Sheep - Case studies
Flock health planning pays dividends in the Chiltern Hills
Mr Bob White runs a flock of 950 March lambing Mule breeding ewes on the picturesque Chiltern Hills in Buckinghamshire. For most of the year shepherding is done with some help from one man who also deals with the cattle enterprise on the farm. At lambing time Bob’s grown up children Tom and Anna are usually involved along with a veterinary student. Bob is no stranger to Flock Health Planning. He says “I have worked closely with my vet Chris Trower on disease preventative measures for the past six to seven years, and more recently David Beaver my nutritionist has been involved in improving the productivity of the flock”.
The flock is very prolific and around 1.75 lambs are sold for every ewe put to the ram. A high standard of management also allows ewe lambs to be successfully mated and achieve a lambing rate of about 110%. All lambs are finished on the farm and are sold to Dawn Meats and Southern County Foods. Bob says “It has been noticeable that the improved disease status and better feeding management has improved lamb performance which has enabled me to sell lambs earlier in the season and often before the major seasonal decline in market price”.
Improving health and productivity
Vet Chris Trower of the Larkmead Veterinary Group in Cholsey, Oxfordshire says “Over the years I have been regularly visiting Bob White’s flock at two key times in the production cycle. These are at 6 weeks before tupping and 4 weeks before lambing. In addition, we also have a meeting in May / June when lambing has finished, to conduct a review of the flock and assess lamb performance to date. Subjects discussed at this meeting would include vaccination, summer worming policy, fly control and foot rot. At each visit the current situation is recorded and recommendations for further improvement are made in a written report. Bob and I have worked together on improving the health and productivity of the flock, and I believe that we have made considerable progress over the last few years, to the benefit of the sheep and farm income”.
Better understanding of the flock
The first Flock Health Plan was drawn up in 2002. This set out targets for the health of the flock and was reviewed annually. Bob says “I started the Flock Health Plan because I wanted to improve the general welfare and productivity of the flock there was also a need to properly meet the requirements of Quality Assurance Schemes. The Flock Health Plan has given me confidence and peace of mind because my vet has a much better understanding of my flock than he would have otherwise”. A revised Flock Health Plan based on a model drawn up by the Sheep Veterinary Society was later put in place in September 2006. Bob says “This revised plan is more detailed than anything that I had before; for example it contains a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) on the first aid treatment of newly born lambs which is an important reference for any inexperienced help that I may have at lambing time”. This plan will also be updated on an annual basis.
Introducing new stock
Replacement breeding stock is purchased from known sources and as much information as possible is gathered about their disease status. They are always quarantined from the rest of the flock for a period of two months and diligently observed. In accordance with the principles of SCOPS (Sustainable Control of Parasites in Sheep) in order to prevent the build up of any resistant stomach worms replacements are given both a levamisole (yellow) drench and a macrocylic – lactone (clear) drench on arrival. If there is any doubt over whether or not the animals have been effectively dipped and therefore could be harbouring scab they are given a single injection of Doramectin along with a yellow drench to kill off stomach worms. Generally, vaccines to protect against Pasteurella and Clostidial diseases have been given prior to purchase but if not they are administered on arrival. Feet are checked on delivery and the animals are put through a footbath containing zinc sulphate as part of the foot rot control programme.
Controlling footrot
Flock Health Planning has substantially reduced the incidence of footrot, watery mouth and reduced the amount of anthelmintics used on the farm. Chris Trower says “Up until the late 1990’s footrot was causing up to 10% of the sheep flock being lame at any one time. A planned programme for controlling the disease was introduced at this time and the incidence of the disease was reduced over the next 2 years to less than 1% which is where it remains at present. The programme hinged on identifying and separating lame sheep from the rest of the flock, and treating those sheep according to a pre-determined protocol. This involved regular foot bathing using zinc sulphate, and culling persistently lame sheep”.
Setting targets to reduce the incidences of watery mouth
The extensive use of an oral antibiotic has in the past been necessary to control watery mouth on the farm. Despite this, the disease has resulted in significant levels of mortality (up to 5% of lambs born) and disappointing growth rates in live lambs. The consumption of insufficient and / or poor quality colostrum in the first hours of life is often the major cause of the disease and ewe nutrition prior to lambing can have a very significant effect on this. Bob White, in collaboration with his nutritionist David Beaver identified weaknesses in the diet being fed to the ewes in late pregnancy (mainly the energy content). Mr White says “A target was set to reduce watery mouth to a negligible level within two years. This was achieved and financial benefits have accrued through a better lamb survival rate, better lamb growth rates and a huge reduction in the need for oral antibiotics”. It is estimated in the past a total of £340 / year was spent on oral antibiotic and up to 85 lambs with a market value of up to £4,500 would have died from watery mouth.
Savings in the costs of anthelmintics
The application of the main principles of SCOPS (Sustainable Control of Parasites in Sheep) coupled with extensive stocking rates have vastly reduced the need for anthelmintics. Targets for minimal use of these medicines have been set. The ewes used to be dosed at lambing and again 6 weeks later and the lambs were dosed every three weeks during the grazing period. Most ewes are now generally not dosed at all and lambs are closely monitored and treated only when necessary (e.g. one group of lambs was dosed once in the autumn of 2006). The saving in the cost of anthelmintics is substantial and is estimated to be in the region of £1,200 per annum. The reduced labour requirement (about 1½ days every three weeks during the grazing period) and benefits for animal welfare are also very important.
Recording data
A paper based recording system is in place. The productivity of the ewes (e.g. number of lambs born and weaned) and any veterinary treatments are recorded. Health problems (e.g. prolapses and lameness) are also recorded and culling is often done on this basis. Mr White says “I only record data that I can use there’s no point in collecting information for the sake of it. I am currently looking out for some computer software that would make the job easier”.
Benefits of flock health planning
Mr White is a champion of Farm Health Planning. He says “By managing the health of the flock in a proactive manner areas of weakness are easier to spot and mechanisms to deal with them can be quickly put in place. I can honestly say that farm veterinary bills have been reduced; there are far fewer surprises in terms of sheep health and there is now rarely a need for a ‘fire brigade’ veterinary service. Having a health plan that can be regularly updated has greatly improved the productivity of our flock. For example in 2003 our lambing % was 157; this year pregnancy scanning predicts a lambing % of 185. For every 100 ewes in the flock this means a difference of 28 lambs with a market value of up to £1,480. I realise that the extra paper work involved could deter some sheep producers from taking up Flock Health Planning. However, I would encourage producers with similar production systems and relatively small flocks to join together and create a Flock Health Plan for the group”.
Page last modified:
17 August, 2007
Page published:
17 August, 2007