Minimising Disease in the Lambing Shed

By Nollaig O’Dowd, B&T Drystock Adviser, Teagasc Galway/Clare

Lambing has begun or is about to begin for the mid-season flocks. Weather conditions at lambing time can often be unpredictable and more often than not, ewes and lambs are housed for a substantial amount of time as a result of the wet weather. The last thing any sheep farmer wants to deal with is a disease or infection outbreak amidst the busiest time of the year.  Various ailments or infections such as watery mouth, navel and joint ill, lameness, abortion, scour, mastitis and womb infections all result from bacterial infection and many of these can be avoided with good management.  

Bacteria are present everywhere in the shed environment through dung, bedding, equipment, hands, and wellingtons. Good hygiene in the lambing shed will keep bacteria at bay and reduce problems with disease resulting in increased ewe and lamb survival.

The following are some key measures in preventing disease spread or infection build up in the lambing shed.

Disinfection

Prior to housing ewes and especially lambing, the shed should be thoroughly washed and disinfected with an appropriate product for the job. The shed should be left to dry before liming and adding any bedding material such as straw.

Powered lime should be scattered across the shed and lambing pens prior to straw distribution. Lime is one the cheapest and most available disinfectants. Limes property as an alkali allows it to destroy bacteria and some viruses. Care should be taken in the form of wearing a mask and gloves to ensure you do not inhale the powered lime yourself.

Straw

Straw not only acts as an insulator and comfort but it is also acts as a barrier against bacteria. The shed should be bedded frequently to reduce the amount of moisture present. The reason being, wet bedding will provide the ideal moist warm conditions in which bacteria thrive. If you find straw is constantly damp- investigate the stocking density of your pens, ventilation and how wet your silage is. Ideally, each individual lambing pen should be entirely cleaned out, re-limed and re-bedded between ewes. At the very least, re-limed and re-bedded!! Watery mouth disease can often be seen as a result of E.coli bacteria build up so clean pens are crucial in prevention.

Isolate Infected Cases

Immediate isolation is particularly important in the case of a ewe aborting a lamb. There are two main causes of abortion, enzootic and toxoplasmosis. The remaining ewes are extremely vulnerable to infection and abortion. All aborted materials such as lambs, afterbirth, and fluids should be sent immediately to the lab to determine the cause and appropriate action taken.

Scour and cases of lameness such as foot rot should also be isolated as they are highly contagious especially in the housing environment.

Work Station

Work or nursing stations do not have to be state of the art. They can be as simple as a sink and a ready supply of hot water. People are supplying their hot water in different forms such as gas heaters, electric boilers and kettles. Ideally, the workstation would be under the same roof as the lambing area to encourage the cleaning and disinfection of hands and equipment. The convenience of having it under the same roof means a lot to a tired farmer at 4am in the morning!

Your Own Health

Most importantly, your own health and wellbeing has a huge part to pay in a successful lambing season. When you become fatigued and exhausted your diligence and attention to detail suffers which may impact what’s happening inside and outside of the shed. Preparation and having enough supplies in stock is very important, the below checklist should help. Easier said than done but try to get enough sleep, eat well and know when to ask for help. Best of luck for the season ahead!

Lambing Checklist

• Lambing Ropes
• Surgical lube
• Gloves
• Colostrum
• Lamb milk replacer
• Teats
• Stomach tubes
• Navel spray/dip
• Lime & straw
• Disinfectant
• Washing up liquid
• Infrared light
• Whiteboard
• Rings
• Tags
• Medicines
• Syringes & needles
• Buckets
• Prolapse harness

According to Teagasc, 23% of farmers do not clean or disinfect their lambing/individual pens, with 38% of lamb losses caused by an infection.