BABY LAMB CARE PROTOCOL
SDSU SHEEP UNIT
Jeff Held, SDSU Extension
Sheep Specialist
February 29, 2000
Over 80 percent of lamb death loss occur in the first 2-3 days of age. Generally starvation, hypothermia (lowered body core temperature) and scours account for these baby lamb losses. It’s essential for a newborn to consume adequate colostrum in its first hours of life, ewe colostrum is preferred yet cow and goat colostrum can used as a substitute. A lamb has capacity to consume 2-3 ounces of colostrum per pound of body weight in the first 24 hours of life. Colostrum provides energy, protein, minerals, vitamins, water and important antibody properties. The anitbodies are absorbed in the animal most effectively in the first hours of life, by 8 hours the uptake of these important properties is sharply lowered. The antibodies establish defense against diseases the lamb could face early in life.
At
birth, lamb body fat reserves provide a limited source of fuel to maintain body
temperature. A healthy newborn can survive for many hours on body reserves. The
rate at which the body reserves are used is dependent on the environmental
temperatures. In cold temperatures the
reserves are burned at a high rate, thus lamb suckling or intervention with a
stomach tube must occur sooner. If colostrum intake does not occur eventually
the body reserves are depleted leading to hypothermia induced by starvation.
Newborn lamb death loss caused by the starvation-hypothermia complex is usually
avoidable with adequate colostrum intake.
Unthrifty (weak) lambs at birth need more intense care to avoid hypothermia. The classification of unthrifty lambs includes those lacking the vigor to stand or attempt to suckle in the first hours of life. The lack of vigor may indicate they have lower body energy reserves, therefore it’s more critical that intervention arrives promptly. These lambs often lack the desire to suckle therefore stomach tubing is the only option to deliver colostrum into the animal. Even with adequate colostrum intake they may require a heat source to maintain body temperature.
A cold mouth is a sure sign that a lamb is experiencing hypothermia. The body temperature must be returned to normal (102.5 F), as evidenced by a warm mouth, before using a stomach tube to deliver colostrum. With out the warming step the procedure will lead to certain death due to shock.
Lambs receiving inadequate colostrum are at risk to experience E.Coli scours beginning 12-24 h after birth. First signs of the disease often appear approximately 12 hours after delivery and may include listlessness with no desire to suckle, followed by characteristic symptoms including wet tail and rear flank area. The fluid loss leads to severe dehydration. Electrolyte administration is necessary to treat dehydration. Products formulated specifically for lambs should be considered. Mortality is extremely high in lambs left untreated for dehydration since hypothermia will likely follow dehydration. Veterinarian advice should be consulted to establish a treatment and prevention protocol including antibiotic use. Offering ewe colostrum or milk replacer to a lamb showing symptoms of this disease will prove unsuccessful since the E. Coli bugs thrive on milk based products. Field observations indicate that unthrifty lambs (weak) seem to be at risk for scours even when large quantities of colostrum have been administered in the first hours of life. The sheep industry is currently lacking a commercial ovine vaccine to prevent the onset of this disease.
The
following recommendations give a structured guide to improve baby lamb survival
by reducing starvation, hypothermia and perhaps reduce the incidence or
severity of E.Coli type scours. This protocol is especially useful for flocks
with a history of E. Coli outbreaks and caring for unthrifty lambs.
§
Administer
colostrum with stomach tube
4 oz. < 8lb. lamb
§
Determine
lamb vigor – indicators:
if inadequate colostrum, or
off-color obtain other sources
Time
2-4 Hours
§
check
mouth, if cold it’s hypothermic, must warm up
§
monitor
lamb vigor
if hasn’t suckled try to manually
assist suckling
§
administer
6 oz. or appropriate quantity of colostrum if suckling has not occurred
successfully
§
important
period, give additional colostrum as warranted by
gut fill and vigor
§
Use
up to 6 oz. of Blue Ribbon electrolyte product at
4-6 hrs. intervals until
lamb gains suckling interest
§
Check
for wet tails after 12 hrs.
Rule of thumb: If lamb lacks interest to suckle, yet appears to require gut fill
use electrolyte
product after 8 hours of life. The baby lamb
procotol reduces the milk products for the
E.
Coli bugs. An E.Coli outbreak typically occurs between 12-24 hours.
Follow directions given for electrolyte usage. “Blue Ribbon-Lamb and Kid Electrolytes”
1. Administer appropriate electrolyte quantity, no milk
products. Expect 4 times a day
product delivery.
2. Monitor hypothermia and dehydration. Warm when necessary.
3. Suggest to leave lamb(s) with ewe during the outbreak so
long as hypothermia is avoided. Lamb
will demonstrate interest in suckling during recovery, not before.
4. From time of outbreak expect approximately 30 hours for lamb
to gain interest in nursing.
5. Don’t expect to win them all!
Other helpful hints for
flocks with a history for E. Coli outbreaks:
1. Record time of birth, use chalkboard or “white board”.
2. Push temperature to 35-40º F in lambing barn.
3.
Maintain
sanitary conditions to reduce cross contamination: clean stomach tubes with hot
water and soap, humans wash hands with hot water and soap between pens,
checking lamb temperature without a thermometer across pens offers risk. Nolvasen, or other similar disinfectant
should be used for hands if water and soap is unavailable
5. NO milk products via stomach tube after 8 hrs. of life!