Preparing for Lambing Season

By Glen Corbett, B&T Drystock Adviser, Teagasc Galway/Clare

The 2023 lambing season is on the doorstep and indeed is under way on some farms at this stage. Most issues that farmers need to be aware of and have preparations made for, haven’t really changed from other years. The price of meal and fertiliser remain stubbornly high, which places an extra pressure on grassland management on sheep farms. Farmers need to be matching lambing date (mean lambing date) with the arrival of sufficient grass in the spring. This will help reduce meal and fertiliser costs. When sheep are released out from sheds post lambing, there needs to be sufficient grass to sustain the ewe with lamb(s) at foot for your chosen stocking rate on the farm. When the first rotation of grazing is complete, there needs to be regrowth enough for them to return to the first fields they grazed and so on.

Preparations:

So grassland management (grassland plan) aside what else should sheep farmers have prepared coming up to lambing? Keeping in mind that if farmers are well organised then that will mean less work and better outcomes. Some overall areas farmers should focus on are Facilities, Hygiene and Supervision. For example, facilities, in advance of lambing, have the lambing sheds mucked out and power hosed if concrete floors or slats. Then on floor surface use cubicle lime (not builders lime), use 4-5 x 25kg bags /100 ewes.

Some idea of other numbers might be as follows. 8-10 lambing pens per 100 ewes and 2-3 group pens per 100 ewes. Buckets; 25 / 100 ewes for water and concentrates. Enough feeding space is vital so sheep aren’t squeezed together at feeding times. Ensure minimum of 2ft linear trough space per ewe and avoid any areas where there are restrictions or obstacles at feeding. Also hot/cold water, ideally under sink heater, minimum of an electric kettle should be available at lambing. Ample straw is of course vital, sheep will require 4-5 round bales / 100 ewes for average lambing period. Each ewe will drink in the vicinity of 10 litres of clean water per day, this is extra important when ewes are indoors.

In terms of feeding, the table below assumes a 70kg ewe in good condition and carrying twins. An indication of what feed should be going in pre lambing is given in the table below. If you are not sure of your silage DMD, then either get it tested, which is recommended or assume 65% if necessary. Remember move to feeding twice per day when the feed per ewe goes over 500g (0.5kg). Note the higher levels of feed required for lower DMD silage. Concentrate should contain protein at the rate of 18-20%.

Internal Parasites:

In the case of liver fluke, aim to treat immature and mature stages at this time of year. If housing sheep, delaying treatment for 6 weeks post housing means flukicides containing closantel, nitroxynil or rafoxinide should be effective to remove all fluke present. Do not use a combined fluke and worm product on mature ewes as adult ewes have good immunity to stomach worms and do not require routine treatment. There is no performance benefit in treating the mature healthy ewe for stomach worms and it speeds up the development of resistance to anthelminthics. Lactating yearling ewes are one exception and may warrant a worm drench.

Metabolic Diseases:

These include Pregnancy Toxaemia (Twin Lamb Disease) caused by inadequate nutrition in late pregnancy and Hypocalcaemia (Milk Fever) caused by inadequate calcium in the diet. In both cases diagnosis and treatment needs to be prompt to avoid mortality. In terms of prevention appropriate nutrition and good feeding management including adequate feed space are key. Treat any condition that depresses feed intake – for example separating and treating any lame ewes as well as penning weak/thin ewes separately for extra feeding. Also avoid any sudden changes in diet and keep a constant calcium level in the diet (milk fever).

Vaginal Prolapse:

Treatment on an individual ewe basis involves prompt disinfection and careful replacement along with fitting a retainer or harness. For more persistent or difficult cases veterinary intervention will be necessary to suture as well as administering pain relief and possibly long acting antibiotic. An epidural anaesthetic will help minimise ewe straining in severe cases. All cases should be permanently identified/marked for culling as they are likely to reoffend. Where more than 1% of ewes in the flock prolapse it merits further investigation. Examine in particular the amount of feed space per ewe in each pen. Other issues include ensuring constant access to quality forage and implementing good feeding management practices.

Summary:

In summary, lambing is a busy time of year and its estimated to include 25% of a sheep farmer’s annual workload. The issues above are some of an array that may occur during the lambing season and indeed the local vet is always an important back-up at this time of year.

Other issues such as hygiene and clostridial/pasteurella vaccinations could have been covered also, they are no less important. Finally in terms of the health of the farmer and the family, perhaps this is the key issue. Lambing is an arduous and demanding time of year. If help is available, use it, eat properly and sleep as much as possible when the chance arises. Take precautions not to extend or strain your back. Wear gloves when pulling lambs and other PPE as necessary. Pregnant women should not come into contact with sheep during lambing because of risk to unborn child.