Nematodirus is a disease caused by gastrointestinal worms which young lambs ingest through grazing, particularly on pasture grazed by young lambs the previous year. It can cause a high number of deaths within a matter of hours and poor growth rates.

This Q&A guide offers answers to common questions surrounding this disease including how to prevent it, how to quickly spot affected lambs, and how to treat them effectively.

What age are lambs most at risk of nematodirus?

Six to twelve week old lambs are most likely to be affected as they are likely to be eating enough grass that could be infected with the worm larvae to put them at risk.

Younger lambs can also be affected if they’re not receiving enough milk which causes them to start grazing earlier, for example, triplets. Those with a weakened immune system, or already presented with other challenges such as coccidiosis, are also more at risk of succumbing to the disease.

From three months-old, lambs are less likely to be affected when they ingest significant numbers of larvae.

What time of year is nematodirus an issue?

A sudden cold snap that’s followed by a period of warm weather (10°C or higher) can trigger a mass hatch of eggs into larvae that are ingested by the lambs, causing their likelihood of exposure to significantly increase. Lambs are therefore most at risk of becoming infected between April and June due to the colder nights and warmer days that typically occur.

Although generally more of an issue in spring, unpredictable weather patterns experienced in recent years have caused nematodirus challenges to occur as early as February.

What are the signs of nematodirus?

 Knowing the symptoms of affected lambs will ensure prompt treatment can be administered quickly. These signs include:

• Sudden onset of profuse diarrhoea
• Dark or black faeces
• Dull lambs
• Lambs that stop sucking
• Loss of body condition
• Dehydration

How should I prevent nematodirus?

Prevention is better than cure because nematodirus strikes quickly. Faecal egg counts aren’t an effective preventative method because the damage is caused by larvae that don’t produce eggs, however, knowing the signs and taking the following steps will help to reduce the impact of nematodirus:

• Where possible avoid grazing lambs in fields that were grazed by lambs the previous spring
• Nematodirus risk varies year on year so keep an eye on the SCOPS nematodirus forecast to predict the likelihood of your flock being affected and for recommended treatment decisions to help reduce the risk of wormer resistance. This useful tool takes data from weather stations across the UK to provide updates on the disease risk level across the UK based on the predicted hatch-date of eggs into larvae
• Don’t forget your on-farm or in-store specialist can help provide guidance on how to prevent nematodirus, so make sure you get in touch if required

How should I treat nematodirus?

 An effective parasite treatment strategy should be part of a flock health plan that should be put in place by a vet as a priority, and will help to make sure nematodirus is treated at the right time, using the right product.

Taking the following steps when managing nematodirus will also help to prevent wormer resistance, one of the biggest health risks to UK sheep farming at the moment[1]:

• If just one lamb shows symptoms of nematodirus, treat every lamb within the group as quickly as possible using a white (1-BZ) drench
• It’s extremely important to dose for the correct weight of the lamb – follow the product guidance for correct dosing measures
• Conduct a faecal egg count seven to ten days after the drench is administered to ensure treatment is effective. Ensure all groups of lambs are tested separately because the level of infestation will vary between fields. Interpretation of the FEC is complex, so it’s best to discuss this and any next steps with your vet
• Severely affected lambs may require further treatment which your vet will be able to advise on
• Consult your vet if you’re unsure as to how to treat lambs

[1] Layout 1 (xlvets.co.uk)

It’s essential that spring calving suckler cows are fed balanced diets to maintain tight calving patterns and improve the chances of calving success, which in turn impact herd profitability.

Working out daily feed requirements will help ensure target body condition scores (BCS) are met to optimise cow health and fertility, as well as improve feed efficiency.

Read on to learn what these target BCS are and how to ensure herd energy and mineral requirements are met.

Target body condition scores

Condition score for spring calvers (QMS 2020)

Ideally, suckler cows should be calving and bulling at a target BCS of 2.5 to help reduce the incidence of calving difficulties while promoting positive calving intervals. If cows are overweight at calving the assisted calving rate is more likely to increase. There is evidence to suggest that cows with a BCS of 3.5 typically have an assisted calving rate around double that of cows with a BCS of 2.5.

