Top tips for hygiene at lambing time

Hygiene around lambing is a crucial aspect of sheep farming. The impact of high levels of hygiene cannot be understated, playing a key role in preventing the spread of infection and disease amongst your ock. Rebecca Downing, of Westpoint Farm Vets, shares her advice.

Some simple, a ordable, and achievable changes can often be implemented to achieve a reduction in disease, medicine usage and lamb mortality.

Hands: Lack of hand hygiene is one of the main causes of disease transmission between animals. The introduction of bacteria from unwashed hands into lambs’ mouths and ewes’ teats can overwhelm the animal’s natural defences and result in the development of watery mouth in lambs and mastitis in ewes. To combat this:

• Wash hands with diluted disinfectant solution before assisting with lambings, when handling lambs and when checking suckle re ex hydor.co.uk