Keeping Them Alive & Helping Them to Thrive

“Hi Kimberly. We got through it! Lambing is done. They are 10 days tomorrow. We are newbies. Any pointers on what we do for them next 😂”

With lambing season behind us, hopefully you have a few calm weeks to bask in the glory of your beautiful lambs. The next step is then upon you- to keep them alive & help them thrive!

Well I’m just going to leap in & get the vaccination discussion behind us. I know it’s controversial for many & I get it!

If your ewes were vaccinated for CDT a month or so before lambing then there shouldn’t be any ugly surprises in the first few weeks. Enterotoxemia (Clostridial disease) is a bacterial disease that lambs are susceptible to, especially in the first couple months of life. I’m not a big vaccine person, we do everything possible to avoid antibiotics & chemicals of all types, but I do believe in a healthy risk/reward ratio.

In this case, death by tetanus (they contract it from the soil, not a rusty nail) & enterotoxemia is not only common, but it’s an excruciating way to die. The chance of contracting clostridial disease is not lowered by a pristine clean farm. This bacteria can sadly arise in even the best cared for flocks & ironically, pulpy kidney disease often attacks your strongest & fastest growing lambs.

Clostridial diseases are a group of diseases seen in sheep caused by Clostridia spp. bacteria. These bacteria are found in dust, soil, and vegetation and known to be pathogens in livestock, humans, and companion animals. They can survive in spore form in the environment for long periods of time. Suffice it to say it’s a nasty bacteria & one I spent a lot of time learning about. I did not rush into vaccinating my flock.

CDT is the only vaccine I give my sheep. You’ll see an option for an 8-way. These are more vaccines piggybacked onto the CDT. If you know your farm, your flock, your risks & need the extra protection then by all means use it, but simple CDT has been enough for us.

It’s been my compromise with our natural approach. It’s the basic level of protection I feel comfortable providing our flock. Each shepherd needs to decide what works best for them on this one. Let me assure you that you never need to worry about avoiding the topic with me. I am judgement free on this one. It’s a complex topic & I see both sides.

Back to happy & thriving lambs! I’m going to list the things we do in the first 4-8 weeks then expound on them below with pictures.

1. Weigh Lambs

2. Tag Lambs

3. CDT Vaccine

4. COWP (Copper Oxide Wire Particles)

5. FAMACHA score

Tracking Weights

I like to get periodic weights to gauge how they’re growing. This also is needed to determine when they’re ready for a COWP-copper oxide wire bolus (there is an earlier post entirely on boluses). I use a digital livestock scale, but I’ve seen shepherds hold them & stand on bathroom scales then subtract their own weight.

I’ve seen a farm rig up a system using 4 bathroom scales on the four corners of a piece of plywood then subtract the weight of the board from the lamb’s weight. Where there is a will there’s a way! I do feel weights really help you to build the flock you want. This isn’t as important if you’re not raising for meat, but weights will also pinpoint a non-flourishing lamb & let you investigate the cause more readily.

With scenarios like triplets you may want to be a little more diligent. It’s difficult to maintain consistent weight gain between all three, but you’ll want to try & monitor if one is struggling & attempt to supplement either with milk or availability to a protein source that fits your management style. In our case that’s alfalfa hay or pellets.

Tagging & Registering Lambs

You only need to tag your lambs if you are planning to register them or sell them. Legally sheep are not to leave a farm without a certified USDA Scrapie’s tag in their ear. If you’re new to sheep, Scrapie is a fatal, degenerative disease affecting the central nervous system of sheep and goats. It is among a number of diseases classified as transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSE). Scrapies was first identified in 1732 & it’s been the ban of sheep farmers & ranchers ever since. Countries around the world have worked hard to stamp out Scrapies. There is no treatment for the disease so the best solution is tracking sheep carefully so that when the disease arises it can be tracked to the farm of origin. Combatting Scrapies is a group effort, but it’s also the law. If you need to get a USDA flock number you can call  1-866-USDA-Tag (866-873-2824). Here’s the link.

This tag makes it legal to sell your sheep and to register them. I’m going to speak specifically to registering Icelandic sheep from this point on. I’m sure many other breed associations have similar tasks. With Icelandics you’ll need to go to the ISBONA (Icelandic Sheep Breeders of North America) website.

“How to Join ISBONA:

To join ISBONA, please fill out the ISBONA Membership Application located on the CLRC website; you can use either the online signup form or the paper PDF form. Membership fees and other association documents and processes are aso listed in the links on the CLRC Association page. ISBONA US Breed Association Page/Membership Application and Fee Schedule : (here’s the link)

You do not need to apply for a Flock Code and/or Herd Name (optional) unless you anticipate you will be registering sheep. And you can always change your mind and apply later. You will need to give CLRC three choices for these items as they must be unique; CLRC will let you know which code and/or name have been assigned. Fees for these items are also shown on the Fee Schedule. CLRC will also issue you a unique membership number in the association.”

