Bloat in pet lambs

[hubbahubba]

We do over 100 pet/cade lambs every year. Far too many I know but just the way it is, lifting hoggs twins and triplets. This year seems bad for bloat in 3 week old lambs, tried all sorts, liquid paraffin, yogurt and bicarbonate soda but nothing clears them. On a milkmade machine with cool milk, pellets, barley straw and fresh water. Using carrs milk powder as always.

We wean at 5 weeks and just started weaning some. Any ideas?

 

[L P]

Poor colostrum? Teats too free flowing/going soft?

 

[hubbahubba]

Poor colostrum? Teats too free flowing/going soft?

All had ewes colostrum or topped up with cows colostrum. Normally just change the teats when they start dripping, i will have a look.

Some have been good thriving lambs others maybe a bit poorer but healthy enough. Obviously not a huge loss financially but frustrating all the same.

 

[primmiemoo]

Tubes from the bucket twisted upwards where they can't be seen? That can lead to lambs drinking air.

 

[Northeastfarmer]

Pet lambs are the work of the devil

 

[L P]

All had ewes colostrum or topped up with cows colostrum. Normally just change the teats when they start dripping, i will have a look.

Some have been good thriving lambs others maybe a bit poorer but healthy enough. Obviously not a huge loss financially but frustrating all the same.

I'm no great guru on it, true bloat rather than distended belly is normally poor colostrum, poor hygiene in the feed or gorge feeding. It's caused by bad bacteria over breeding on lactose in the gut as you know else you'd not have tried the live yoghurt trick. The milk machine might be my other question as you're feeding cool milk, good in itself for the lamb, but if there's bacteria in there can you up intake water temp above 54c? Most bacteria can't stand survive that temperature. I always do milk with kettle as its the only hot water in the shed and might make the difference

 

[hubbahubba]

I'm no great guru on it, true bloat rather than distended belly is normally poor colostrum, poor hygiene in the feed or gorge feeding. It's caused by bad bacteria over breeding on lactose in the gut as you know else you'd not have tried the live yoghurt trick. The milk machine might be my other question as you're feeding cool milk, good in itself for the lamb, but if there's bacteria in there can you up intake water temp above 54c? Most bacteria can't stand survive that temperature. I always do milk with kettle as its the only hot water in the shed and might make the difference

Thats all interesting thanks. I would be struggling to get the machine to heat the water to that. I wonder if for next year i could run the water through some anti bacteria filter before it goes into the machine...? It is a private water supply, although it does feed the farm and house too.

Probably more a bacteria build up over anything in there pens. Their mucked out regularly but its so hard keeping so many clean and dry.

 

[L P]

Thats all interesting thanks. I would be struggling to get the machine to heat the water to that. I wonder if for next year i could run the water through some anti bacteria filter before it goes into the machine...? It is a private water supply, although it does feed the farm and house too.

Probably more a bacteria build up over anything in there pens. Their mucked out regularly but its so hard keeping so many clean and dry.

"Probably more a bacteria build up over anything in there pens. Their mucked out regularly but its so hard keeping so many clean and dry."

I'd not be hard on yourself here, it's feed/digestion related bacteria not bedding related, something is causing it upchain of your housing system I'd suggest. If you're not giving cleanliness bedding you'd be on about Joint ill not bloat imo.

The good side of outdoor lambing and the poor little beggars not doing well on a day like today is the flipside of indoor rearing and all its own issues.
One of the things that has hugely reduced distended gut here on orphan calves/lambs I've found is to gradually reduce powder ratio rather than milk as you wean... ie rather than expect them to not gorge milk ration as they grow, keep the water amount the same but reduce the powder w/w... somewhat the same as controlling lactose uptake in greedy lambs in making the belly full... I reckon powder is 30% too rich by reccomended dose once they are 10 days old

 

[hubbahubba]

"Probably more a bacteria build up over anything in there pens. Their mucked out regularly but its so hard keeping so many clean and dry."

I'd not be hard on yourself here, it's feed/digestion related bacteria not bedding related, something is causing it upchain of your housing system I'd suggest. If you're not giving cleanliness bedding you'd be on about Joint ill not bloat imo.

The good side of outdoor lambing and the poor little beggars not doing well on a day like today is the flipside of indoor rearing and all its own issues.
One of the things that has hugely reduced distended gut here on orphan calves/lambs I've found is to gradually reduce powder ratio rather than milk as you wean... ie rather than expect them to not gorge milk ration as they grow, keep the water amount the same but reduce the powder w/w... somewhat the same as controlling lactose uptake in greedy lambs in making the belly full... I reckon powder is 30% too rich by reccomended dose once they are 10 days old

Thats 2 died with bloated bellys today, one 3 weeks old, the other 1 week. Troube is with one machine and all the lambs from a few days to 5 weeks on it. Something has changed as we dont normally get so many.

 

[L P]

Thats 2 died with bloated bellys today, one 3 weeks old, the other 1 week. Troube is with one machine and all the lambs from a few days to 5 weeks on it. Something has changed as we dont normally get so many.

Could you manage with a nurse pen on an ordinary bucket or bottle rack in a seperate area and use boiled water in the mix and see if it fixes it, even if its a smaller batch to prove a point? Warmer milk is kinder on the gut but I get the science behind bad germs breeding slower the lower the temperature of the milk. Personally I'd sterilise the food source first, but if bad lambs are back on it with youngsters it'll come back again, so if you could manage separating a weeks lambs and a change of batch somehow it would be favourable.

 

[primmiemoo]

Maybe consider taking dung samples for testing. Do you have an alternative rearing shed that you could use to break any infection cycle?

Would pipes, teats, buckets, etc, on the suspect machine withstand a good scalding clean with hypochlorite and a hot rinse?

 

[puppet]

Next year leave 2 lambs on all the hoggs. Ours do fine with 2 and end up big enough

 

[hubbahubba]

Next year leave 2 lambs on all the hoggs. Ours do fine with 2 and end up big enough

We did a few years ago and 15% took mastitis. I did plan to try again this year but with the alow spring decided not to.

 

[livestock 1]

Give them cold milk it stops them gorging