What are the key technical points for keeping lambs safe through the winter
Sheep are one of the major poultry animals in our country, and their farming area is very extensive. It is now winter, which is also the most important season of the year for raising sheep. Especially for lambs, how to ensure that lambs can safely overwinter is a question that many farmers care about greatly. Safe overwintering is an important factor in ensuring the subsequent growth capacity of lambs. Today, the editor brings you the management points for ensuring lambs overwinter safely. Let's take a look!
1. Heat preservation and cold protection
The temperature in winter is very low, and lambs are not strong in cold resistance. If the work of heat preservation and cold protection is not done well, it may cause lambs to freeze to death directly. Therefore, in winter, it is necessary to ensure that there is no wind around the lamb shed to prevent respiratory diseases such as colds. After snowing, straw curtains should be spread over the sheep shed. When there is sunshine, lambs should be allowed to exercise outdoors more, bask in the sun, and take in fresh air. This can promote the bone growth of lambs and improve their cold resistance.
2. Umbilical cord disinfection
After a lamb is born, the umbilical cord should be disinfected in time. First, clean the umbilical cord wound once with hydrogen peroxide, then thoroughly disinfect the scissors and cut the umbilical cord. Then use sterilized thread to tie the umbilical cord tightly to avoid infection of the umbilical cord by germs, which would affect the growth of the lamb. Then apply agents such as iodine tincture to the top of the umbilical cord for disinfection. Or give the lamb a tetanus shot to improve the body's immunity, prevent umbilical cord infection, and avoid causing disease.
3. Drink enough colostrum
After a lamb is born, it must be allowed to drink enough colostrum. Colostrum can improve the resistance of lambs and effectively resist external germs. Especially when it snows, the resistance of lambs is relatively poor. Too low a temperature can easily cause stress reactions in lambs, lead to pneumonia, and trigger other diseases. Therefore, it is very important to ensure that lambs drink enough colostrum as early as possible. If the mother's milk is insufficient or there is no mother's milk, measures such as milk replacer or artificial feeding should be taken in time.
4. Rescue of false death
Lambs often show false death under unsuitable environmental conditions. If a lamb is found in false death, rescue work should be done in time. First, remove the dirt from the lamb's mouth and nose. If breathing is blocked because the lamb has inhaled mucus, lift it up and pat its back to make it expel the mucus. If the false death is caused by excessively low temperature, then make a fire for warmth in time, then soak the lamb in warm water at about 40 degrees, keep it there for about half an hour, then dry it and place it near the fire.
5. Timely supplementary feeding
When lambs are about one month old, their main source of nutrition is mother's milk. However, as the lamb grows older, the volume of the stomach gradually expands. If it still relies only on mother's milk, it cannot meet the nutrition needed for the lamb's growth. Therefore, we must provide supplementary feeding in time. At about half a month after birth, the lamb should begin to be given supplementary feed, mainly forage grass, allowing the lamb to feed freely. Then after about three weeks, begin to let it eat feed. Grind beans and add them to sheep milk, then stir with warm water, put it in the trough, and let the lamb eat freely. It can learn to eat in about 3 days.
The above is a brief introduction to the methods for ensuring lambs overwinter safely. To ensure that lambs overwinter safely, management work is key. It is necessary to ensure that the lamb's environment is suitable, improve the lamb's cold resistance, and promote healthy growth of the lamb. That is all for today's introduction. This article is for reference only, and I hope it can help everyone!