CLRC (Canadian Livestock Registration Corp) is a fun resource to look up registered Icelandic flocks near you. It allows you to search by state/province & see detailed registration information on each sheep. You can also search breeders on the ISBONA website. If your flock reaches a point where new genetics are important then CLRC is a good place to explore Icelandic genetics & see what is available near you. It’s easy to navigate. Just chose Icelandic Sheep USA in the breed scroll down.

As for tagging & identification for ISBONA registration you have two choices. A scrapie/flock ID is mandatory, but the secondary identification can be done with another ear tag or a tattoo with the flock ID you assign. There are many videos providing instruction on how to tag & tattoo. I like the 1.5 Q-flex tags from Premier 1. They’re a nice size & easy to use. Have your USDA Scrapies flock number ready before you order. There is a one time set up fee of $25 to put your information in their system, but once that is done re-ordering is easy.

By the way, USDA will provide free tags with your new flock ID on them. They’re a little bigger, but if you’re uncertain you’ll stay with sheep or want to save money the first couple year that’s a good option. Premier 1 allows you to add your farm name & choose a color. It’s 20 tags for approx $13. (I don’t receive any benefits from recommending them. I’ve just found these tags easy to use). Our tags are deep green. Some people change colors by the year, but I like the simplicity of one color. Here are ours below.

You’ll see the letter L which indicates the progression of the alphabet that livestock breeders use. It progresses each year with a couple letter exceptions, but you can do an online search anytime & figure where the progression is for that year. 2023 is L. The number indicates the ID # I have assigned the sheep & the ILFHF is my USDA assigned flock ID. If my sheep were across the country that ID could be used to track it to our farm.

As for the tagging & timing of it, it depends on your farm, flock size & breed. If you are registering your lambs it is essential you are 100% certain of parentage. If you have a large flock, and lambs that all look alike, same color etc & are being born in a communal setting then tagging immediately is necessary. In our setting, it is easy to keep track of lamb & ewe pairings so I usually give the lambs a couple weeks to grow.

These are helpful tips for tagging.

After years, I still don’t like to do it, but it’s necessary & truthfully it’s over quickly. Think of it like an ear piercing, a sting & done. It really helps to have a second person hold the lamb securely!

CDT Lamb Vaccination

Lambs receive passive & temporary immunity to CDT when they consume their mother’s colostrum. Please keep in mind if a lamb does not get colostrum from a vaccinated ewe (ie gets powdered colostrum or the ewe is unvaccinated) then the lamb will not be protected. I’ll discuss that below.

The immunity from the ewe will start to wane after about six weeks. Lambs from vaccinated dams should receive their first CDT vaccination by the time they are 6-8 weeks of age, followed by a booster 2-4 weeks later. This time frame has some flexibility which is helpful for accommodating early & late season lambs. I’ve vaccinated as young as 5 weeks in order to save time & vaccinate all the lambs at once (my breeding season is usually 3-4 weeks so this means lambs are between 4-8 weeks old at time of vaccination).

The lambs will require a booster in 3-4 weeks which works well if you sell your sheep around 14-16 weeks. Lambs from unvaccinated dams should receive their first  CDT vaccination when they are 3-4 weeks of age, followed by a booster 3-4 weeks later. Earlier vaccinations may not be effective, due to many factors, including the immature immune system of young lambs.

There are multiple different brands, but they all work, you’ll want the 3-way vaccine called CDT. A 18 or 20 gauge needle works well in either a 3/4” or 1”.

2 ml is the dosage whether it’s a lamb or mature animal. It’s listed clearly on the bottle. CDT does require refrigeration & once you puncture the bottle it needs to be used that day & preferably remain chilled/cool up until you administer it. Bottles usually come in 10 doses & 50 doses.

The CDT vaccine is administered subcutaneously (under the skin) by pulling up a handful of skin to make a “tent,” and sliding the needle into the base of the tent and pressing the plunger. Subcutaneously injections can be given high in the neck, in the axilla (arm pit) region, or over the ribs.  

Sometimes, an abscess will develop at the injection site (leaving a mark on any future meat cuts). For this reason, the axilla is usually the best injection site, especially for market lambs and show animals. Some people will daub the injection site with rubbing alcohol to avoid abscesses, but I’ve never found it necessary.

Don’t forget to mark your calendar to give the booster (2 ml) in 2-4 weeks!

Administer COWPs

These are copper oxide wire particle boluses that are helpful for combatting the barberpole worm especially in the hot, humid summers on pasture. This is why I like to give them before I put the sheep out on pasture. I talk at length about boluses in another post, but I feel they’ve been very helpful in improving the overall health of our flock. They are cheap insurance. Please keep in mind that if you raise a breed other then Icelandics then I suggest you do your own breed specific research to be certain it is a good management strategy for your flock. I recommend boluses that contain both copper sulfate & copper oxide.

