Sheep News

As we approach this lambing season, maximising ewe health and lamb survival will be crucial – as rising input costs, along with challenging weather conditions throughout 2023, have put further pressure on margins. Rumenco offers some guidance.

Another five cases have been confirmed in cattle within the Temporary Control Zone (TCZ) in Kent.

Farm vet Faye Heath, of Westpoint Farm Vets in Winchester, provides some top tips to ensure a successful lambing season.

Colostrum is critical to the short and long-term health of lambs. Nettex provides a guide on how to supplement both ewe and powdered colostrum.

Farmers in and around the Temporary Control Zone (TCZ), can now access and call a dedicated bluetongue hotline to get advice or ask questions linked to the current situation.

Starvation, hypothermia, and hypoglycaemia are amongst the highest causes of mortality in newborn lambs. Vet and veterinary pharmacologist Dr TB Barragry offers some advice.

Farmers are being urged to purchase livestock from responsible sources and be vigilant for signs of disease, as BTV-3 is confirmed at a farm in Kent.

Two charities, RSABI and the Scottish SPCA have been chosen to benefit from donations after the successful rescue and rehoming rehoming of ‘Britain’s loneliest sheep’.

A bill to ban live exports for slaughter and fattening has been included in the government’s programme for the new parliamentary session.

A daring rescue by five farmers has seen ‘Britain’s loneliest sheep’ moved to Dalscone Farm in Dumfries, having been stranded alone for two years on a remote shore in the Scottish Highlands.

Mild weather at the start of autumn prolonged the parasite breeding season, warned Ben Strugnell of Farm Post Mortem.

The new Roots to Resilience programme, launched by AHDB Beef & Lamb, challenges farmers to ‘stop thinking in black and white and unlock their full potential’.