Early scanning data shows rates are 20 to 30% lower than normal following grass shortages due to the drought, meaning it is important to pay particular attention to ewe nutrition to ensure as many healthy lambs as possible are born in the spring.
High input costs and low scanning percentages could lead to the temptation to cut out feed in the run up to lambing time, but this could do more damage than good. While there’s not much that can be done about scanning percentages now, you can work to keep the lambs they are carrying. A good starting point is to body condition score (BCS) ewes now, taking extra care of thin ewes by offering supplementary feed for one month after scanning.
Proactive management of ewes is essential to retaining lambing percentages and making sure that ewes lamb in good condition with plenty of high-quality colostrum. Your aim is to lamb lowland ewes at a body condition score of 3.5 and hill ewes between 2.5 and 3. An increase in BCS of 1 is equivalent to a 10% increase in body weight, so this is a big ask for thin ewes.
| Optimal Body Condition Score | |
|---|---|
| Lowland Ewes | 3.5 |
| Hill Ewes | 2.5 - 3 |
Pregnant ewes can be split into management groups, with thinner ewes and those carrying twins marked for special treatment. These can be fed supplementary concentrate feed, fodder beet, blocks or extra forage to help meet ewe nutrition requirements.
Reaching target body condition score at lambing will result in better colostrum quality, increased milkiness, and better survivability.
For further advice on feeding in-lamb ewes to ensure healthy lambs, contact your Wynnstay Specialist.
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