A survey of management practices prior to and at lambing which may influence lamb mortality on Irish sheep farms

摘要

Increased use of known best practices prior to and during lambing may reduce the incidence of lamb mortality.Average lamb mortality in Irish sheep flocks is currently 8.4% (NFS). Shiels et al. (2018) reported that 51.6 and 21.5% of neonatal lamb mortality occurs at birth and within 24 hours of birth, respectively. Shiels et al. (2018) also reported that the main causes of lamb mortality during the neonatal period were infection, dystocia, accident and other causes. The aim of this paper is to present results of a survey undertaken to establish farm management practices on sheep farms prior to and during lambing which may influence lamb mortality.