Lambing kicks off again soon for the early lambers, so I thought we’d run through a quick reminder on a few things to get the lambing sheds ready to go. Next month, we’ll cover late gestation ewe nutrition in further detail.

Stocking Density and Feed Face Availability

House ewes around 2 weeks before lambing, though potentially a bit earlier in truly foul weather. Group ewes according to scanning results to allow for more targeted feeding. Pre-lambing pens should allow for 1.2-1.4m2 per ewe of lying area, ensuring good hygiene standards and frequent strawing up. Allow at least 45cm per ewe of trough space for concentrate feeding and 12-15cm per ewe of feed face access to ad-lib forage. It is especially important to have adequate trough space for concentrate feeding. Insufficient space can easily lead to intense competition when feeding out. The stronger ewes may muscle their way in and get the lion’s share, potentially leading to subacute ruminal acidosis and digestion issues, while the weaker or smaller ewes may be left with little – increasing the risk of twin lamb disease.

You need at least one lambing pen per eight ewes, each with a minimum area of 1m x 2m. These pens should be mucked out between ewes, disinfecting the floor with hydrated lime before bedding back up generously with clean straw. Ensure clean, fresh feed and water is provided twice daily. Allow a minimum of 2-6 hours bonding time in the pens before turning out into small post-lambing groups for ease of mothering. Turn out when the lambs are fit, full and dry and the weather is reasonable. Turn out into small, sheltered paddocks close to the sheds for easy observation.

A good rule of thumb is to have ready one adopter pen and one isolation pen per 50 ewes.

Colostrum Supply

Of course, the ewe’s own colostrum is best but if she doesn’t have enough or the worst has happened, a good alternative must be at hand for emergencies. Most “colostrum supplement” powder products are effectively little better than milk powders with a bit of yellow colouring in and contain little or no antibodies. We have a very effective freeze-dried calf colostrum product (Calf’s Choice Total 100) made of real colostrum, which are easily made up with warm water into a high-quality colostrum replacer. Some of you may be familiar with this product already for use in calves but we now have a lamb/kid-specific dosing table available on request to make this easier. We would recommend a bag be emptied into clean/dry resealable containers or sandwich bags so as not to leave the bag open and getting damp. One bag will do approximately 6-9 4kg lambs.

Alternatively, fresh ewe colostrum from a fit, recently lambed ewe (ideally with a well fed single) is a good option. Frozen cow colostrum can also be helpful to have on hand, though it must be from cows with a history of at least two negative Johne’s tests and beware that some cow colostrum contains antibodies that destroy lamb red blood cells – it’s a small risk but one to bear in mind. Also bear in mind that cow colostrum is more dilute than ewe colostrum, so feed an additional 10% over the general rule of thumb: Lambs born indoors need approximately 50ml per kg of birthweight within the first 2 hours of life and a total of 200ml/kg in the first 24 hours of life.