Financial Potential of Health Planning and Essential Health Planning for Lambing

Effective health planning is essential for enhancing animal health, welfare, and productivity. This can be achieved through close collaboration with the farm team, vet, and other specialist advisers. The focus should always be on prevention rather than cure, and it should be a continuous process. By focusing on prevention, you can improve productivity as healthy animals grow faster and produce more. Additionally, regular checks through the health planning process can catch issues early, reducing deaths and helping you and your vet make data driven, informed choices, further cutting unnecessary costs.  

However, often farmers do not value the health planning process, seeing it merely as a tick-box exercise required by Farm Assurance Schemes and other bodies, without understanding its potential. This lack of understanding - how much money you can save through improved health or how much you put at risk through poor performance — may be due to a lack of data or data analysis, time, or close collaboration with your vets. To address this, SRUC Vet Services have developed, as a part of the HerdPlan service, a free forecasting tool for farmers. This user-friendly tool will increase your understanding of the value of your livestock and the financial potential for your business through effective health planning and improved health risk management. 

The forecasting tool considers factors like mortality, fertility, and growth rates, which all impact the value of a herd and flock. The tool produces three forecasts: a pessimistic ‘worst case’ scenario showing potential losses, an optimistic ‘best case’ scenario showing potential gains, and a custom scenario where you can adjust parameters to see how different factors affect your herd or flock. The tool provides visual insights into the potential financial gain from improved health and the risks of poor health. It uses your farm-specific data and real market prices to help you, and your vets make informed decisions on health interventions and planning activities. 

As lambing season approaches, it's crucial to get everything in order to ensure the health, welfare and survival of both your ewes and lambs. This free tool from SRUC can increase your understanding of the value of your flock and the financial benefits of implementing a proactive health plan before lambing. Working with your vet and nutritionist to develop a proactive health plan is essential. This includes ewe nutrition, colostrum management, lambing hygiene, and vaccination strategies.  

Here are some key tips to help you get ready:

Pre-Lambing Nutrition

Body condition scoring is essential. Commonly, ewes are grouped based on the number of lambs being carried, with ewes then split for body condition thereafter e.g. lean singles put with twin bearing ewes and lean twins put with triplets. Feeding should ideally be tailored to forage quality first, depending on lambs carried and condition. Including metabolic profiling can help identify any nutritional deficiencies or health issues early, such as pregnancy toxaemia.

Vaccination Plan

Make sure your vaccination plan is up to date. Clostridial (including Pasteurella) primary vaccinations or boosters should be completed four to six weeks before lambing. This ensures that ewes provide lambs with passive immunity via the colostrum. Discuss with your vet any injectable antibiotics needed for high-risk lambs and any further vaccination plans for your newborn lambs.

Colostrum Management

The first feed is crucial. Ensure lambs receive at least 50ml/kg of colostrum within two hours of birth and 200ml/kg within the first 24 hours. Colostrum is vital for immunity and overall health. Use frozen colostrum from your flock rather than powdered alternatives, as it tends to be of higher quality. For lambs with difficult births or those whose ewes have insufficient colostrum, supplement with a stomach tube to ensure they get the necessary nutrients. For more information on colostrum for lambs visit fas.scot.

Lambing Hygiene

Maintaining a clean environment in the lambing shed is crucial. Reduce stocking density, ensure proper ventilation and drainage, and regularly bed down to keep the area clean. Disinfect pens, especially those used for sick or aborted animals, and wash hands between handling different animals to prevent the spread of infections such as watery mouth and joint ill. For navel care, dip lamb navels in a 10% iodine solution immediately after birth and repeat after two to four hours to prevent infections.

Temperature Control

Keeping a warm environment in cold weather helps newborn lambs stay warm and consume colostrum effectively. Dry any wet lambs and monitor their colostrum consumption. Use heat lamps if necessary to keep them warm.

Monitoring and Assistance

Keep a close eye on your ewes to identify any need for assistance due to dystocia. Ensure your vet is called in time for complicated cases, severe prolapse, or mastitis. 

By focusing on these areas while working proactively with your vet and managing health risks, through the health planning process you can significantly reduce the risk of ewe and neonatal losses, ensuring better health and welfare for your flock and increased profitability for your business. 

For more information on the forecasting tool or HerdPlan, SRUC’s sheep and beef health planning web-app, please visit HerdPlan or contact us at herdplan@sruc.ac.uk. 

Dr Foteini Manolaraki, Animal Health Planning Development Manager, Foteini.Manolaraki@sruc.ac.uk  

Unearthed is the exclusive SAC Consulting members' monthly newsletter. Unearthed offers insights and tips from our experts on what we think is in store for farming and crofting in the coming months in order to protect and enhance your business.

Posted by Unearthed News on 13/12/2024