Lamb producers warned to treat stock for ‘high risk’ diseases
© Tim Scrivener Vaccinating lambs for clostridial diseases before the autumn sets is going to be critical in preventing losses, experts are warning.
The alert follows results from a year-long post-mortem project that revealed the common clostridial disease pulpy kidney was a leading cause of lamb deaths last October.
Pasteurella was another high cause for lamb mortality from September onwards.
The AHDB Beef and Lamb-funded fallen stock project, which examined dead stock at a collection centre in County Durham, found lambs receiving hard feed had not been given a booster prior to diet changes.
In fact, lambs had only been vaccinated in 12% of outbreaks.
See also: Fallen Stock project reveals the top 10 causes of death in a beef herd
Experts believe cases of pulpy kidney could have been triggered by changes in gut flora as a result of dietary changes.
They say any immunity lambs may have had from drinking colostrum at birth could have waned and a booster would have prevented most of the losses.
“Lambs that are vaccinated when they are young, from one-month-old, may lose their immunity by the autumn if not given a booster around September.
“If producers are keeping store lambs during this period they should be vaccinated ahead of any anticipated adverse weather or other stressors such as moving,” advises Dr Liz Genever, senior sheep and beef scientist.
She adds: “These diseases can be prevented by the administration of appropriate vaccines and should be done as soon as possible.”