Sheep and Goat Production

Sheep and Goat Production

Discussing current topics in Ontario sheep and goat production

All posts tagged saving lambs

Save Lambs from Hypothermia

Posted on Author Delma KennedyPosted in Health & Nutrition, Risk PreventionLeave a Reply

Winter lambing can result in chilled lambs.  It is amazing how newborn lambs can be saved, even from a near comatose condition, using proper revival techniques.  Check out the Treating Hypothermia (Chilling) and Hypoglycemia (Starvation) in very Young Lambs poster (Click link: Hypothermia Poster ) to update or refresh your saving lamb skills.  A Hypothermia Flowchart is also available which serves as a reminder of the basic steps to take with a chilled lamb depending on the lambs body temperature.  More information on lambing and the critical first few days of life can be found in the OMAFRA factsheets titled ” Assisting the Ewe at Lambing“, “Care of the Newborn Lamb” and “Hypothermia in Newborn Lambs“.   e

Treating Hypothermia Flowchart

Posted on Author Delma KennedyPosted in Health & NutritionLeave a Reply

As winter lambing approaches, it is worthwhile to review the care of newborn lambs.  At this time of year one of the major concerns is hypothermia.  Lambs can recover from hypothermia as long as care is taken to identify whether the lamb is hypoglycemic prior to treatment.  In order to save lambs with hypothermia, it is necessary to take their temperature.  The normal rectal temperature for a newborn lamb is between 39°C and 40°C.  A lamb with a rectal temperature between 37°C and 39°C is considered to have mild hypothermia.  Lambs with mild hypothermia should be fed colostrum by stomach tube.   A lamb with a rectal temperature less than 37°C  is considered to have moderate to severe hypothermia.  Lambs…

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Understanding Lamb Mortality

Posted on Author Delma KennedyPosted in Health & NutritionLeave a Reply

The Ontario lamb industry consists of diverse production systems, breeds and markets. This diversity creates many opportunities but makes it more difficult for producers to determine what production results are “normal” or “good.” Every flock has lamb mortality. Because there are so many reasons lambs do not survive, it is difficult to determine what changes in a flock could improve lamb survival. Even when post-mortems are done on all dead lambs, the results are often inconclusive. An extensive 1999-2000 health study done in Quebec (Belanger, 2001) found that 68% of the post-mortems conducted on lambs that died in the first 2 days of life were inconclusive. Here is a link to a factsheet produced by the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture,…

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