Aim to get pre-calving suckler cows to the correct condition score during mid-pregnancy by grouping cows with a similar BCS and feeding accordingly. Be aware that increasing the amount of energy in late pregnancy to achieve the target BCS can reduce calf vigour at birth.

Heifers and second time calvers are often the leanest cows on-farm so they, along with shy feeders, will need to be monitored more closely to make sure they reach the target pre-calving condition score.

Energy requirements

Autumn calvers require significantly more energy than spring calving beef cattle to maintain body condition while lactating throughout the colder winter months.

The energy requirements for a spring calver per day are 10% of their body weight plus 10MJ. In addition, dry matter requirements are 2% of total body weight. For example, a 600kg suckler cow would require 70MJ/energy and 12kg of dry matter per day.

It’s worth noting that genetics impact the amount of energy required to achieve target pre-calving condition scores. For example, cows put to a Charolais are likely to require more energy than those put to an Aberdeen Angus because larger breeds typically produce larger calves, meaning the cow will require more energy during pregnancy to sustain calf growth.

Generally, suckler cow energy requirements will be met through feeding forage alone and, unless cows are fed straw or have straw mixed into their diets, it’s advised to avoid feeding large amounts of concentrates.

If cows are fed a straw-based diet, aim to feed a good quality concentrate that contains 18% protein such as Lifetime Rearer or Unigold nuts. Bespoke blends can also be created by your local on-farm specialist, and also consider adding molasses to straw to encourage intakes.

Freshly calved cows will require double the energy needed by a dry cow for milk production and to promote recovery after birth. Energy is the key to ovulation and keeping a tight calving pattern, so ensuring the correct energy levels are fed during early lactation will also promote optimum fertility.

Mineral requirements

The mineral requirements of pre-and post-calving suckler cows are often overlooked, yet it is crucial the correct levels are fed to promote cow and calf health.

Consider conducting forage mineral analysis and then taking blood tests at least six weeks before calving to pinpoint any deficiencies in the following minerals:

Essential suckler cow minerals[1]

Providing supplementary pre-and post-calving mineral blocks such as Vitalyx super suckler or Megastart pre-calver is another option to make sure suckler cow mineral requirements are met. Megastart contains Safmannan^®  which will help to increase the immunoglobulins in the colostrum by around 25% which will help to improve calf health.

If you require further advice, consider discussing historical issues with cow health around calving with a local on-farm specialist.

[1] How to manage minerals in suckler cows pre-calving – Farmers Weekly (fwi.co.uk)

As every bite is precious, make the most of it by feeding a balanced diet, tailored to high levels of performance and an optimum rumen environment to get lambs away quickly.

Rising prices of feed, fertiliser and energy are putting pressure on margins. As production costs at farm level continue to rise, growing concerns over raw material availability are putting an even greater focus on maximising the use of homegrown resources, especially forage.

Moving lambs as quick as possible will help save on grass in late summer when fertiliser is too expensive to use in some beef and sheep enterprises.

For producers targeting early markets, it is even more important to achieve high levels of performance to ensure lambs can be drafted as soon as possible, freeing up available resources for other stock.

Feed efficiency is highest in the early stages of life and declines with age. As such, it is vital that lambs are fed a diet to maximise early life growth.

Creep feed provides the energy, DUP and starch needed to efficiently increase growth and promote rumen development.

Other benefits include:

• Reduced energy demands on the ewe (especially for triplets, ewe lambs and ewes in poor condition)
• Increased number of lambs slaughtered pre- weaning
• Improved kill out % for lambs slaughtered before weaning

It is important to remember that lambs may not eat enough forage and are at risk of sub-acute ruminal acidosis (SARA) and other diseases due to close contact.

Limiting setbacks in performance pre-weaning

• As can be seen in the figure below, lambs will be consuming 50% of their diet from grass or other hard feed by 6 weeks of age.
• It is therefore essential to ensure rumen development is optimised to avoid any setbacks post-weaning.
• This requires very high-quality grass and/or creep feed – maintain swards between 4-8cm to maximise quality.
• Where high quality grass is short, creep feed can help to fill the gap and maintain early growth from lambs.
• Feed should be offered from 2-3 weeks of age.
• Feed conversion (kg feed:kg weight gain) in young lambs is around 3.5:1 vs 7.5:1 post weaning.
• For a feed priced at £370 this equates to £1.30/kg gain vs £2.78/kg gain for older lambs.
• Young lambs are still developing their rumen, as a result they cannot fully digest many raw materials, it is essential therefore to select a feed formulated with only quality ingredients.

