With the vets now a lot less willing to prescribe oral antibiotics for routine use in lambing sheds, what is the best alternative for giving the lambs a boost and preventing watery mouth? (E.coli infections)
Natural ewes’ colostrum is the way to go! Harvest extra from milky ewes and single-bearers, freeze in 60-100ml quantities, and defrost SLOWLY! Defrosting too fast or microwaving kills all the natural bacteria, rendering the colostrum less effective.
Feeding the ewes correctly in the run-up to lambing is key to producing good quality colostrum, and a vet blood test and analysis three weeks prior to lambing gives a good indication of ewe condition and allows any late changes to the diet to improve colostrum quality. Blood Albumin – one of the main proteins produced by the liver from dietary protein- is a good indicator of colostrum quality. A refractometer can also be used to check colostrum quality.
Good quality cows colostrum frozen in small quantities is a reasonable alternative- especially if the cow has been vaccinated with Heptavac in advance- but not as good as ewes’ colostrum.
The third option is powdered colostrum. Some products are better than others and it’s false economy to buy the cheapest. It will provide energy and nutrients, but will not provide antibodies and therefore will not necessarily prevent watery mouth.
Lambs need around 250ml colostrum in the first 24 hours following birth, and need the first feed within two hours of birth to provide the best preventative to E.coli infection.
If you are not confident that the lamb is feeding properly and has a full belly, aim to give the first feed of 60ml ewes’ colostrum by stomach tube. If colostrum is in short supply, make this first feed ewes’ colostrum if at all possible, and then further feeds can be cows’ or powdered colostrum.
There are a number of probiotic supplements on the market which are now being marketed as alternatives to Spectam and similar antibiotics. Results from these products are variable and much information is subjective hearsay rather than scientifically proven fact. Some of these products do provide a useful energy and nutritional boost but in my opinion should never be used as an alternative for good quality natural colostrum, only as a supplement.