I give mature sheep the 4g bolus & all lambs over 25 lbs get the 2g bolus. We usually finish lambing by mid-April & head out to pasture by mid-May so the lambs are all above weight. You administer it with a bolus gun & there are two brands. Refer to the bolus post for more details.

FAMACHA Checks

This system was developed in South Africa to aid shepherds in protecting their flocks from barberpole. Barberpole is a bloodsucking parasite that attaches to the stomach lining of small ruminants. As a result the animal grows more & more anemic until it weakens & dies. By using FAMACHA scoring, an assessment of the inner eyelid, you can determine roughly if the sheep is suffering from barberpole. Here is a 30 minute video explaining in-depth how FAMACHA scoring is performed & why. If you need to skip to the portion showing the correct method for depressing the top lid & lowering the lower lid please watch from minute 22-24.

This is a picture depicting the different FAMACHA scores & the corresponding eye lid color.

Keep in mind that FAMACHA scoring helps identify problems with barberpole. Other parasite problems will not be identified this way. Fecal counts are used to identify problems with other stomach worms (often those that cause diarrhea).

It’s important to keep in mind that sheep gain a certain level of immunity to parasites as they mature. Lambs are far more susceptible to parasites their first six months of life. In order to avoid the need for chemical deworming it requires us to do health checks every two weeks from June-September & practice rotational grazing. We will weigh & FAMACHA check during these (as well as administer CDT & the booster). Only the lambs are weighed but the entire flock is FAMACHA checked. Most of the family is trained to do this so I have a pick of helpers to get it done quickly. It pays to have multiple clipboards & and copies of the flock list to enter data on.

We usually have 65-85 sheep: it works best with two people FAMACHA scoring & yelling out numbers to one recorder while a fourth person stands ready with required support. This can range from Vit B Complex, BoSe or Sel/E gel, Vit A/D/E, Red Cell, garlic & molasses drench, nurtridrench, COWP, or if necessary chemical dewormer. It helps to have it all ready & the provider aware of the difference between ‘support’ & ‘intervention’ so it’s easy for the FAMACHA checkers to just hand off the sheep.

The distinction for us is that support is for an animal that may be on the brink to succumbing to barberpole pressure & can benefit from nutritional & vitamin support. Extra protein & vitamin & mineral support can go a long way to overcoming barberpole IF (big IF) you  catch it earlier enough. By the time you’re nearing white eye lids it isn’t worth risking the animal. Follow the dewormer protocol I give here if your sheep is in danger. There is a big difference between supporting & saving your sheep. This is determined using FAMACHA scoring. I go to great lengths to avoid dewormer, but in the long run it’s not worth losing a sheep. You’ll get a better feel for this balance the longer you own your flock. You’ll also have to be honest with yourself in the fall if the sheep who requires additional chemical support fits your ‘vision’ of your flock. Slowly over time your flock will get stronger with those hard decisions, but it takes time.

Other Miscellaneous Tasks

Depending on your breed & management strategies there may be a need to dock tails or band. I love that Icelandics have short tails & we don’t band! We process ram lambs no latter then early October & prefer the growth rate & muscling/fat ratio far better with a ram lamb then with a castrated lamb. If you need a wether on your farm then you can research banding or using a burdizzo. Some advocate at an older age, others do it nearly immediately. The few times I’ve castrated, I have banded & prefer around 3-4 weeks. Some of this is size & some of it is that I want to avoid fly season in the Midwest.

Be certain the lamb had a vaccinated mother or give it the CDT shot beforehand. If possible, arrange to get the pain & inflammation medicine, Banamine, from the vet. The US is one of the only western countries that allows castration to be done with no pain medication. I feel it’s more humane to give something for the pain & the medication is inexpensive especially in low dosages. Banamine is 1 ml per 100 lbs so the amount needed is very small. Most vets will gladly subscribe it for pain.

It’s good to remember that summers are daunting to even established shepherds. Those of us in warm & humid climates face even more challenges! Staying on top of things often makes the difference. Remember to reach out to those around you if you feel overwhelmed. Shepherding is an old world skill learned best through mentoring & one that gets easier every year as you build the flock that fits your farm or ranch. Summer is certainly a gauntlet, but you can guide your flock through it.

Take care,

Kimberly

P.S. Don’t forget that keeping the mother healthy is key to thriving lambs so be certain to FAMACHA check her & keep her body score up. I always save my very best hay (alfalfa/grass mix) for lactation & feed it for the first month. I find this achieves fast gains (nothing puts on weight like creamy, high-fat Icelandic sheep milk!) & sets the lamb up for success. A skinny, slow growing lamb is not in as strong a position to take on summer. Alfalfa pellets will also work as supplementation for the mother if hay is hard to come by. I aim for a low input system, but certain windows of time are important & pre-summer is one of those. Getting protein into the mother & essentially ‘super charging’ her milk while improving her overall condition pays off in the long run!