The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Livestock => Sheep => Topic started by: tommytink on October 26, 2019, 09:44:28 pm
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So this year (or next year) will be my first time lambing.
Earlier this year I attended a lambing session at a local vets so have an idea about what will happen. Will look to attend again before the for real stuff happens here.
Anyway - wondered if folk could share what essential equipment you’d recommend I have to hand? The vets offered a kit, and I’ve seen similar online. I have some lambing ropes, and castration/docking tools (which I won’t be using anyway). I can remember iodine for navels and colostrum for lambs who aren’t being mothered. Also a tube to feed with. Should I get bottles? And milk replacer? What should I ask for from the vet? Someone I know said if you have to put your hand inside the ewe you have to give an antibiotic afterward. Or if it’s a hard birth.
Any advice welcome. I am probably worrying prematurely.
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Basic lambing kit would be:
Gloves- essential for hygiene.
Normal latex gloves and then long AI gloves. Lambing ropes, iodine, lube, castration rings, colostrum (you can get individual dose sachets which are good for small numbers. All triplets get colostrum top ups here as standard, some from the ewe and then powdered top up), stomach tube, bottle and teat. Twin lamb drench, prolapse spoon or harness. Heat lamp. All things that you may never need but will be very glad you’ve got them to hand if you do need them.
A notebook is very useful.
Iodine all navels twice- as soon after birth as possible and then again a few hours later. Torch/headtorch, plenty of snacks (I always get the munchies at 3am when I’m lambing! :roflanim: [size=78%]). [/size]
I also have:
Lamb kick start (for any weak lambs), spectam (oral antibiotic to prevent watery mouth- you shouldn’t need this. I only use it now as we had a problem with watery mouth this year for the first time). Anti inflammatory and antibiotics from the vet but if it’s your first year I expect any problems you have you’d have the vet for? And if so they will administer if necessary. Lamb macs- for turn out in dodgy weather. Have saved many a lamb here as the weather in Cornwall can change very quickly in feb/March when I lamb, and when I turn out they don’t come back in. I have milk powder as normally get a few triplets but no need buying it to start as for the first 24 hours colostrum is best.
Vets number in a easy to remember place. And plan if the worst is to happen where any dead stock will go. It’s easier to have a plan than try and ring round trying to find a knacker to pick up when you’ve had a bad night.
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A marker of some sort to identify lambs. It is amazing how quickly they can get mixed up.
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My essentials are..
Gloves, Iodine spray for navels, sterile scissors for triming the lambs cord. Kick start for lambs that are slow to get up and suckle. Large dog crate with a heat lamp inside for porly lambs. Colostrum and milk. Sterile bottles and stomuch tube. Castration rings and applicators.
I usually pen the ewe with her lambs for 24-48hrs (depending on how good a mum she is and the space I have). I like to mark the lambs and ewes with a number so I can identify who belongs with who and like to worm the ewe and band tails/nuts at the same time.
I wouldn't use antibiotics after a birth unless you have reason to suspect something is badly wrong. I think the only time I have is when a ewe had ringwomb and I was trying to lamb her for a long time and my hands were in and out many times, and so were the vets later that day!
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I give 3 days of pen strep to anything that I’ve had to lamb and put more than a hand in to sort things out. Likewise if they have antibiotics they always get pain relief. But like I said in my post above if it’s the first year lambing and you encounter problems it’s probably better to ring the vet to help and they will also give any necessary drugs.
We’ve never used Spectam until this year when we lost a couple of lambs to watery mouth despite good colostrum management. Both lambs came from ewes scanned for 1 lamb who actually had triplets, consequently their feeding wasn’t right prior to lambing, and I also had proper flu in the run up to lambing and hadn’t managed to clean and disinfect their pens out before lambing started. Next year any triplets and weaker twins will get it and I’m also planning to lime pens to try and keep on top of bacteria as well as cleaning pens out as normal.
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We buy a sealed bottle of antibiotic from the vet (usually betamox LA), and then challenge ourselves not to break the seal before its use-by date! That way we've got it if we need it, but also won't use it lightly.
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The stuff I wouldn't be without:
Lube
Iodine
Lambing Ropes
Gloves
Number of the vet, plus a few people nearby I think might be able to help with non-vet level issues
Something to rig up a bonding pen out of - I've used pallets, hurdles, but now have proper pens a friend has lent me.
