In these days of reduced antibiotics... what are people doing to sort out watery mouth in lambs??
- Thread starter Alan young
- Start date
Make sure that the newborn lamb has sucked properly or if need be is topped-up with colostrum.
And just as important, give a soapy enema to any lamb that hasn't shat. A lamb that hasn't shat won't have the black Meconium stain round its rear end, and will look as miserable as one of Sep Brewis's drawings.
And just as important, give a soapy enema to any lamb that hasn't shat. A lamb that hasn't shat won't have the black Meconium stain round its rear end, and will look as miserable as one of Sep Brewis's drawings.
Guiggs
Member
- Location
- Leicestershire
Lamb outdoors
Woolless
Member
- Location
- Berwickshire, Scottish Borders
I was going to post that, although TBF I had a bad go with it in the outdoor lambers three or four years ago. They'd been battered by the weather between scanning and Heptavac a month before lambing.
- Location
- Aberdeenshire
I used Veloron at the suggestion of my vet last year. I had no watery mouth in indoor lambs last year however my sample size was only 40 so make of it as you will.
www.farmsense.com
Veloron Supplement
Veloron Supplement is a specific feed for newborn lambs or lambs born weak or distressed.
www.farmsense.com
- Location
- Perthshire (It's a big place!)
Way back when I used to be sent to the Wm Low supermarket (yes it was a long time ago) in Forfar to buy a trolley load of natural yoghurt, don't know what they did with it or if it helped though.
- Location
- North Wales
Ensure ewes have enough DUP in the diet to produce plenty of good quality colostrum and hope lambs have plenty of vigour to get up and suck.
- Location
- Cheshire
I can’t remember exactly how long ago it was but it was a hellish wet lambing. Cold as well, we had more joint ill in the singles which never come inside than I did in the multiples!
Couldn’t believe it!Pistonbroke
Member
They'll die of it outdoors just as happily if they don't suck colostrum straight away and have a big black shite.
Pistonbroke
Member
I hose out the black shite from triplets as a routine now
- Location
- Cheshire
Admittedly we don’t have a watery mouth problem here to start with, so that helps. But feeding the ewe right pre lambing to ensure plenty of good colostrum, making sure the lambs suck, don’t let the in lamb ewes get dirty (plenty of bedding) and don’t be shy with the hydrated lime pre sheep coming in and if the sheep have a favourite area to lamb in, throw a bag on it once a week and bed up well on top of it. 
- Location
- Radnorshire
Advice we have followed last 2 lambings is make sure ewes have soya for protein as this dramatically improves quality of colostrum. Also clean out every individual pen of all litter every day. Both these have made a huge improvement on watery mouth and so far Joint ill .Before ,every lamb had spectam and just limed and fresh straw in pens. Cleaning pens out takes time and is a pain , but I believe is vital so in a busy day , time has to be found. Then watery mouth can take a lot of time and usually ends up with a dead lamb.
Aspiring Peasants
Member
- Location
- North Pennines
I think a lot of it comes down to colostrum quality. I don't have time to disinfect pens between lambs inside and all these things we are recommended to do. I just try and make sure ewes are in good condition and feed lifeline blocks 6 weeks before lambing. I've got away with it so far (quite a lot of years) 
I haven't noticed a lot of difference between the ones that lamb outdoors and those that lamb indoors
I haven't noticed a lot of difference between the ones that lamb outdoors and those that lamb indoors
Pistonbroke
Member
Lambs are born with e Coli already in their gut whether they're in or out. The deciding factor is how quick it moves through. Plenty of colostrum early on will shift the black which is blocking the drain.
We used to give every lamb spectam, we then moved to just doing triplet born and weak lambs, we clean out any pen that gets mucky before liming and straw but usually just give an extra coat of lime and ensure all the pens are well bedded. Ewes are fed a good ration with high protein and high dmd silage in tmr so colostrum produced is good quality and plenty of it keeps watery mouth at bay
muleman
Member
Colostrum is key . .Its the triplets that cause trouble.
The work is done through winter with ewe nutrition which is a costly job nowadays.
We were getting joint ill in the triplet lambs, which would be due to lack of colostrum......1ml betamox did a real job with those.
- Location
- Scotland
Is your vet happy to prescribe Betamox for prophalactic use??
muleman
Member
Probably not....but if i had a big problem i would talk it through with them first.
Im just trying to offer help to anyone that might be struggling......if i had an outbreak of watery mouth i would do something about it, not just sit by and watch them die.
But as i said above prevention is better than cure, ewe nutrition through winter is key.