Digestion in the rumen

The rumen is a large fermentation chamber packed full of microbes, which:

• Digest feed to make energy and protein available to the animal
• Require a low oxygen environment and a pH of 6.0-7.0 to optimise feed digestion

For optimal growth and digestion, the rumen microbes require a balanced source of effective fibre, digestible fibre, starch, sugars, proteins and trace elements

Rumen function

• In lambs, we aim to promote rumen development early in life to ensure optimal performance later in life…

Choosing a concentrate for creep feeding:

• 16-17% crude protein as fed
• <35% cereals (e.g. barley, wheat or oats) using only highly palatable ingredients
• Quality protein sources (e.g. soya)
• Digestible fibre source (e.g. sugar beet), keeping fibre levels below 8% as lambs are unable to digest high levels in early life.
• 5-10% molasses.
• 2% high calcium/low magnesium minerals to avoid urinary calculi (crystals in urine)

Managing Stress in weaned lambs

Stress is known to suppress the immune system in lambs, and weaning is arguably the most stressful period in the lamb’s life. Additional stressors from a multitude of sources can also compound this problem further.

Feeding and management of lambs post-weaning

There are several options available when fattening lambs post-weaning, depending on farm resources and time of year (e.g. grass finishing, grass plus concentrates, brassicas / root crops or ad lib concentrate feeding).

Independent of system there are several universal factors to consider:

• Tailor the diet to lamb type – Lighter lambs require further frame growth and therefore protein. Heavier lambs need more energy and should be fed cereals or other high energy ingredients.
• Sort by liveweight and bring groups forward in batches to improve efficiency.
• Spread diet changes over 2-3 weeks to allow the microbes to adapt and reduce the risk of poor rumen function or acidosis.
• Formulate concentrates to complement the feed and forages available on farm.

Actisaf® in lambs – overall trial results

Summary:

• Maximise weight gain when the lamb is most efficient.
• Make changes to the diet slowly.
• Management of the lamb around weaning is key.
• Tailor the diet to the type of lamb and based on the availability of on-farm feeds.
• Feed Actisaf® live yeast for improved rumen development, rumen function, feed utilisation and daily live weight gain.

Carr’s Billington’s EARLYBITE LAMB PELLETS are a top-quality lamb creep feed containing Actisaf® live yeast to stabilise rumen pH, increase feed conversion ratio, promote fibre digestion and ease transition to concentrate feed.

 EARLYBITE high-energy lamb pellets also offer a balanced source of starch and digestible fibre, and contains EarlyBite® to improve palatability and intakes for faster rumen development and better growth efficiency.

To offer EARLYBITE as a creep feed for lambs up to 12 weeks of age, contact 01228 518860 or speak to your local store or advisor.

To reach the optimal serving weight by 13 – 14 months old, with the aim to calve down at 24 months, heifer calves must be growing at 0.85kg/day from birth to first service.
Our expert calf and youngstock team are able to offer on-farm advice on feeds and nutrition to help dairy youngstock reach these targets. However, they have also compiled a few top tips on what to consider when it comes to feeding milk replacers for your own reference:

Quantity

Calves should be fed 15–20% of their body weight each day in whole milk or a suitable milk replacer to reach the targeted 0.85kg/day growth rate.

During cold weather, the volume of milk replacer fed should be increased to reflect the fact that calves will be using more energy to keep warm.

If temperatures fall below 20⁰C, for every 10ºC drop, an extra 100g milk powder/day should be fed to a 50kg calf (0-3 weeks of age). So at 0ºC, feed an extra 200g per day. This should be achieved through increasing the volume of milk fed, rather than the concentration. Increasing the concentration will affect osmolality levels and can increase the risk of nutritional scour.

For calves older than three weeks, if temperatures fall below 10⁰C, feed an extra 100g milk powder/day for every 10ºC drop. So at 0ºC, feed an extra 100g per day. This should also be achieved through increasing the volume of milk fed, rather than the concentration.

