Today marks exactly 3 weeks until 2021 lambs start to hit the ground! I won't lie, this is the hardest time of the year for me. It's hard being patient, and the weather is terrible so there's nothing to do but wait and be patient. If you're feeling a little bored and over the weather too, here are some things to think about as we prepare for lambs in the next few weeks! 4 weeks until lambingNutrition nutrition nutrition1. Keep free choice minerals available and consider top-dressing feed with mineral mix. Some of these minerals are important to ensure a smooth and complication-free labor and birth. 2. Boost calcium and Vitamin A/D intake by supplying alfalfa in pellet or bale form. Particularly in the case of dairy sheep and especially in climates with a lot of cloud cover and rare sunshine, (Thank you, Washington!) vitamin A/D and calcium can be depleted and cause low milk production or in worst case scenario, milk fever. Vitamin D is essential for calcium absorption, and alfalfa is a good source of both. Some dairies feed 100% alfalfa hay in the last couple weeks before lambing and during lactation for this reason. Maybe it will even prevent the 'Rona 🤷♀️ 3. It is time to increase concentrates! You may want to up your ewes grain intake to between one and two pounds per head per day. Don’t overdo however, because excessive grain may cause water retention and inflammation in the udder, called udder edema. If you feed too much to early, it can also lead to an overweight ewe that could prolapse or go into ketosis. Dairy sheep are often carrying multiple lambs, and when so much space is taken up, it is hard for a ewe to consume enough feed to stay out of ketosis. Excessive fat will exacerbate the situation, so take care to reserve the grains for the last month. I personally prefer to feed more alfalfa pellets and less grain, because simply put, a ruminant gut loves forage most! 4. Special notes on Selenium-- Here in the cool rainy sunless Pacific Northwest especially, it can be difficult to ensure your ewes are getting enough Selenium to avoid white muscle disease in lambs. My solution for this as a small dairy is to give a sel/e booster to ewes before breeding as well as dose with oral sel/e once a week in the last few weeks. This mineral can be dangerous and harmful to fetuses if in excess, so never give injectable sel/e to pregnant dairy ewes. Worms are bad5. Monitor and prevent parasitic loads. Always feed in dishes, troughs, and pans rather than on the ground where parasites will literally crawl onto the food to get where they want to go—your sheep’s gut. Rotate pastures and keep bedding clean. During pregnancy a ewe can easily get overloaded with parasites, since their gut and immunity is a bit compromised from growing babies. Vaccinations6. Consider a CD&T vaccine to help protect lambs against the leading causes of death in the first month of life. Tetanus and clostridial diseases are hard or impossible to treat, so giving a dose of CD&T to pregnant ewes 2 weeks before lambing will ensure antibodies are being passed to lambs through milk. SUpplies!7. Have a supplies party, not a surprise party! There are a few things you’ll need when lambing begins, now is the time to get all the things ordered and ready. In my experience, every emergency seems to magically happen on Saturday night or Sunday when you can neither access a vet nor pick up medications. (UGH! EVERY TIME!) Furthermore, since everyone else is lambing and kidding at the same time as you are, there may be shortages and you may not be able to get what you need when you need it. Better to be prepared! Now go give the girls some love and tell them to hurry up! We're READY!!!! 🤞💕🎉
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Categories
All
HELLOI'm Lydia. Mom to one wild barefoot fluffy headed toddler, a herd of cows, flock of sheep, a group of too many chickens and a neglected garden that against all odds, survives. Married to a wonderful husband with an equal number of titles and jobs...Dad, bro, (also as in, "bro, get over here gimme a hug") hydro-electric power plant mechanic, volunteer firefighter, fixer of all things with wheels and engines. (Ya, I'm proud of him.) Farm life, family, coffee, and Jesus make my world go round. Archives
August 2023
|