Top pedigree Beltex and North Country Cheviot breeders Katy Davies and Dafydd Owen, Dyffryn Livestock, Conwy, North Wales, take no chances when it comes to managing ewe health in the run up to lambing.
With around 200 ewes lambing indoors between February and March, including pedigree Beltex, North Country Cheviot and Welsh Mountain ewes, the couple remain highly alert to the risk of calcium deficiency, particularly given the financial investment in their breeding programme.
This year’s first batch of lambers includes recipient ewes carrying Beltex embryos, making close management in late pregnancy even more critical.
“It is not a cheap exercise to flush a ewe and implant an embryo into a recipient,” explains Katy. “We need to ensure survival of both ewes and lambs, and careful management, particularly in the last four weeks of pregnancy, is vital.”
Managing the risk
Calcium deficiency most commonly occurs during the final weeks of pregnancy, when rapid foetal growth and colostrum production places significant metabolic pressure on the ewe. At this stage, demand for calcium can exceed the body’s ability to mobilise sufficient reserves from bone.
Katy says ensuring correct body condition at tupping, providing balanced nutrition throughout pregnancy and closely monitoring ewes in the final weeks before lambing are key preventative measures.
“We are always alert to signs of calcium deficiency and twin lamb disease,” she says. “If a ewe looks peaky, has rapid breathing, tremors, seems uncoordinated or does not come to feed, that’s when we act.”
At the first signs of a calcium deficiency, their go-to solution is CalciEwe+, an oral calcium drench containing added energy, magnesium and niacin to support recovery from pre lambing exhaustion. “It’s a key tool in our pre lambing kit,” she says.
The couple previously relied on injectable calcium but switched to the oral drench three to four years ago.
“It’s much easier to administer and, because it also contains magnesium, energy and niacin, we find it helps the ewe recover more quickly.”
Dafydd, who also works on a neighbouring farm lambing more than 550 Welsh Mountain ewes outdoors, says calcium related issues are often identified quickly when ewes fail to come forward to feed.
“When I see a ewe not come to her feed, I know something is wrong. I then identify the issue and administer either CalciEwe+ for calcium deficiency or MultiLamb Rapid for ewes suffering with twin lamb. I quite often administer both, as it can be difficult to distinguish between calcium deficiency and twin lamb disease,” he explains.
“Having these products to hand in the Gator to administer straight away is critical, as time is of the essence when treating downer ewes. Once administered, the impact is almost immediate. Within 20 minutes, she is often back up and behaving normally.”
Protecting valuable genetics
The couple have enjoyed considerable success in the show and sale ring, topping 7,500gns at the Premier Sale in Carlisle last year with a tup lamb from their Smart Ass Beltex flock. They also topped the NSA North Country Cheviot Sale at Builth Wells with a tup from their Pen-Y-Bont flock, achievements that underline the importance of safeguarding ewe and lamb health.
“The secret to a good lambing is ewe health,” says Katy. “It has to be right from the start, correct body condition at tupping and correct nutrition throughout pregnancy. We also bolus at tupping which has a positive impact on scanning rates.”
Ewes typically scan at around 170 percent, although this scanning was down slightly on previous years, which the couple attribute to variable forage quality and weather-related stress.
Attention to detail
Management does not stop once lambs are born. Every ewe has colostrum stripped and tested using a Brix refractometer. Colostrum measuring 26.5 percent Brix or above is fed either naturally or via stomach tube. If quality is insufficient, colostrum is sourced from another ewe or supplemented with a high-quality powdered supplement.
Katy says products such as Nettex CalciEwe+ and Nettex MultiLamb Rapid not only support ewes during periods of stress but can also help maintain milk let down.
“If a ewe has suffered from calcium deficiency or twin lamb disease, she can be reluctant to drop milk. But with the ewes we’ve drenched, you would not know the difference, they milk normally.”
She also highlights the cost benefits. “We often only need to administer CalciEwe+, as it contains available calcium, magnesium, energy and niacin. Acting quickly with the right products helps us to keep costs under control.”
Early intervention is key
Nia Williams, Commercial and Technical Manager at Nettex, says prompt action is essential.
“If calcium deficiency is identified or suspected and supplementation with a bioavailable calcium source is given quickly, ewes often recover within an hour,” she explains.
Because calcium deficiency and twin lamb disease are difficult to distinguish and can occur simultaneously, she advises a belt and braces approach, administering CalciEwe+ alongside a high energy supplement such as MultiLamb Rapid.
“With so many uncontrollable variables that can trigger these conditions, it pays to have products on hand ready to use at the first signs. Fast acting solutions can offset ewe exhaustion and support rapid recovery. When a ewe is suffering from a severe energy deficiency, she will benefit from the multiple energy sources provided by Multi-Lamb Rapid, in addition to the glucose precursors in Calci-ewe+”.
For Katy and Dafydd, preparation and vigilance remain central to a successful lambing season. “If we protect ewe health, everything else follows,” adds Katy.
