Ewes and lambs to the fore in advertising feature

Free post-mortem investigations being offered to increase knowledge

Lambing season is just a matter of weeks away for many farmers.

And while our cover page picture of fluffy new-born lambs dancing through sunlit daffodils is a popular image of lambing time, it’s far from the reality often experienced on the ground.

The latest advice on ewe nutrition and lamb diseases is regularly updated so we have collated some of the most recent findings from industry experts in this short supplement.

One new service being offered by SAC vets this season is free postmortem investigations of joint ill cases.

Vets want to examine affected lambs from 50 to 80 flocks on a first come, first served basis.

Lambs should be less than four weeks of age and between one and three will be examined per flock.

Ideally at least one of the submitted lambs should be untreated.

Many flocks routinely give antibiotics to all lambs in an attempt to prevent cases of joint ill but this policy is becoming harder to justify at a time when antibiotic use in agriculture is under close scrutiny, particularly if the cause of the problem is unknown.

The problem is most common in lambs less than four weeks of age and in flocks housed for lambing.

SAC say that 2-20% of lambs can be affected in a flock and one in every five will die.

Because joint ill is easily diagnosed in live lambs few cases are submitted to veterinary laboratories for investigation.

However following last year’s lambing it was anecdotally reported that there had been a greater than usual number of outbreaks, large numbers of lambs affected and a particularly poor response to treatment.

SAC said that meant there was a need for up-to-date information on which bacteria are responsible for outbreaks and which antibiotic is most effective.

Veterinary practices have been informed of the project.

For more details contact Heather Stevenson, heather.stevenson@sac.co.uk or telephone 01387 267260.

The condition is most common in lambs less than four weeks of age and in flocks housed for lambing.