Rosemary Longuett-Higgins, Veterinarian - King Country Vets
Rosemary Longuett-Higgins, Veterinarian – King Country Vets
Many farms have had an excellent ewe scanning result this season, and there will be an abundance of triplets this spring. Excessive triplets can present challenges, but are more profitable than twins when done well.
To maximise profitability from triplet lambs, it is essential to plan ahead – starting at scanning.
Triplet lambs fall behind twins and singletons when not managed appropriately, then become tail end lambs that lag behind into the autumn.
Set triplet-bearing ewes up for success:
l Draft off and priority-feed ewes that have body condition score less than 3.0 at scanning.
l Consider putting in a crop for the triplet ewes and lambs to go onto in spring.
Pre-lamb:
l Triplet-bearing ewes close to lambing are at higher risk of sleepy sickness (ketosis) with yarding and poor weather.
l Time pre-lamb yarding with the grazing rotation.
l Reduce yarding time and time off feed by holding ewes in paddocks near the yards and bringing smaller cuts in at a time.
l Treat triplet ewes with Hideject, Moremag and a long-acting B12 injection to improve ewe survival and lamb docking weight.
l Consider targeted pre-lamb drench in light ewes.
Set stocking:
l Triplet-bearing ewes should be set stocked separate from the singles at a rate of <10 ewes/ha and priority fed with pasture that doesn’t drop below 1200kgDM/ha (about 4cm of pasture length) for the whole set stocking period.
l Adequate pasture cover (>1200kgDM/ha). This improves lamb survival as the ewe is less likely to wander from the birth site to find food, causing mismothering.
Better feed increases lamb strength and size, but not birthing difficulty, and improves the quality and quantity of the ewe’s colostrum and milk.
l Good shelter reduces mismothering and lamb deaths from exposure.
l Flat to rolling terrain reduces mismothering from lambs rolling or wandering downhill after birth on steep contours.
Lambing:
l Consider introducing supplemental feed if pasture covers drop below 1200kgDM/ha. These supplements should be low-volume and high-energy, but consider the cost vs benefit.
l A simple ewe first aid kit can be carried on the bike for in-paddock treatments. I suggest it includes bearing retainers, bearing tape or tags; an oral energy and calcium supplement (Starter Plus); an injectable energy-calcium supplement (Glucalphos) and possibly a long-acting penicillin for ewes with infection from hard lambings or bearings.
Docking and beyond:
l FEC ewes at docking- triplet bearing ewes need more assistance to gain body condition and back in lamb in the next season
l Prepare yourself for needing more drench (more lambs = more drench, but also triplet lambs typically take longer to fatten, so will need more drenches overall).
l Draft into weight lines to appropriately dose to the heaviest of the line.
l Put in a crop to fatten lambs on to reduce drench requirement and time to slaughter.
l Fecal egg count lambs pre-drench to see if they really need it, or if the drench interval can be prolonged.
l Knock-out drench lambs with a novel active going into the autumn.
l Sell lambs store if summer lacks good fattening pasture to prioritise ewe body condition pre-mating 2024.
