Why lambs die at birth

High temperatures may also lengthen the oestrus cycle by 1 or 2 days, dampen oestrus behaviour towards rams and reduce the length of time ewes are 'in heat'.

Young, maiden ewes are more likely to suffer embryo mortality than older ewes. If newborn lambs cannot get milk due to sucking on damaged teats, they will rapidly lose their urge to suckle - about 6 hours after birth - and subsequently die. Read more about reducing udder damage in ewes. Cold, wet weather increases lamb mortality significantly, so it's important to choose the right time of year to join and breed your ewes.

Keeping your herd healthy, monitoring what they eat and ensuring there is sufficient shelter in the paddock all improve your chances of a successful breeding program.

The main predators of young lambs are wild dogs , foxes and feral pigs. Keeping paddocks secure and baiting and trapping will help, but you may need to adopt a more strict control strategy. Pregnancy toxaemia lambing sickness and hypocalcaemia milk fever are metabolic diseases that can affect ewes in the late stages of pregnancy.

Lambing sickness is usually the most common of these diseases, which in severe cases causes high losses of ewes and lambs. Losses were greater in multiple born lambs compared with single born lambs. This study was completed in Australia with Merino and Merino cross sheep from eight flocks. All lamb deaths were recorded along with the corresponding weather before and after each case. The graph below shows the number of lamb deaths and causes of lamb deaths between birth and weaning. The classification of deaths included dystocia, starvation or mismothering, predation this was mainly from foxes which is not an issue in New Zealand , In utero or premature, exposure deaths with no other reason than weather , infection, undiagnosed and misadventure.

Dystocia describes difficult births that are typically caused by a large or awkwardly positioned foetus. The three different dystocia subgroups, A, B and C, describe the different classifications of dystocia.

Dystocia A: oedema present, B: no oedema, significant cranial and central nervous system haemorrhage but no metabolised fat, C: as for B, but not metabolised fat.

The least common causes were misadventure and infection. The graph below show only the deaths that occurred on the same day as the birth of the lamb Day 0. Once we know the reason s why lambs are being lost we can work with you to make a plan to minimise losses for the future on your farm.

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Established in , the Vetent parent company Veterinary Enterprises Group now comprises a complementary family of companies. For emergencies or urgent appointments within the next 24 hours, please phone the clinic directly. Q Card. Subscribe to our e-Newsletter to receive free monthly vet care articles, tips on animal health and current deals on animal products. Lamb mortality impacts on ewe productivity number of lambs reared per ewe joined , and farm profitability.

Our aim in this paper is to present information on the prevalent causes of lamb mortality and when it occurs on farm. Most lamb mortality occurs within the first few days after birth. A recent study at Athenry has identified the timing of neonatal lamb mortality died with 7 days of birth and the data are presented in Figure 1.

Fifty two percent of lambs that die died either, prior to, or at birth.