Lamb welfare is a critical factor in determining the success of a sheep enterprise and most of the key decisions and actions taken by the farmer centre around lambing time itself. We detail common welfare and management practices.

Lambing outdoors is normally the healthiest option as bacterial infections are of lower incidence in the open air. However, there are risks to young lambs from exposure in cold conditions, predation by foxes and mis-mothering generally (ewes lose track of their lambs or they are taken over by other ewes that have not yet lambed). Where these problems are expected, the farmer may choose to house the flock for lambing.

If a ewe is housed it is essential that she comes to a pen that is clean and sterile as both she and the lamb will be prone to the bacterial infections that build up within housing. The simple application of a sterilising solution will be inadequate protection and pens need to be thoroughly cleaned of all bedding before sterilisation takes place.

Lambs that are weak or are born in very cold conditions benefit from heat, either supplied by an infra red lamp or fan heater. Such heat can also be used to revive lambs that have suffered from exposure following a rapid deterioration in weather conditions.

During the process of lambing, the umbilical cord that attached the lamb to the placenta of the ewe will break. A small thread of this will remain on the lamb and dry up naturally in the first few days of life. Whilst this is generally safe for the lamb in outdoor conditions, the risk of bacterial infection arising indoors is high. Farmers therefore tend to treat the navel of the lamb with an iodine solution that prevents infection.

Some ewes will produce more lambs that they can properly feed and help using milk substitutes will be given to lambs that are not getting sufficient milk. This substitute is an expensive but specially formulated colostrum milk powder. Colostrum is the first milk of the animal after birth and is rich in antibodies that help protect the newborn animal from disease. Natural colostrum or milk from other ewes or even cows can be used.

Licking will continue for some minutes and during this time the lamb will be gaining strength and starting to think about milk!

Within the first three days of the lambs life, the farmer will ring the lamb's tail. A tight rubber band is placed near the top of the tail with calipers. This restricts and eventually stops the flow of blood to the tail which falls off after a few weeks. Although this causes the lamb some discomfort for the first 24 hours, it is an effective and safe way of removing the majority of the tail which greatly reduces the risk of fly strike - a debilitating problem that can quickly lead to death.

In much the same way that the tail is "docked", so ram lambs that are not due to become breeding stock are castrated. Castration is carried out using the same rings and is always applied within the first three days of life to reduce discomfort. Castrated lambs are usually known as wether lambs - they are less aggressive than rams and can be mixed with ewes and ewe lambs.

Amidst the chaos of lambing time when hundreds of ewes and lambs can all be mixed up, a ewe can easily lose track of her lamb. A prominent indentification mark on both the lamb and ewe can greatly assist the farmer in returning each to each other. Young lambs are also ear tagged with their national flock number and the individual number of the animal.

Sheep do not naturally thrive indoors and so the farmer will seek to return the ewe and lamb to the fields quickly after lambing. Most lambs will need little additional care as they grow quickly on spring grass and milk from the ewe.

User comments - post a comment