I bought a heat lamp, but have not really used it. I've got naval clamps but found them more trouble than they were worth. I've got tail/castration tools but don't dock and probably won't castrate, tbh.
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Patience
Most problems are caused by people who just can't help themselves and have to interfere
Remember it's the ewes lambing not you ;)
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Patience
Most problems are caused by people who just can't help themselves and have to interfere
Remember it's the ewes lambing not you ;)
Totally agree.
To which end, my #1 piece of lambing equipment is... binoculars. So that you can watch from a distance without disturbing the ewes.
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Fab - thanks so much!
Iodine - when I did the vet course it was suggested dipping was preferable to spraying, although spraying looks easier (and less chance of spillage!). But do it twice. Got it.
Maybe it was painkillers the folks I knew used, not antibiotics. I do know someone that has sheep etc. So if I have a minor issue I can speak to them but if something more I’ll call the vet. So any minor issue won’t need any meds anyway. Okay.
Picked up a very large dog crate for free the other day. Had it in my head for housing poorly hens or transporting birds but will also work as a lamb hospital once I’ve cleaned it up :)
Haven’t seen lamb macs before - they look like a good idea. Will prob invest.
We have a couple of good torches that have a good beam. Also got head torches. And binoculars!
I am lambing the Radnors indoors so I’ll be able to mark lambs with corresponding numbers. Not sure how things will work with the Badgers who are going to lamb outdoors. Will be able to number them when they come in for their Hep jab but I wonder how easy it’s going to be to round them up to number the lambs...
The guy we got them from lambs outdoors and said they’ll be fine. As Tim W says, he said don’t keep checking on them and let them get on with it. He doesn’t think they’d do well if had them in. I think we’ll keep them in a small field anyway. Not sure how small I can go, although they’d be confined if indoors so not much difference I guess.
Twin lamb disease will no doubt worry me. We only have a small number so aren’t scanning. Will have to read up on it...
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Don't mean to throw a spanner in the works and loads of people lamb outdoors fine.. but..
As you don't know these ewes do you think it might be an idea to lamb them indoors the first year. I would be concerned about preditors. Most ewes will attack a fox that ventures close to its lambs but not all of them. I keep my lambs in for between 4-7 days post lambing and still occasionally loose lambs to the fox, or sometimes find injured lambs. Crows are also a big worry of mine - I really don't ever want to see what they can do again, ever!
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We have always turned out at 48 hours old no problem.
Lambing outside has its advantages but you need to be prepared for higher mortality rate and have a good dog I think which are 2 reasons why I lamb my little flock inside but put the lambs out after 48 hours.
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Don't mean to throw a spanner in the works and loads of people lamb outdoors fine.. but..
As you don't know these ewes do you think it might be an idea to lamb them indoors the first year. I would be concerned about preditors. Most ewes will attack a fox that ventures close to its lambs but not all of them. I keep my lambs in for between 4-7 days post lambing and still occasionally loose lambs to the fox, or sometimes find injured lambs. Crows are also a big worry of mine - I really don't ever want to see what they can do again, ever!
4 to 7 days is rather long generally …. 48 hours provided sucking well and bonded is enough. Just check for a couple of eves (with binoculars ) that lambs settle with mum at night. Anything not lively should stay in a bit longer. Disease is much more likely if they stay in.
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If the guy that sold you the Badgers said to lamb them outdoors, I’d be inclined to listen to him. You’re using a Badger tup? Not something different?
My experience is that with some types of sheep - the hill type : Swales in my case - it is counter-productive to bring them in, or even to have them in too closely confined a field, and you can end up with a lot of apparently bad mothers, which is actually caused by the stress of the situation.
Left to their own devices, they will go off to a private part of the field, often finding a bit of shelter, and get on with it quietly. Making them be in close contact with other sheep at this time is highly stressful for them.
And I don’t iodine outside, I make sure they have clean ground and I don’t go and interfere at all unless something looks wrong. If you go in and start handling the lambs within the first few minutes or even hours, you can interfere with bonding and feeding.
I generally don’t approach closer than 10-15’ until 24-36 hours, when I want to ring the boys. I only go in closer and sooner if a lamb doesn’t look fed - but I’d give Mum at least an hour with them before I handle the lambs, if I can. If the weather is dreadful then sometimes you daren’t wait an hour, of course.
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4 to 7 days is rather long generally ….
I lamb in Febuary, the weather is very unpredicatable here in Wales, it isn't practical for me to put out for the day and bring in, so gererally once their out, their out!
