Lamb viability and survival rates in outdoor lambing flocks will be significantly impacted by the quantity and quality of ewes’ colostrum, irrespective of the wider seasonal management factors such as shepherding, mob size, shelter and available grazing.
So says Rumenco Technical Services Manager Dr Alison Bond, who points to pre-lambing nutrition as the key to ensuring ewes are equipped to provide their lambs with the best possible start in the critical hours and days after lambing.
“We’re seeing a trend towards outdoor lambing in some areas, with a shift to later, easier lambing genetics,” she says, “and this can be an effective way to reduce infrastructure, labour and feed costs.
“There are some important seasonal management factors, such as resting winter pastures to ensure adequate grazing and optimising mob size to minimise issues such as mis-mothering, but the first consideration must be colostrum.
“Ensuring ewes receive the right balanced nutrition in the lead up to lambing is vital, and in many cases this will mean supplementing the ration to provide the energy and protein to support lamb development as well as colostrum and milk production.
“There can never be any guarantees as to what the weather will do, so getting ewes in the best condition to supply ample high quality colostrum should be a priority in the weeks before lambing.”
Dr Bond advises feeding a specialist pre-lambing supplement such as Lifeline Lamb and Ewe buckets or blocks in the six weeks prior to lambing. In addition to supplementing protein and energy requirements, this can also help with forage utilisation, preventing loss of body condition.
“Lifeline Lamb and Ewe is a multi-purpose supplement that will also provide other essential nutrients like minerals, vitamins and trace elements,” she adds. “It also contains a blend of functional nutrients, including lactose, mannan-oligosaccharides and beta-glucans, which independent research has shown will support a ewe’s immune function and enhance colostrum immunoglobulin content by up to 25%.
“When outdoor lambing is underway, there will be factors like the weather that cannot be controlled, but knowing that ewes have had the right preparation, not least in terms of nutrition, should be a great reassurance and help keep losses to a minimum.”
