Lambing going wrong !!

adam14 · 28-02-2017 08:35AM

It's about 5 euro a ewe. I think it doesn't make sense if you only have a handful

tomwaterford · 28-02-2017 08:39AM

greysides wrote: »

There is vaccine. It was rushed to be made available but still came out too late and uptake was poor. I'm not sure how much sense it would make financially.

Tbh....seeing one heavily deformed lamb/having to shoot otherwise healthy lambs as newborn would make it very cheap

Green farmer · 28-02-2017 02:56PM

Mine aren't due for another week or so but spotted a ewe with the start of a prolapse in the field. And so it begins ...better root out the harness, I hate prolaspes

rangler1 · 28-02-2017 03:48PM

tomwaterford wrote: »

Tbh....seeing one heavily deformed lamb/having to shoot otherwise healthy lambs as newborn would make it very cheap

€5 vaccine only lasts a year i think,
€5 per year is very expensive

Siamsa Sessions · 04-03-2017 08:28PM

First ewe lambed here today and I had a big pull to get dead triplets from her. I'd welcome any opinions and will try to list various bits below:

* she's been outside grazing, and getting approx. 0.5-0.7kg of 20% ration - built up over last 6 weeks from 0.2kg
* her dug was fairly small and when I checked, she had no milk
* the triplets were 4-5kg each, all fully formed, Llyen sire (no big heads)
* her poo was runny and light-ish brown the last few days - thought nothing much of this til now
* ewe herself is 2 and had a big single lamb as a ewe lamb herself last year

As I said, any opinions on what happened would be welcome. We're just getting back into sheep and have small numbers still, so I'm trying to figure out if this is just one of those things or something more serious.

Thanks.

greysides · 04-03-2017 08:41PM

I'd suggest: Wash your hands etc well. Isolate ewe till any discharges have stopped.

It's impossible to say with any certainty but there's enough there for me to consider Salmonellosis.

Username John · 04-03-2017 09:01PM

Siamsa Sessions wrote: »

First ewe lambed here today and I had a big pull to get dead triplets from her. I'd welcome any opinions and will try to list various bits below:

* she's been outside grazing, and getting approx. 0.5-0.7kg of 20% ration - built up over last 6 weeks from 0.2kg
* her dug was fairly small and when I checked, she had no milk
* the triplets were 4-5kg each, all fully formed, Llyen sire (no big heads)
* her poo was runny and light-ish brown the last few days - thought nothing much of this til now
* ewe herself is 2 and had a big single lamb as a ewe lamb herself last year

As I said, any opinions on what happened would be welcome. We're just getting back into sheep and have small numbers still, so I'm trying to figure out if this is just one of those things or something more serious.

Thanks.

Is there a lab near you to take the lambs to?

Monday would hardly be too late to take em, would it Greysides?

greysides · 04-03-2017 09:57PM

I'd expect that it would be a case of ' the fresher, the better'. They would have to be booked in so it could be checked then. Cleaning can be as useful as carcases.
That said, I probably wouldn't panic until there was some more. What's coming is coming.... but if it continued information would be handy for next year or later lambings. Might depend on how close the lab is too.
In the meantime, hygiene, disinfection and isolation won't do any damage.

Siamsa Sessions · 04-03-2017 10:37PM

Thanks lads. The ewe herself was shook enough obviously after the trauma but she's been up walking since and looks like she'll be OK. I'll phone the local vet in the morning and see about a PM/lab. Out of interest, how much does this cost?

greysides · 04-03-2017 10:52PM

Not sure for lambs but I wouldn't think it's much.

Green farmer · 05-03-2017 08:07AM

Siamsa Sessions wrote: »

I'll phone the local vet in the morning and see about a PM/lab. Out of interest, how much does this cost?

About €20 in vet Fees and €5 lab fees

Siamsa Sessions · 05-03-2017 12:58PM

Spoke to vet: nearest lab is Kilkenny which is a 2-hour round trip from us. It'd be tomorrow morning before they'd get to look at the lambs which would be 36 hours since they were born so a bit of a time delay.

Vet also mentioned toxoplasmosis as being consistent with what happened. And what did I see when I went to check the ewe earlier only a big cat from the uncle's shed out in the field where the ewes are.

At this stage, I probably won't get PM on dead lambs. But if the next one is the same, then I'll be going straight to the lab in Kilkenny.

Green farmer · 05-03-2017 02:40PM

A visual sign of toxo is mummified lambs.

rangler1 · 05-03-2017 03:01PM

Siamsa Sessions wrote: »

Spoke to vet: nearest lab is Kilkenny which is a 2-hour round trip from us. It'd be tomorrow morning before they'd get to look at the lambs which would be 36 hours since they were born so a bit of a time delay.

Vet also mentioned toxoplasmosis as being consistent with what happened. And what did I see when I went to check the ewe earlier only a big cat from the uncle's shed out in the field where the ewes are.

At this stage, I probably won't get PM on dead lambs. But if the next one is the same, then I'll be going straight to the lab in Kilkenny.

Cats are only infectious for a short while when they're a kitten. Adult cats aren't infectious.
That's why it's recommended to neuter the cats that are on your farm.......they'll keep away all other cats and you won't have kittens around the place either

Siamsa Sessions · 05-03-2017 04:32PM

rangler1 wrote: »

Cats are only infectious for a short while when they're a kitten. Adult cats aren't infectious.
That's why it's recommended to neuter the cats that are on your farm.......they'll keep away all other cats and you won't have kittens around the place either

I thought that it was all cats but kittens were the worst as their poo contained the most eggs.

