LAMBING LUNCH

Hannah Pegram, Rachel Davies, Andrew Littlejohn, Amelia Lynch

Disclaimer

We aren’t here to replace your lectures, more just share our experiences of things we have picked up from our own lambing experience.

This is not complete but merely a brief overview of things which may help you when you go lambing

We’re also not here to scare/overwhelm you. Lambing is a great experience to go and do and it will help you a lot for husbandry etc.

Plan

• Attitude, appearance, the basics and what to expect

• The normal lambing routine

• The problem lambings

• Ewe care and other odds and ends

• Questions

The Basics

Attitude

• First impressions last

• Tough time of year for farmer

• ALWAYS respect your farmers knowledge

• Appear enthusiastic even if you’re not

• Work hard! (and you might get well paid!)

The Basics

What to take with you

• Wellies

• Waterproofs

• Warm clothes/boilersuit

The BasicsYour farm placement

• Breed of sheep

• Pedigree or commercial?

• How much is farmer expecting you to do?

• How many other students are there?

• Dayshift/Nightshift?

The Basics

The Farmer• Will want you to be interested in him and his

farm• Most will want to help teach you things• Always listen to your farmer, nearly all will have a

lot more experience than you do• Don’t tell him your confident to be left alone if

your not, he would much rather spend time to help you than end up with dead lambs.

• He will usually help you if you ask

The Basics

Lambing as a job

• One of my favourite times of year

• Hard work and long hours

• Stressful

• Great experience for animal care and farm understanding

• Usually you will be well fed!

• May get paid if you’re good.

Daily Routine

• First check sheep– Lamb anything needing

assistance

– Pen ewes and lambs and check those in pens

– Iodine and Spectam

• Feeding, Watering and Bedding

• Tea, biscuits and feeding lambs

• Hypothermia

KEEP CHECKING!

Daily Routine

• Turning outside– Nursery/straight outside?

– Are they ready?

– Turned in eyelids

– Tag with spray paint

– Tail docking

• Length is important

– Castration

• Check again

• LUNCHTIME!!

• Nightshift

GLOVES OR NO GLOVES?

ANTIBIOTICS??

WHEN TO INTERVENE?

• Distressed

• Only head showing

• When presenting with only: - one leg

- tail

• The water-bag has been passed and she’s not making progress in 30 minutes

HOW TO CORRECT MALPRESENTATIONS

• REMEMBER:

CUP THE HOOF AT ANY POINT WHEN BRINGING LEGS

FORWARD

Protects the uterus from damage/perforation

BACKWARDS

•Never try to rotate the lamb•Straightforward assisted lambing•Get lamb out quickly

ONE LEG BACK

•Trace the leg down from the neck, over the shoulder to locate the hoof•‘Cup’ the hoof and bring forwards•Push head back to increase space

BOTH LEGS BACK

•Similar to one leg back•Repel the head every time•Fix the more difficult leg first - space

HEAD BACK•Both feet presented, lateral deviation of head•Lambing ropes•Use legs to push the body back into the uterus•Head rope – behind ears, around poll•Straighten head•Bring head and legs out together

BREECH•True = backwards lamb with no legs presented, just a tail at the pelvic inlet•Extend hips, flexing all distal joints•Straighten both hind legs (‘cupping’ hoof) – helps to push the lamb forwards first•LUBE!•Deliver as for backwards -quickly

FOUR FRONT LEGS

•Identify which legs are paired – push all back in•Choose foremost leg, trace back to shoulder/head•Find other leg by tracing from the head•2 legs and correct head should be identified•Deliver

TWINS FRONT BACK

•Deliver the lamb coming forwards first•Allows widening of the passage•Easier delivery of 2nd

lamb•Work from the head and locate both legs to prevent

HUNG LAMBS•Swollen head (tongue)•Even if appears cold and dead it can survive!•Gentle repulsion of the head into the vagina•LUBE- LOTS OF IT!•If possible locate a leg alongside the head, bring the one leg forward and deliver•DON’T PUSH THE HEAD RIGHT BACK INTO THE UTERINE BODY-Risk suffocation or not being able to retrieve legs/head again

TIPS!• ALWAYS check for another lamb• Don’t be afraid to ask the farmer

– most will be more than willing to help. Make sure you have his mobile number!

• Lots of lube!• Know your joints!• Repel • Use ropes• Traction• Reposition ewe• Cord attached, pull away

WHEN TO CALL THE VET

• Ringwomb – tight ring, no lamb (cervix not dilated)

• Dead and deformed lambs

• Foetal oversize

• No progression

Periparturient Diseases

• Abortion

• Pregnancy toxaemia

• Hypocalcaemia

• Hypomagnesemia

• (Listeriosis)

• (Septicaemia)

• (Johne’s, OPA and the usual suspects etc.)

