Lambing routine.

[Johnny400]

Just wondered for those who lamb inside what your routine is at lambing. This is from the ewe lambing in a pen of ewes to when they go outside. What vaccines, naval dips etc etc.
Sorry if this has been covered in another thread but just interested in how others do it.
Cheers

 

[Sheepfog]

I let mine lamb in the amongst the pen of ewes. I find it keeps the mothering up pens cleaner and the ewes can pick their spot to lamb. Once they've lambed I move them to an individual pen and dip the lambs navel with iodine and give them a squirt of spectam. Ring and number them once they are at least 24 hours old the night before they are turned out.

 

[mghley]

I let mine lamb in the amongst the pen of ewes. I find it keeps the mothering up pens cleaner and the ewes can pick their spot to lamb. Once they've lambed I move them to an individual pen and dip the lambs navel with iodine and give them a squirt of spectam. Ring and number them once they are at least 24 hours old the night before they are turned out.

Same routine here and then Cydectin Jab ewe on turn out for maximum worm coverage on pastures

 

[hillman]

Same as above Instead of dipping navel spray instead , how often do you dippers change the dip, go into big pen with 6/7 ewes for another day before out

 

[exmoor dave]

see them start lambing and put in 6x6' pens inside the big pens,
navel dip and move to 4x4pens,
few hours later, scourhalt lambs and worm/fluke ewes, dip navels second time.

day 2- singles- ring and number then put them out.
twins- ring

day 3 (twins) number and put out.


obviously completely weather dependant, if its crap, instead of going outside they go loose in one of the stone barns.

 

[will6910]

they lamb in big pen then move to individual pen soon as possible after lambing, spray navel squirt of scour halt and check ewes udder to, 24 hrs later maybe sooner if needing space will ring tails and number up and worm ewe and tag possible replacement ewe lambs, then out to field or if weather bad into group pen somewhere

 

[harperfarmer]

Let them lamb in big pen with other ewes. Let the ewe lick lambs for a couple of minutes, then move into a little pen. Dose of Spectam and spray navels with iodine. Check ewes bag for milk. Go back in 45 minutes to an hour, if the lamb(s) haven't sucked strip out ewe and tube/bottle lambs. At 48 hours ring lambs, number, turn out into larger group pens of 10-12 before tipping out into the field. Early days the lambs go straight into the field as space for group pens only happens once we've lambed 80-100 or so. Equally we only ring the lambs if good and strong, if we're not manically busy and they'd benefit from an extra day in a little pen, they get that extra day. All little pens are cleaned out and disinfected between each ewe.

 

[jonny]

Let them lamb in big pen with other ewes. Let the ewe lick lambs for a couple of minutes, then move into a little pen. Dose of Spectam and spray navels with iodine. Check ewes bag for milk. Go back in 45 minutes to an hour, if the lamb(s) haven't sucked strip out ewe and tube/bottle lambs. At 48 hours ring lambs, number, turn out into larger group pens of 10-12 before tipping out into the field. Early days the lambs go straight into the field as space for group pens only happens once we've lambed 80-100 or so. Equally we only ring the lambs if good and strong, if we're not manically busy and they'd benefit from an extra day in a little pen, they get that extra day. All little pens are cleaned out and disinfected between each ewe.

Is it not better to lime the individual pens on top of the bedding than cleaning them out every time, stopped cleaning them out every time as you are only spreading disease around the shed unless they are very mucky

 

[Gulli]

Try to get all mine in individual pens before they lamb but they usually get it in the wrong order! 24 hrs in there, ring and mark up the next day and then either into a group pen or back out to grass depending on the weather and how fed up of sheep I am.

Spray navels as soon as I get to them, give the hurdles a quick spray with hypo in between sheep and fresh straw when they Need it

 

[hillman]

I pefer to clean out each pen and lime well, it gives pens a chance to dry , and lime from base should neutralise bedding , I clean out for the reason you stopped as season goes on more worried about disease in pens

 

[neilo]

Let them lamb in big pen with other ewes. Let the ewe lick lambs for a couple of minutes, then move into a little pen. Dose of Spectam and spray navels with iodine. Check ewes bag for milk. Go back in 45 minutes to an hour, if the lamb(s) haven't sucked strip out ewe and tube/bottle lambs. At 48 hours ring lambs, number, turn out into larger group pens of 10-12 before tipping out into the field. Early days the lambs go straight into the field as space for group pens only happens once we've lambed 80-100 or so. Equally we only ring the lambs if good and strong, if we're not manically busy and they'd benefit from an extra day in a little pen, they get that extra day. All little pens are cleaned out and disinfected between each ewe.

I do about the same as that, apart from cleaning pens out. I give a good littering of clean straw between sheep and find that's as effective as any disinfectant I've used before.

