When should lambs be marked?
Lambs should be marked between the ages of two and 12 weeks, with the youngest animal in the mob being at least 24 hours old so that a maternal bond can form. If lambing extends for more than six weeks, consider having two mulesing/marking sessions.
How early can you scan sheep?
between 60 and 90 days
For best results, scanning ewes should take place between 60 and 90 days in lamb. Scanning ewes that are greater than 90 days in lamb will make it more difficult for the scanner to identify how many lambs the ewe is carrying.
Why are lambs marked?
Because sheep don’t have names, the coloured marks are to identify them. So the coloured mark might mean that the sheep has been treated for an injury or illness, or that she is ready to move to another field, or some other reason why you would want to recognise her easily for the next few days.
Why are ewes scanned 80 days after mating?
Scanning is an essential tool in managing your ewe flock pre lambing. To get the best value from scanning, aim to have the ewes scanned as close as possible to 80 days post ram turn out. It also allows enough time to segregate and preferentially treat ewes that are carrying triplets.
What is a bearing in a sheep?
A bearing/vaginal prolapse is when the vagina is pushed by the ewe to protrude externally. To begin with it might look like a small amount of pink tissue that comes out beneath the tail when the sheep lies down, but gets sucked back in when she stands up.
What shots do you give newborn lambs?
The only universally-recommended vaccine for sheep and lambs is for clostridial diseases. There are 3, 7, and 8-way vaccines. CDT provides three-way protection against enterotoxemia caused by Clostridium perfringens types C and D and tetanus (lockjaw) caused by Clostridium tetani.
Why do lambs have numbers painted on them?
Because sheep don’t have names, the coloured marks are to identify them. A coloured number on the side often links the sheep to its lamb. The lambs will be given an electronic ear tag when they are a week or so old, so that there is an electronic record of it and which ewe it belongs to.