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I lamb mid to late February in Cornwall so whilst it’s generally mild it can be wet and windy and turn very quickly. Try to get a dry 24 hours to turn out and if we do then anything problem free and over 48 hrs goes out. If it’s soggy weather and there is space they stay in for a day longer. If there’s no space they go out. I do put lamb macs on all lambs and the fields have good hedges. If the weather is bad in the afternoon I don’t go out to the field, as the ewes tend to come out of their shelters to see if I have food and the lambs follow. Trust your instincts and ewes :thumbsup:
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If the guy that sold you the Badgers said to lamb them outdoors, I’d be inclined to listen to him. You’re using a Badger tup? Not something different?
My experience is that with some types of sheep - the hill type : Swales in my case - it is counter-productive to bring them in, or even to have them in too closely confined a field, and you can end up with a lot of apparently bad mothers, which is actually caused by the stress of the situation.
Left to their own devices, they will go off to a private part of the field, often finding a bit of shelter, and get on with it quietly. Making them be in close contact with other sheep at this time is highly stressful for them.
And I don’t iodine outside, I make sure they have clean ground and I don’t go and interfere at all unless something looks wrong. If you go in and start handling the lambs within the first few minutes or even hours, you can interfere with bonding and feeding.
I generally don’t approach closer than 10-15’ until 24-36 hours, when I want to ring the boys. I only go in closer and sooner if a lamb doesn’t look fed - but I’d give Mum at least an hour with them before I handle the lambs, if I can. If the weather is dreadful then sometimes you daren’t wait an hour, of course.
Yes - this is what the guy that sold them to us said. He said some others he’s sold to have brought in but he said they should be out. Understand don’t interfere as need to allow a bond to form. I guess it’s judgement as to when to intervene - if the ewe runs off and leaves it? Someone else I know suggested we should bring in as they’re first timers and will prob leave the lambs ::) It is a Badger tup - from the same guy again.
Do you mean you don’t iodine outside lambs at all? Or do you bring them in at some point? I would like to number the lambs (I’m planning on numbering the ewes at vaccination time) so I can keep an eye on who should be with who. Again, the guy we bought from doesn’t do this but he is on a commercial level so isn’t too concerned - as long as they’re alive I guess!!
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First time mums can find it all a bit strange at first, and may run off if disturbed. But usually they won’t go far if they’re not disturbed, and mostly they do come back to the same spot even if they do go away.
I’ve not had Badgers myself, but if they’re like Shetlands, not only are the mothers usually excellent, but the lambs are active, know exactly what they want and where it is, and are persistent in getting it! :D
I cannot stress enough that the biggest threat to good mothering in first timers of this type (ie, not dopey commercials ;) ) is disturbance. In spades and cubed if there are two lambs, and the disturbance is when #2 gets born - because by then #1 is up, fed and running about, and mum may decide that she will save the one that’s mobile.
So... numbering. Someone suggested numbering the ewes before lambing, and I can’t tell you what a good idea I think that is! (Number or mark uniquely in some way. I used to prefer a “family mark” to girt big numbers, but whatever works for you.).
If the mother is marked, you don’t need to try to catch her in the field. At 24-36 hours old you should be able to catch the lambs and mark them, ring them if you are doing any ringing, and so on.
If used, iodine must be applied within minutes of birth to be of any use. So if you are letting mum bond with the lambs without disturbance, you cannot iodine navels. Iodine is used to minimise the risk of infection creeping up the unsealed umbicilcal cord; such infection can cause problems later, such as joint ill. After an hour or two, the cord is sealed and starting to shrivel and dry anyway, so iodine does nothing useful.
If you lamb indoors, or if you pick up newborns and bring them in a trailer to where you want them, be that indoors or a different field, then you are maximising the potential to exposure to infection, so then I would iodine.
If you are going to leave the family to get to know each other for 24 hours plus, then the best defence against infection is clean ground and an attentive mother. ;)
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Yes, the guy we got them from definitely said they’ll be fine outside and don’t bring them in as they wouldn’t like it. He’s had them for years so inclined to listen to him! It’s his Badger tup that’s we have on loan (part of the deal when we got the girls). Someone else said they reckon they’d do a bunk but maybe this is, as you say Sally, as a result of over involvement. They are meant to be good mothers but as it’s first time it’s all going to be down to their instincts.
What do you class as a clean field?