 

[Poorbuthappy]

I do about the same as that, apart from cleaning pens out. I give a good littering of clean straw between sheep and find that's as effective as any disinfectant I've used before.

Do you not find pens build up too much dung?
Towards end of lambing I get some long term occupants who's pens get so full of dung they're liable to jump out over at feed time.

 

[neilo]

Do you not find pens build up too much dung?
Towards end of lambing I get some long term occupants who's pens get so full of dung they're liable to jump out over at feed time.

Ah, that would be those mules? I much prefer sensible sheep that don't jump out.

In fairness, I don't lamb enough indoors these days, for it to be a problem. The early lambers are all sponged, so need lots of pens that don't get used that often. Those lambing at the moment, will steadily drift through at 5 or 6 a day. Everything else will not see a lambing pen, if all goes according to plan.

 

[harperfarmer]

We clean out purely because I feel it's more hygienic and also we have around 60-70 little pens that are left up all year round in a fairly inaccessible part of the shed so cleaning out with a telehandler isn't really an option. Like to keep on top of it as 520 sheep later is a lot of muck to barrow out by hand in one hit! Started disinfecting in between little pens two years ago as we had one hell of an E.coli problem and felt we really ought to be doing it. My view is that if we keep just an extra 10 lambs alive that's more than paid for the extra work, disinfectant etc. Plus it was bloody depressing that last year before we started doing it! Whilst I haven't taken down any proper numbers of lambs lost in pens etc, I personally reckon we've lost less lambs in pens to wet mouth and other diseases than we used to. But there's still 90 odd to go so I might get proved wrong over the next week!!

 

[exmoor dave]

i'm in the middle in regards to cleaning pens, used to clean out between every ewe but now i'll do it every few ewes, usually when the dung is 4-6" deep and the younger ewes start jumping at cake o'clock!

my pens are on concrete, so i find the first ewe in after a clean out always gets the dirtiest and needs the most straw, as the fluids can't go anywhere, once the dung is up abit, a lot less straw is needed.

straw and use a good dose of bedding powder between ewes, powder is more expensive than lime but seems much more absorbent and now where near as nasty on people or animals.

admittedly i tend to leave cleaning pens out for the students then towards the end of lambing i let the dung go cause i know i can just pack the hurdles away and clean up with the tractor.

 

[DrWazzock]

We do as above but probably don't clean out the pens as much as we should but we do use powder and bed them well. Might try more cleaning out as always towards the end we get the problems with ecoli and watery mouth, or just leave the b*****s outside if the weather's nice.

We let the in-lamb ewes out during the day and bring in at night. We wonder if this causes mal presentations as they rush in and out, but we think they benefit from being out during the day.

 

[hillman]

Exmoor dave bought a tonne bag of hydrated lime this year and so far when doing ewe pens and feed face its seems not as fine or dusty and settles better , I used small bags last few years and the dust was a brute

 

[andybk]

Is it not better to lime the individual pens on top of the bedding than cleaning them out every time, stopped cleaning them out every time as you are only spreading disease around the shed unless they are very mucky

We have a concrete pad and is each pen cleaned out between every ewe , then scrubbed down with disinfectant ready for the next one , all bedding is thrown out . Pad big enough to rotate ewes around during lambing .
Any cleansing , afterbirth in dirty litter will be very high risk for any following lamb especially if heat lamps need to be used , and new ewes have a habit of digging down into dirty bedding after lambing
Tried lime one year not sure it was a good idea getting any on damp bedding that may in turn transfer to ewe teats , potentially terminal for young lambs .

 

[Komatsu]

Let mine lamb in big pens with other ewes iodine spray and watery mouth powder asap and move to small pen numbered banded and breed sex marks soon as lambs are dry and full, left to recover after banding(mainly for wedders benefit) then off to loose pen till next morning if alls well out the door, if weather good singles straight out if weather exceptional twins straight out too, poor ones/triplet stay as long as required. In bad weather snow etc nothing leaves shed until improved if run out of space only fittest out. Pens normally cleaned and disenfected daily but can run out of time at busy period so just disenfect and straw, remove any clean.

 

[Johnny400]

Interesting.

This is the first year we lambed more than 30 inside, so a bit new for me. Weve let them lamb in the big pens then moved to indiviual pens. Iodine sprayed straight away, sometimes a second time, and thats them left to get on with it which the majority have. Of course we are watching them every couple of hours and anything needing attention is seen to, like a small triplet etc.

Was talking to someone and they gave their run down and it made me look like i didnt care about them. They had to lamb them(wont mention breeds), mixe up colostrum for them and tubed, a shot of alamycine, a shot of vitasel, a squirt of something else down the throat, back again later to make sure they have had a sook.....think that was everything!!

Ive just been piling in the straw to the individual pens with some hydrated lime every second ewe. Ive only had two cases of joint ill so far, but think thats down to iodine them too early and the ewe licking it off.