o ensure a successful lambing your pre-lamb plan should focus on three key areas:
1. Body Condition and nutrition: Maintain BCS (3) for last 35 days and feed to litter size. Adequate nutrition, sufficient protein is vital in late gestation for lamb survival and growth, ewe milk yield and colostrum quality.
2. Disease prevention: Pre-lamb vaccinations against clostridial diseases and Pasteurella: At least 4 weeks prior to lambing. This will provide good colostral antibodies which will protect the lamb for their first 6-8 weeks of life.
3. Optimisation of health: Trace element testing (+/-) supplementation, this is a time when the ewes need it most and will ensure crucial trace elements are delivered to the growing lambs through maternal transfer before they are born, then later via the colostrum and milk. Some ewes may also need a helping hand to fight worm burdens. Targeted selective anthelmintic treatment of thin, young and multiple bearing ewes only may be required.
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