Schedule

It is important to keep calves on the same milk replacer until weaning as this will avoid upset to their digestive systems, which could result in nutritional scours.

fed at consistent times every day to help the abomasum break down the milk efficiently and prevent digestive issues, such as bloat.

Temperature

Milk replacer should be fed at a temperature of 37 – 39 ºC, as this is within the range of a calf’s body temperature.  This is particularly important during cold weather conditions to avoid lowering the calf’s internal body temperature. For tips on how to correctly mix milk replacer, watch our handy guide below:

Nutritional content

Dairy heifers will require a powder containing at least 22% protein to meet their nutritional requirements. However, some higher protein products, if they are of good quality, will encourage more stature and lean muscle development.

Most milk replacers contain a mixture of dairy and vegetable protein and the quality of the protein and how it has been processed is important. Look for hydrolysed wheat protein as the vegetable protein as it will provide a digestible alternative to dairy protein.

Pea protein, soya protein, wheat protein and wheat flour are typically harder for youngstock to digest and are therefore less available to the young calf. Soya protein concentrate is sometimes used in more economic milk replacers, but its digestibility is much lower than that of hydrolysed wheat.

Additionally, aim to feed a replacer with no less than 20% fat. Calves require energy to keep warm, to fight off infection, to move, and to grow. Calves are not at risk of becoming over fat during the milk feeding period, so the higher the fat content, the better. Fat also provides energy for protein utilisation and therefore encourages higher rates of growth.

Whey or skim?

Whey and skim milk replacers are digested differently by calves. Once skim milk reaches the abomasum, it produces an energy dense casein (an insoluble milk protein) clot that takes between eight to twelve hours to be fully digested. For this reason, calves on a skim-based milk replacer will appear fuller for longer than calves fed with a whey-based milk replacer.

Whey powders contain the whey fraction (a soluble milk protein) of milk which does not need to be clotted to be broken down, so goes straight to the small intestine for digestion. Whey-based milk replacers are therefore digested much faster, typically within two to three hours.

There are no advantages of choosing one type of milk replacer over the other, so long as the quality and digestibility of the raw materials is high. Make sure you speak to your local calf and youngstock specialist to find a replacer to best suit your system.

Provide straw, starter feed and water

Starter feed, straw and water should be provided from birth.

Although they won’t eat large amounts in the first few weeks, allowing access to starter feed will help with rumen development. At birth, a calf’s digestive system has the same four compartments to an adult cow, but only one compartment is fully functioning – the abomasum.

The rumen is under-developed at this stage, but this is the compartment that will become the powerhouse of the calf after weaning. It is therefore essential to encourage rumen development as quickly as possible whilst the calves are on milk.

We do this by providing starter feed rich in starch, which will produce important volatile fatty acids that stimulate growth of the rumen wall, and papillae development on the internal lining.

Equipment hygiene

Feeding equipment should be cleaned and disinfected after each feed to reduce the incidence of disease. If you want to know more about on-farm biosecurity and hygiene, read our calf management blog here.

You may also like to read

Carr’s Billington Ewe Check

Jimmy Goldie chief technical officer at Carr’s Billington, talks us through Ewe Check. Ewe Check [...]

27
Jan

Staying a step ahead in 2023

As 2022 draws to a close, Jimmy Goldie chief technical officer at Carr’s Billington, reviews [...]

20
Dec

Grow Great Grass To Cut Feed Costs

Excerpt: Jimmy Goldie, Chief Technical Officer for Carr’s Billington, reports on 2022 grass and silage [...]

02
Dec

Avian influenza: Housing order to be introduced across England

A national housing order will be introduced across England on Monday 7 November making it [...]

01
Nov

PRESS RELEASE

The Billington Group has completed the purchase of Carr’s Billington Agriculture Ltd (CBAL) from Carr’s [...]

26
Oct

Facts about Forage and Fibre

Feeding horses is both an art and a science – the science gives us information [...]

24
Oct

Avian influenza: Prevention Zone declared across Great Britain

Following an increase in the number of detections of avian influenza (bird flu) in wild [...]

24
Oct

TIME4FORMULATING: Rumen Balancing Vital In Boosting Milk From Forage

Paul Mardell – Technical Manager at Carr’s Billington – talks about the huge variations in [...]

23
Sep