Water intake:

Sheep generally have a relatively low water requirement, with intakes varying greatly between different classes of animals. Management and diet have a significant influence. Ewes in early to mid-lactation and lambs offered creep will have the greatest water consumption demand, while animals which do not have access to good shelter and are exposed to high daytime temperatures face a greater risk of heat stress in the absence of free access to water.

The intake requirement of lactating ewes can range anywhere from four to 10 litres with aged lambs approaching weaning and eating high levels of creep consuming one to three litres. It is important to note that where water is restricted in intensively fed lambs it will greatly curtail intake and performance and can also lead to digestive issues.

Intake will also be influenced by water quality, with sheep being fussy drinkers if water is contaminated. For this reason it is important to check and clean drinkers regularly. Take note also that freshly shorn sheep can also present a greater risk of heat stress and sunburn if exposed to peak daytime temperatures like we experienced earlier in the week and as such should be turned to a field with good shelter.

Worm treatment

Later-born lambs are not out of the woods yet in terms of nemtaodirus risk, with reinfection possible where lambs received treatment at the start of March and were grazing swards post-treatment with a high parasite burden. Tell-tale signs include lambs scouring and performing poorly. The recommendation is to treat lambs with a white drench. It is also advisable to implement a worm control programme for the main season which ideally includes basing treatment decisions on the results of faecal egg counts. Detailed information on collecting faecal samples and carrying out a faecal egg reduction test to determine if anthelmintic resistance is an issue can be found on www.farmersjournal.ie/sheep. Even where faecal egg counts are not selected, there are still measures that can be taken to reduce the rate of resistance occurring. These include selecting the most appropriate product and alternating between active ingredient classes, calibrating the dosing gun and weighing lambs to ensure the correct volume of product is used and delivering it to the back of an animal’s tongue. Take note of withdrawal dates when treating lambs that are approaching slaughter weight.

Blowfly strike

The humid weather and forecast thunder showers are likely to increase the risk of blowfly strike over the coming weeks. When selecting a product to protect lambs do not focus on price alone as there are very significant differences between the length of protection offered and also in the range of external parasites covered.

Diary dates: Teagasc are hosting three Grass10 farm walks over the next week. The first takes place on Friday 1 June on the farm of Eddie Gavin, Fenniscourt, Bagenalstown, Co Carlow. The other two take place next week on Thursday 7 June on the farm of Ken Mathews, Killeigh, Offaly and on Friday 8 June on the farm of Enda Finnegan, Ballyeaskin, Templeboy, Co Sligo. All walks start at 2pm and focus on grazing management over the summer months.

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