What are the reasons for the low survival rate of lambs

1. Random milk supplementation leaves lambs in a state of semi-starvation for a long time. In farmers' sheep raising, it is common for ewes to be thin and weak after lambing, with milk-promoting supplemental feeding not given in time; for ewes lambing for the first time or bred too young, the udder is poorly developed; for ewes that fall ill after lambing and are not treated in time; for some high-yielding ewes that give birth to too many lambs in one litter; and for some farmers who neglect the feeding and management of lambs, resulting in random milk supplementation and lambs remaining in a state of semi-starvation for a long time, causing them to be thin and weak. Once they become infected or encounter a sudden change in weather, lambs are very likely to die from cold or starvation.

2. Mixing lambs with adult sheep for grazing and in the same pen leads to an increase in accidents. Due to limited conditions, no separate lamb pen is set up; in late autumn, winter and early spring cold seasons, there is a lack of cold-proof and warmth-keeping equipment and insulation measures during lambing; no separate lamb flock is organized, and some lambs that can only just begin to adapt to grazing are taken far away to graze with the large flock; because lambs are mixed with adult sheep for grazing and in the same pen, the forage and concentrate feed for lactating ewes and lambs are snatched by other sheep; crowding, worsening sanitation, low temperature, humidity, and long-distance grazing all affect and threaten the health of ewes about to lamb, lactating ewes and young lambs. At the same time, the rearing environment in which adult sheep and lambs are mixed for grazing and in the same pen also creates conditions for the occurrence and spread of certain diseases.

3. Failure to supplement grass and feed in time leads to a fairly common phenomenon of lambs losing body condition. Some farmers rely excessively on grazing for feed intake. Entering the winter and spring dry-grass season, as lambs gain weight and their growth rate increases, their demand for nutrients gradually rises, and some lambs are still in the weaning period, so grazing alone is far from enough to meet the needs of lamb growth and development. If forage and feed reserves are insufficient, grass and feed are not supplemented in time, or lambs are kept in the same pen with adult sheep, the forage and feed intended for the lambs are scrambled for by other adult sheep and stronger sheep, which will cause widespread loss of body condition in lambs, and if windy, rainy (or snowy) weather occurs, it can easily endanger the lives of some weak, young and sick sheep.