The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Livestock => Sheep => Topic started by: lowlander on May 30, 2015, 12:02:26 pm
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One of our shearling Shetlands had twin lambs yesterday from an unplanned mating with next door's Heb ram. Mother and lambs all doing fine. She did not have a Heptavac booster 4 weeks prior to lambing - I am new to this and hadn't planned lambs this year so only realised I had missed this when it was too late. :( Her normal booster would be due in July/August. Is there anything I can do now to protect the lambs? Are they likely to have any immunity from their mother (had her last dose in August) and how early can it be given to young lambs? Thanks for any advice.
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I'm not an expert, hopefully someone knowledgable will post, but I didn't do any of my four ewes or their lambs until the lambs were four weeks. The ewes had never been vaccinated before. Did them all with Heptavac p plus. The vet said that was fine, though people on here have done young lambs with ovivac p I think?
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This is the link address to the data sheet http://www.vmd.defra.gov.uk/productinformationdatabase/SPC_Documents/SPC_108324.DOC (http://www.vmd.defra.gov.uk/productinformationdatabase/SPC_Documents/SPC_108324.DOC) .
Basically you can't give it less than 3 weeks. I assume you know the smallest bottle size is 25 doses and it is ineffective 10 hours after opening the bottle - which makes it very expensive if you only use part bottles.
I had a lamb die after vaccinating this year - apparently this is not "uncommon" and not just because the lamb was under the weather and not spotted ie it really was completely healthy. After posting about it on another forum, I am seriously thinking of moving away from using it next year and using a vaccine against pulpy kidney which is much cheaper and then monitoring the lambs even more closely for pneumonia and treating accordingly. It's on the talk to the vet list. I prefer vaccination to antibiotics but..........
Your ewe presumably still has some cover for herself but I don't know hoe much would pass into her colostrum, again you would assume not much or why do we do a booster every year? A ewe that misses a year has to have the double dose again.
I would ask the vet, I've always found mine quick on the uptake when I start talking about the costs involved for a small flock. They won't do part bottles of heptavac but will sell small quantities of lots of other things.
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Just vaccinate them, monitoring for pasteurella/clostridia is basically monitoring for corpses!
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Thanks. Will keep fingers crossed that they have some immunity from her, vaccinate when they are old enough and booster the rest at the same time. Will see if my neighbour does his and can share a bottle. We have around 25 sheep between us!
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Ideal!