Abortion

You won’t have much to do with this – however, it is a good to be able to identify aborting ewes and products of abortion

Hypocalcaemia

Hypomagnesaemia

Preg toxaemia

Lambing 6 weeks6 weeks

28

Don’t forget the ewes!

Nutrition is pivotal in keeping disease in sheep at bayEwes have a particularly high metabolic load in late pregnancy due to lamb growth

Pregnancy Toxaemia

Energy requirements of a Ewe

Ewe’s appetite reduces by about 30% approaching lambing

Pre lambing metabolic profile

• 2-4 weeks pre-lambing

• 5 ewes per group

• 10-15 if unscanned

• BCS

• Assessment of feeding ration

• ALB, UREA, BHB

• Visit fee + b/s + metabolic profile + interpretation

Late pregnancy

• In the last eight weeks of pregnancy, 70 per cent of foetal growth takes place.

• Udder development and colostrum production• It is vital to manage ewes well at this stage as low lamb

birth-weight and low colostrum intake are major causes of lamb deaths in the first few days of life.

• During late pregnancy, a ewe’s energy and protein requirements are increasing rapidly – more than doubling if they are carrying two lambs.

• However, as the lambs grow, the ewe’s ability to eat bulk reduces . Therefore, the nutrient density of the ration must be increased gradually to allow ewes to consume enough to keep pace with foetal growth.

Pregnancy toxaemia (twin lamb disease, ovine ketosis)

• Clinical signs of pregnancy toxaemia (listed as the disease progresses)

• Does not come to feed trough• Isolated,• Dull and depressed• Blind • “Star gazing”• Head pressing• Fine muscle tremors of the head• Weakness and recumbency• Death

Progression of disease relatively slow (2-16 days)

Treatment?

• Response to treatment is generally poor• Pen sick ewe separately - offer palatable feeds to

promote appetite, and fresh water• Drench with propylene glycol• Intravenous glucose injection• Glucocorticoid injection – to promote

gluconeogenesis• Ewes with pregnancy toxaemia must be checked

at least twice daily for signs of abortion/lambing because they may be too weak to expel the foetuses/lambs.

• Failure to expel dead foetuses leads to them becoming rotten, releasing poisons into the ewe's system which leads to her death.

Pregnancy toxaemia-Ewes At risk

• Late pregnancy

• Twins/triplets

• Older ewes

• Fat ewes/thin ewes

• Often a group problem

• Concurrent disease

Hypocalcaemia

Demand exceeds supply

Clinical signs:

•Depressed, weak unable to stand•Rumenal stasis and bloat•Reflux of ruminal contents with green fluid around nostrils and lower jaw•Coma and death within 48-72 hrs

Treatment

• Slow IV administration of 20-40 mls of a 40% calcium borogluconate solution given over 30 to 60 seconds. Eructation (Burping) is observed 1-2 minutes after intravenous calcium administration.

• Ewes will stand within 5 minutes of intravenous injection, urinate and wander off to rejoin the rest of the flock.

• The response to subcutaneous administration of 60-80 mls of 40% calcium borogluconate solution injected over the thoracic wall behind the shoulder may take up to four hours especially if the solution had not been warmed to body temperature and injected at one site.

Hypocalcaemia-PreventionAvoid stress in late gestation

transport dog worry

change of feed (change of weather)

Diet!

Hypomagnesaemia/ Staggers

Risk factors:

• High levels of Potassium in grass

• Rapidly growing grass (gut transit)

• Cold/wet stressful weather

• Lactating ewes with twins

Hypomagnesaemia-Clinical Signs

Mostly sudden death

• Anxiety, hyperaesthesia/tachycardia• Unsteady gait, staggering• Apparent blindness• Nystagmus• Recumbency (+ paddling)• Opisthotonus• Hypersalivation (frothing at mouth)

Hypomagnesaemia-Treatment

• 50 ml 25% MgSO4, SC multiple sites (skin

necrosis: not IV)

Often a poor response to treatment

Vaginal prolapses

– Common – may affect 1-2% ewes in flock

– Last 4 weeks of pregnancy

– Extent of prolapse varies

– Urethral obstruction – urinary retention and uraemia

– If uncorrected – infection and necrosis; death

– Ewes often isolated from flock, straining

Vaginal prolapse - treatmentPlastic retention devices & harnesses (farmer)

Surgical – call vet!

Fostering on lambs

Skinning

Pet Lambs!

The weird and wonderful

References:

• www.nadis.org.uk

• www.sheep101.info

• Coomefield veterinary hospital