Foster rearing - cost effectively

1 February 2011

Foster rearing - cost effectively

Rearing foster lambs to finishing weight this coming season is likely to be a cost effective exercise. With market prices set to remain firm, then respectable profit margins are scheduled to be in the order of £15 to £20 per head.

“Every flock will have some lambs that either need to be adopted on to another ewe or to be artificially reared,” says ADAS sheep specialist, Kate Phillips. “Deciding which route to take will depend on the availability of a suitable foster mother and the physical state of the foster lamb. Fostering is only successful if the foster lamb is fit and healthy and has had adequate colostrum, and is fostered onto a healthy ewe with good maternal instinctsand plenty of milk. Lambing triplet bearing ewes close to single bearing ewes also helps to speed up the fostering process. You have three fostering methods to choose from.”

1, Wet fostering at birth is often the most successful. Cover the foster lamb in the birth fluids and place it in front of the ewe, with its own single lamb if she has one, before she stands up after giving birth. You may have to loosely tie the legs of the foster lamb so that it appears like a new born. After about an hour untie the lambs legs. Leave the ewe with the lambs in a small pen and check regularly for bonding. Check that the lamb/s have suckled.*

2, Lamb adopters; ideally the lamb/s should be placed with the ewe, restrained by the yoke in the adopter, when they are ready for a feed and checked frequently. After 48 hours release the ewe and check the lambs are feeding. If the ewe rejects the lamb at this stage then rear the lamb artificially. 

3, Skinning; skin the dead lamb and fit it to a foster lamb. Keep the ewe and lamb in a small pen and check frequently to make sure the lamb has sucked. The skin can be removed after two or three days and if the ewe is rejecting the lamb then artificial rearing will be the best option.

She adds: “Orphan lambs can of course be very successfully reared artificially without the problems of fostering onto an unwilling ewe. A bucket or automated system can be a cost-effective way of rearing these lambs with minimum losses if good standards of management and hygiene are used.”

Volac’s Dr Jessica Cooke continues: “Whichever rearing system you chose, combining a good quality milk replacer with good husbandry and good organisation can save hours and produce quality lambs.

Rearing lambs artificially to target finishing weight appears to be expensive at approximately £40, a figure that includes milk replacer, creep, vaccination, bedding, and electricity but at current lamb prices a profit margin of between £15 and £20 should be achievable.Labour costs also need to be taken into account but this depends on the system used.

“There are three main systems available for artificially rearing lambs, each of which requires a high level of hygiene for success. The method you choose will probably relate to the number of lambs you expect to rear artificially.”

1. Bottle feeding, ideal for a few lambs

Pros
- ensures an appropriate controlled volume of usually warm milk replacer

Cons
-  requires a huge amount of labour

2. Ad-lib – with nested buckets, for up to 40 lambs

The feeder is easy to operate and includes a durable heating element that can be easily controlled via a thermostat.

Pros
-    provides an opportunity for several lambs to feed ad-lib and drink several times a day
-    milk can be fed warm or cold
-    milk is drunk little and often reducing the risk of digestive upsets
-    faster growth rates compared with bottle fed lambs
-    much less labour involved and a relatively low set up cost

Cons
-    diseases such as orf or scour can spread more easily through shared teats
-    teats and tubing should be cleaned daily
-    buckets must be emptied and replenished with fresh milk daily

3. Automatic systems, the economically viable option for larger flocks

Pros
-    least labour
-    milk consumed little and often
-    high growth rates

Cons
-    highest set up cost
-    best hygiene critical
-    machine calibration must be checked at least once a week

She adds: “Wean at a minimum 35 days old, when they are eating 250g solid feed per day, and weighing two and a half times their birth weight at 9kg to 10kg.Abrupt weaning will reduce the risk of digestive upsets that can occur during gradual weaning.”

*For effective fostering, seethe Moredun Foundation’s news Sheet Vol. 4, No. 2 by Andrew Eales, John Small and Colin Macaldowie.

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