelihood of a successful cure, so it is important to have the medicine cupboard stocked up and ready to go. There are a lot of conditions that can affect sheep and lambs at lambing time, and it is not within the scope of this article to go through every treatment protocol. This advice should be tailored by your vet and cover the common ‘emergency’ conditions (twin lamb disease, calcium deficiency, prolapses, infection, inflammation/pain, etc).

Other items to stock up on are preventative items such as navel dressings to help disinfect and dry up navels, orf vaccine, lambing pen disinfectants, and equipment sterilising tabs to disinfect feeding equipment used for neonatal lambs. It can be very useful to talk to your vet and other farmers about these products as there can be many different types and ways of using them, some with more success than others.

Colostrum is the important item that I have discussed yet, and it is one of the most important ones, remember the phrase ‘colostrum is gold’. A fit, healthy, and well-fed ewe will produce enough good quality colostrum for twins, protecting them from watery mouth, joint ill, dysentery, and clostridial diseases.

However, sometimes the ewe does not have enough colostrum and the lambs either need ‘topping-up’ with colostrum or a complete replacement feed. This colostrum is best sourced from ewes that have excess colostrum and can be milked out by hand or with a hand-operated ‘milking pump’, this can be frozen and stored for when it is needed.

If this natural colostrum from ewes (or goats) is unavailable, then the next best is powdered colostrum, however, the quality of powdered colostrum can vary hugely, so it is worth asking around and sourcing a reputable brand.

It is often the case that the dose of colostrum on the packets is for a ‘top-up’ dose. If a lamb needs a complete colostrum feed, then it will require 50ml/kg of its weight (200mls for a 4kg lamb), this often double the dose on the packet but please check your dose.

This is only a quick run-through of some of the preparation needed for lambing time, not to mention the hard work and sleepless nights, so it is important to stock up on food for yourselves and to find time to rest and sleep. Best wishes for a great lambing time.