At lambing, it’s best to get mum and baby on their feet quickly

At lambing, the key to lamb survival is to ensure ewes and lambs get on their feet quickly.

This allows the lamb to suckle and the ewe to settle into milk production. In the run-up to lambing, ewes tend to go off food and water.

Then, when they lamb, they lose large amounts of fluids, leading to dehydration. Many ewes do not drink for eight hours after lambing, making the problem worse.

“Lambing is a time of significant physiological stress and it is important ewes recover quickly so they can care for their lambs and settle into lactation,” said John Lynch of Kellihers Feed & Agri, Ballymullen, Tralee. “The key to recovery is prompt and effective rehydration to encourage ewe vigour, increase appetite and promote early lactation yields” he added.

“A dehydrated ewe takes longer to recover and will have reduced milk yields which will impact on lamb performance, with the consequences continuing for several weeks. Effective rehydration immediately post-lambing is not just about access to plenty of clean fresh water. Ewes also lose electrolytes at lambing which need to be replaced”

As they will have been in negative energy balance, they can also be short of rapidly available energy. Supplements which provide electrolytes and dextrose will rehydrate ewes more effectively then water alone.

For more information contact John Lynch at Kellihers Feed & Agri, Tralee on 086-8136865