Lambing Again                                      

It doesn’t seem very long since our last lambing in July but the new lambing season has started again. It is not unusual for some of the ewes to abort either before you get started or as things get underway. Some of these animals will have lost their lambs because the placenta has failed due to the demands of a multiple birth. Others will abort as a result of an infection. In the initial stages it is not always apparent exactly what is going on. It is important to have any early abortions investigated so that you will have a chance to stop any further losses depending on the pathogens involved. To get the best chance that nothing will be missed it is better to send in s fresh foetus as well as some of the placenta. Unfortunately the Veterinary Laboratories Agency will charge the same for each foetus submitted so it is better to send just one on each occasion and then maybe try again if losses continue if there has not been a satisfactory diagnosis.        

Spread of Infection                                         

The most difficult organism to cope with is the chlamydia that is responsible for enzootic abortion. When it first gets established in a flock it may cause just a few ewes to slip their lambs. The problem is that it spreads in the fluids and contaminated bedding in the lambing pens to have a devastating affect at your next lambing. Antibiotics do help against enzootic abortion, they check the growth of the infection and may buy you enough time so that most of the lambs survive, if you have the facilities to nurse any that need extra care. A better option is to vaccinate all of the ewes and any replacement one month before you use the rams next year as that is the only way to stop the infection spreading further.

Health Risks                                        

You will all be aware that at lambing time all ewes, even the ones that have healthy lambs, can carry infections that can cause problems for pregnant women. The rule is not to get involved with lambing if you are pregnant. Lambs can carry Chlamydophila abortus for some weeks on their skin and it is not wise to feed orphaned lambs or wash contaminated clothing if you might be at risk.                                                   

Sheep Ear Tags                                           

The tagging requirements for sheep and goats have changed yet again. Sheep and Goats born after the first of February 2003 must have an ear tag that contains your flock mark and an individual number for that animal. From now on animals intended for slaughter in the UK before 12 months of age can be single tagged as at present. Animals that are not intended for slaughter within the UK before 12 months of age are required to be double tagged with two tags bearing the same UK identification number.                 

Different Ages                                       

If you have a single tagged animal that has reached 12 months of age you must double tag it. Movement tags (S Tags) are no longer needed, you can discard these now. There does not seem to be a requirement to remove these tags from animals that already have them. Lost tags can be replaced with a match up tag bearing the same number, if you can work out what the lost tag was. If the animal is still on the holding it was born on it can be replaced with another UK tag, or if on a different holding a red replacement tag can be used.         

Storing Tags                                               

You must take great care to store single tags and double tags separately. If they get mixed up it will be difficult to ensure that the right tag has be inserted in the ear of the right type of animal. There is a danger that two young animals could leave your farm with the same ear tag number. At the moment there is fortunately no requirement to record the individual ear numbers of sheep that leave the farm or relate the ear number to the ewe when they were born.           Help Line                                                         

I am sorry that this is so confusing. It is not going to be easy to comply with these new regulations and ensure that all of the animals that leave your farm will be traceable back to the holding that they were born on. As far as I can determine DEFRA has not found any extra funding to enforce the new rules so hopefully readable ear numbers will not be recorded when animals are sold. I am the first to admit I do not understand all of these new regulations so if you need help please contact the Rural Payments Agency Livestock Help line on 0845 050 9876 and let us know if you have any problems when animals are sold.     

New Bluetongue Regulations             

We are getting ourselves into all sorts of problems over Bluetongue. The latest announcement is that if you have most of your stock in the surveillance zone, as most of you do but have some land up to 8km within the clear zone over the Welsh border you can apply to have those parcels of land designated as being in the surveillance zone as well. This is going to make it extremely difficult to know where the new boundaries are. Failed Blood Tests                                      Three times now animals tested clear in their country of origin have failed post movement tests for Bluetongue here. This has affected farms near Middlesborough, Worcester and now Scotland. It is difficult to understand why these imports were allowed and casts doubt on the blood testing aboard.                                                                          

Vector Free Period                                

From the 20th December probably until March 2008 there will be a Vector Free Period when it will be possible to move animals from the surveillance zone into the clear areas provided they have passed a blood test first. These movements are thought to be safe in the winter when the midge is inactive. As I understand it there are two possible blood tests available from 3rd January a PCR test could be done, after 17th January a simpler ELISA test on a serum sample will be needed before any movements can take place. DEFRA will not be funding this testing, the ELISA test will cost one fifth of the price of the PCR test so it would be better to wait until the middle of January if you can. It is thought that the samples will take up to four days to process. Any animals with positive results will not be allowed to travel.                                             

The Year Ahead                                         

In many ways it would have been better if DEFRA were to treat Bluetongue in a similar way to sheep scab and just monitor it from a distance. Nothing we have done so far has stopped the midge spreading the virus from animal to animal. We should come to terms with the fact that there is little that we can do to stop the advance of Bluetongue next summer. As yet nobody has determined if the midges that are common here are efficient at spreading the infection. The vector is most active on hot still days and only a few of them will be carriers at first so it might well be that in many cases the disease will be mild and manageable.                                       

The New Year                                               

All of the staff at the Malthouse wish you health and prosperity in the New Year.     

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