Lambing time in the Yorkshire Dales, UK. Two young lambs in early Springtime, facing front in green grass field with clean, green background. Horizontal. Copy space
Photo by
Callingcurlew23
By Linda Searle, District Vet, Deniliquin.
Managing pain control and hygiene at lamb marking can help protect lambs against diseases and suffering, leading to increased production gains in a shorter period.
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Poor hygiene at lamb marking and mulesing can allow bacteria to enter through open wounds. This can cause diseases such as arthritis. Pain control can help recovery leading to quicker return to normal behaviour and weight gain.
In NSW there is a move towards mandating the use of pain relief at mulesing. An amendment to the Prevention of cruelty against animals bill has been tabled in parliament which would make this a requirement if passed. There is already similar legislation in Victoria and Tasmania.
There are a few simple steps to ensure best practice lamb marking including:
Avoid yarding in muddy/wet or humid/dusty conditions. Avoiding muddy yards will also reduce the risk of foot abscess in ewes.
Having clean instruments and hands by frequent washing and disinfecting.
Make sure disinfectant is used at label concentration and replace frequently if contaminated by blood or dirt.
Mark in temporary yards on clean ground or use a system where the lambs can be tipped out of the cradle straight onto their feet where they can walk away.
Pain control. Local anaesthetic products such as in Numocaine and Tri-solfen are fast acting strong temporary pain relief. Non-steroidal antinflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) such as in buccalgesic and meloxicam products give a more sustained pain relief. Antinflamatory pain relief has the additional benefit of reducing inflammation at the wound site, which has been linked to quicker recovery. The gold standard pain relief is to use a combination of a local anaesthetic and an NSAID.
Topical pain relief products that also contain antimicrobials such as Tri-solfen can help reduce the risk of bacterial infection of wounds as well as providing pain relief. Using any pain relief options also help decrease wound contamination by preventing lambs dragging themselves around in pain.
Lamb marking should be conducted efficiently to reduce the time the lambs are separated from their mothers, while allowing enough time for good technique. Lambs should be returned to the mothers as soon as possible to re-mother. Limiting the time the ewes are in the yards and off feed will also reduce the risk of the ewes being affected by hypocalcaemia. However, it is always handy to have a few bags of 4 in 1 flowpack with you at lamb marking so you can treat any ewes that go down in the yards or on the way to/from the yards.
For more information regarding best practice lamb marking, you can contact your District Vet by calling 1300 795 299 or drop into a nearby Local Land Services office.
