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Pregnant, Parturient and Lactating Ewes
Careful management of the pregnant, parturient and lactating ewes will have a marked influence on the percentage of lambs dropped and reared successfully. So, the following steps may be taken to afford proper attention to these animals.

  • Do not handle the pregnant ewes too frequently.
  • Separate the advanced pregnant ewes from the main flock and take effective care in their feeding and management.
  • Extra feed during the later part of pregnancy (3-4 weeks before parturition) will be beneficial for the condition of the pre-parturient ewes which will help in improving milk production of ewes, birth weight and growth of lambs.
  • Inadequate and poor nutrition may result in pregnancy, toxaemia, abortions and premature births of weak lambs.
  • Bring lambing ewes into lambing corals 4-6 days before parturition and provide maximum comfort. If possible, provide soft, clean bedding and individual lambing pens.
  • Watch gestation length, which ranges from 142 to over 150 days. Early maturing breeds have slightly shorter gestation period.
  • Save parturient ewes from cold and chilly weather.

Care at Lambing / Parturition
An ewe about to lamb prefers to leave the flock. Ewe is often restless, the udder is often distended and external genital are in a flushed and flaccid condition. Generally in a healthy ewe parturition is normal. Still the following precautions may be taken during and after parturition

Care of Lambs
The lamb should be taken care of the maximum extent during early period of life. This will also ensure better survival. The following steps may be taken for ensuring better growth and survival.

  • Ensure proper suckling of lambs. Examine udders for blindness of teats or mastitis.
  • Take care of indifferent mothers and arrange suckling of lambs by restraining such type of ewes.
  • Provide creep feed (good quality hay with or without concentrate mixture) to suckling lambs in addition to suckling of milk from tenth day to weaning age.
  • If possible, make available green leguminous fodder or fresh tree leaves to lambs to nibble during suckling period.
  • Lambs may be ear-tagged or tattooed on the ear for identification (tattooing forceps and ear-tagging forceps should also be cleaned and sterilized at the time of use). Tail docking and castration may also be done in first week or so by placing elastrator (strong rubber band) at the intervertebral space and not on the vertebra.
  • Alternatively use sterilized and clean knife for castration and docking and resort to proper ligation and antiseptic dressing at the roof of scrotum with testicles before it.
  • During castration keep the lambs on perfectly dry, clean and hygienic site so as to minimize the risks of losses from tetanus.

Weaning and Care of Weaners
The management of weaners plays an important part in good sheep husbandry. The following steps are important in proper care and management of weaners.

  • Weaning should preferably be done at 90 days, although in breeds with low milk production or where re-breeding is desired it can be done around 60 days.
  • Supplementary feeding and good clean pastures for growing weaners should be provided.
  • Weaned lambs should be drenched against gastro-intestinal parasites by first month; and vaccinated against enterotoxaemia and sheep-pox.
  • Weaners should not be grazed on poor burry and thorny types of pasture since it could cause skin irritation, injury to the eyes and damage to wool.
  • They should be protected against vagaries of climates and predation.

(Source : www.vuatkerala.org )

CALENDER OF SHEEP MANAGEMENT PRACTICES
A monthly schedule for various sheep farm operations with twice a year lambing or shearing pattern under semi-arid conditions on an organized farm is given below.

January : Stock verification, ear-tagging or tattooing, protection against cold and chilly weather, care, management and supplementary feeding of advance pregnant ewes, preparation of lambing pens and their disinfection, care at lambing, care and management of lambs weighing of lambs and dams at lambing, docking and identification of newborn lambs and supplementary feeding of breeding rams for spring mating.  Clostridial multi-component vaccination against struck and other clostridial infections to the pregnant ewes.

February : Lambing continues and so care and management of ewes and lambs at lambing also continues; care, management and supplementary feeding of lactating ewes; creep feeding, ear-tagging, tail docking and growth rcording of lambs; flushing of breeding ewes for spring mating; breeding operation starts in later part of February, heat detection, natural breeding or artificial insemination; vaccination against sheep-pox.

March : Lambing continues, and care and management of ewes and lambs at lambing also continues; care, management and supplementary feeding of lactating ewes continues; creep feeding, ear-tagging and tail docking and growth recording of lambs continues; washing of sheep, wool sampling, shearing, recording of wool weights and dipping, vaccination against sheep-pox continues.

April: Wool sampling, shearing and dipping continues, creep feeding, growth recording and weaning of lambs, culling of old, infertile and weak animals, deworming with Nilworm and Sulmet, vaccination against Johne’s disease and foot-and-mouth disease.

May: Weaning and supplementary feeding of lambs with hay and concentration; drenching of weaners; change in grazing schedule to allow grazing during cooler hours and resting the flock under tree shade during mid-day; tree lopping; vaccination against john’s disease and foot-and mouth-disease continues; proper shelter and sufficient drinking water.

June : Care, management and supplementary feeding of advance pregnant ewes, supplementary feeding of all sheep on tree loppings, proper shelter and plenty of drinking water, culling of undesired ram lambs, preparation of lambing pens and their disinfection, vaccination against tetanus, enterortoxaemia and heamorrahagic septicaemia.

July : Washing of sheep, shearing, recording of wool weights, wool sampling, dipping and drenching against gastrointestinal parasites, vaccination against heamorrahagic septicaemia; continued care and management of advance pregnant ewes; autumn lambing starts, care at lambing and of the newborn lambs; antiseptic foot baths; grazing schedule changed to 8.00 AM to 5.00 PM; lamb identification and tails docking, flushing of ewes for autumn mating, care and management of lactating ewes, drenching against gastrointestinal parasites.

August : Lambing continues; care and management of advance pregnant and lactating ewes, and newborn lambs also continues; flushing of ewes for autumn mating continues; supplementary feeding of breeding rams; select drenching.

September : Selection of breeding rams ; autumn breeding starts; creep feeding and management of lambs; growth recording; drenching against gastrointestinal parasites.

October : Autumn breeding continues; creep feeding of lambs and supplementary feeding; care of weaners; growth recording; culling of low-weight, deformed and off-colour lambs; vaccination against enterotoxaemia and Johne’s disease, and drenching against gastro intestinal parasites continues.

November : Winter grazing; deworming continues depending upon worm load, vaccination against Johne’s disease of not done during October; penning during night.

December : Protection against cold and chilly weather, cheking of records, disposal of suplus lambs, supplementary feeding of advance pregnant ewes.

(Source: Dr.Acharya, Handbook of Animal Husbandry)
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