Lambing time comes with many challenges and one of the most significant challenges any shepherd faces is managing the newborn lamb to prevent infectious diseases such as watery mouth and navel ill. Management practices can be utilised to mitigate the risks associated with these diseases and reduce the pressure during this busy season.
Hygiene
Lambing shed and pen hygiene is a really important factor in reducing the infection burden in the lambing environment. Power washing the shed before lambing and using an appropriate detergent and disinfectant can really reduce the risk of watery mouth (E. coli infection) in newborn lambs. The 3 ‘Ds’ of Hygiene are an easy protocol to follow to provide effective cleaning and disinfection:-
A similar protocol is suitable for lamb feeding equipment. All bottles and teats should be cleaned with hot soapy water after every use. Disinfectant should be applied after rinsing, using a spray and then items left to drip dry naturally before the next feed. It is important to note that Disinfectant does not require rinsing off.
Bedding
Fresh, clean and dry bedding should be in every pen in your lambing shed. The “wet knee test” is a great technique to check if your beds are dry enough. You should be able to kneel in the pen for 10 seconds in clean overalls and when you get back up your knees should still be dry. If they aren’t, then the bedding either needs cleaned out or topped up with more fresh dry bedding.
In terms of infection control, a lime base added under the bedding may be considered to control bacteria in the shed.
Colostrum Management
Colostrum is the key to giving your lambs the best start to life. It is full of antibodies and immune cells which are transferred to the lambs when fed appropriately and it has all the protein and energy required to get that lamb up and going within the first few hours of life.
The 3 ‘Qs’ of colostrum are an easy way to ensure you are managing colostrum effectively.
- Quality – Good colostrum is obtained from a ewe that has had good nutrition leading up to lambing. The quality of colostrum is important to ensure adequate immunity is transferred to the lamb. This can be measured using a few drops of colostrum on a Brix refractometer. Studies have shown that ewe colostrum quality should be 26.5% or over to be fed to lambs.
- Quantity – Lambs should receive 200ml of colostrum for every kilogram that they weigh. This means a 5kg lamb should get 1 litre of colostrum. Appropriate volumes of feed are important to provide the lamb with enough energy to survive.
- Quickly – Absorption of the immune cells supplied by colostrum in the stomach quickly reduces after the first few hours of life. Therefore, the first 200ml of feed should be given to the lamb within the first 2 hours of life to allow adequate absorption to build immunity.
Navel Management
Navel ill is an infection from bacteria in the environment, the infection can track up the navel and into the body leading to dull, lethargic lambs with swollen and sore navels. This, most commonly, can then lead to joint ill; but it can also lead to infections in the brain, lungs, kidney and heart valves. To reduce the risk of this happening, navels should be dipped in 10% iodine immediately after birth and this should be repeated after 6 hours. A spray on device can be used rather than a dip but it is important to ensure that you cover 100% of the cord and the attachment to the body. 10% iodine works by drying out and disinfecting the navel, reducing the risk of infection entering.
Management and planning ahead of lambing is a proven strategy to reduce the incidence of infectious diseases during the season. Fane Valley’s Preventative Animal Health team are here to provide help and support to prevent disease impacting your flock this lambing season. Our Fane Valley Stores are stocked up on all lambing and hygiene equipment, call in and speak to staff for help and advice in store.
