Avoiding the pitfalls to give lambs the best start in life

摘要

A great deal of care and effort goes into successfully rearing a healthy lamb from birth to slaughter. In order for this to happen as economically as possible, there are a number of potential pitfalls that must be avoided along the way. Since prevention is almost always cheaper than treatment, the wise man will focus on getting husbandry, nutrition and biosecurity sorted as a matter of urgency.The strength and viability of a new-born lamb will be determined by the health of the ewe during pregnancy. It is essential that the ewes nutrition (especially in the latter third of pregnancy) is carefully calculated to provide the adequate energy, protein and trace elements required to support the growing foetus and maintain the ewe in reasonable condition. Scanning ewes to enable managing singles and triplets in separate groups will not only help minimise twin lamb disease but also avoid the overfeeding of singles (and barreners).