Ensuring a ewe receives the proper nutrition at lambing is essential for good-quality colostrum and milk production. Our Animal Health Product Manager Charlotte Bewley gives us her top tips on giving lambs the best start and strive for a successful lambing season.
The sooner the lamb receives colostrum, the better. After a window of six hours, a lamb’s ability to absorb immunoglobulin G (IgG) declines rapidly. When lambs are born, they have no antibodies, so they rely on the mother’s colostrum for antibodies, energy, and essential nutrients through passive transfer. Ensuring a lamb receives good-quality colostrum quickly reduces the risk of infection. Colostrum quality should be tested using a Brix refractometer, with an IgG level of 26.5% for lambs. Colostrum can be frozen, but care must be taken when defrosting, as using water that is too hot can damage the proteins responsible for immunity.
Colostrum management and hygiene are closely linked at lambing time. When lambs don’t receive the best quality colostrum and are in a dirty environment, they are at a higher risk of picking up bacteria that rapidly multiply in the gut. Streptococcus Dysgalactiae is a common farm bacteria during lambing time and can cause joint ill in lambs, which is difficult to treat once contracted. Watery mouth is an infectious bacterial disease that lambs can pick up from the environment or from insufficient colostrum, leaving them without the necessary antibodies. Attention to detail regarding hygiene at lambing time is crucial in reducing losses due to infections such as watery mouth, joint ill, scours, and mastitis in ewes.
Areas to focus on:
Apply iodine to the navel, either by spraying or dipping, immediately after birth and again a few hours later.
Regularly disinfect pens and provide plenty of clean, dry bedding.
Ensure lambing equipment, such as stomach tubes and ropes, is cleaned after each use to prevent infection spread.
With this season’s lambs arriving and many more due in the coming months, it’s important to plan ahead. By regularly testing every three to four weeks throughout the grazing season, we can monitor challenges lambs face and take proactive steps.
Regular testing helps to:
Increase profitability with heavier, healthier livestock.
Treat only when necessary.
Improve growth rates.
Target resistance more effectively.
Identify field hotspots, aiding next year’s lambs.
Save time and money with a quick and easy process.
With shifting weather patterns, parasite seasons are also evolving. Regular testing removes the guesswork, helping to reduce unnecessary anthelmintic use or ensure timely treatment, leading to healthier, faster-growing lambs.
For more information or advice on animal health, our team will be happy to advise:
Charlotte Bewley: 07425421753
Leon Pearce: 07788318716
Customer Services: 016973 20207