Going to change our system next year anyway. Some serious lessons learned over the past few weeks

JMF240 · 05-03-2017 08:09PM

Siamsa Sessions wrote: »

rangler1 wrote: »

Cats are only infectious for a short while when they're a kitten. Adult cats aren't infectious.
That's why it's recommended to neuter the cats that are on your farm.......they'll keep away all other cats and you won't have kittens around the place either

I thought that it was all cats but kittens were the worst as their poo contained the most eggs.

Going to change our system next year anyway. Some serious lessons learned over the past few weeks

Aye, I thought it was the mice/rats that were infected and the cats contract it by consuming the infected vermin. Toxo doesn't spread from sheep to sheep however (yet still zoonotic).

Green farmer · 05-03-2017 08:32PM

JMF240 wrote: »

Aye, I thought it was the mice/rats that were infected and the cats contract it by consuming the infected vermin. Toxo doesn't spread from sheep to sheep however (yet still zoonotic).

Lads this toxoplasmosis parasite is right nasty. They've done lab tests that show when the mouse host gets infected, the parasite can alter the brain of the mouse, where the mouse ceases to fear a cat and encourages it to be caught and eaten by the cat. Once in the flock I think it can easily transmitted through the fluids etc, hence why you can get outbreaks where large percentages of flock are infected. Went through my flock like a dose of salts a few years ago.

kk.man · 12-03-2017 10:52PM

Had 1st 3 lambed this morning not due till 16th ...fine healthy lambs..2 lambs dead now..couldn't figure out why..saw them suck and took it 4 granted they b ok...turned up mothers...a bag but NO MILK..how stupid i am!!! Raging I should have checked...going to buy soya in the morning to put thru the meal...was tempted to buy a bag Saturday week but thought i have really pamper them with licks etc

rangler1 · 12-03-2017 11:42PM

kk.man wrote: »

Had 1st 3 lambed this morning not due till 16th ...fine healthy lambs..2 lambs dead now..couldn't figure out why..saw them suck and took it 4 granted they b ok...turned up mothers...a bag but NO MILK..how stupid i am!!! Raging I should have checked...going to buy soya in the morning to put thru the meal...was tempted to buy a bag Saturday week but thought i have really pamper them with licks etc

which meal are you using, should be enough protein in any of the soya based ewe rations if soya is in the first 4 or 5 on the list of ingredients'
did the ewe have any milk or was she totally dry

kk.man · 13-03-2017 12:13AM

rangler1 wrote: »

which meal are you using, should be enough protein in any of the soya based ewe rations if soya is in the first 4 or 5 on the list of ingredients'
did the ewe have any milk or was she totally dry

Its an 18% ration by a well known mill in leinster..soya bout 5th on the list....i say that they being 7 days early didnt give the ewes a chance to develop milk?..they both had bags but no milk coming from teats when i tried to draw them

charolais0153 · 13-03-2017 12:40AM

kk.man wrote: »

Its an 18% ration by a well known mill in leinster..soya bout 5th on the list....i say that they being 7 days early didnt give the ewes a chance to develop milk?..they both had bags but no milk coming from teats when i tried to draw them

Did you check them again yo see of it came to them ...happened one of ours this year where she had no milk at first but it gradually came in one tit and yhen in the other

tomwaterford · 13-03-2017 01:25AM

kk.man wrote: »

Its an 18% ration by a well known mill in leinster..soya bout 5th on the list....i say that they being 7 days early didnt give the ewes a chance to develop milk?..they both had bags but no milk coming from teats when i tried to draw them

Was it they had no milk...or no milk coming out??

IE...not letting the milk down?

kk.man · 13-03-2017 07:27AM

Not letting it down

tomwaterford · 13-03-2017 07:51AM

kk.man wrote: »

Not letting it down

I guess I'm going to be rubbished here for saying this. ...but we used use oxytocin to let down the milk

-awaits being told in wrong

charolais0153 · 13-03-2017 08:42AM

tomwaterford wrote: »

I guess I'm going to be rubbished here for saying this. ...but we used use oxytocin to let down the milk

-awaits being told in wrong

It only works shortly after lambing I think....

Username John · 13-03-2017 09:49AM

tomwaterford wrote: »

I guess I'm going to be rubbished here for saying this. ...but we used use oxytocin to let down the milk

-awaits being told in wrong

Used to do the same...

Joins the queue with Tom...

greysides · 13-03-2017 11:05AM

tomwaterford wrote: »

I guess I'm going to be rubbished here for saying this. ...but we used use oxytocin to let down the milk

-awaits being told in wrong

Not wrong.

Let's milk be released but can't make what's not there to begin with....

Lambman · 13-03-2017 02:01PM

Ewe lambed last night no milk got oxytocin this morning done the trick but she had a big bag and went her term hopefully she's the only 1 I need it for.

ganmo · 13-03-2017 02:21PM

if a ewe is over fat she'll be slow to let down milk, so its not always the protein

Lambman · 13-03-2017 09:33PM

None over fat here they seem till be putting everything into the lamb whether it's the ration I'm using or what I'm not sure.... would u guys leave the ewe in the adoption crate 24 hours a day or let her out at night?

Lambing going wrong !!

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