Adequate feeding of the lamb

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At birth, colostrum is extremely important for the young animal because it provides disease-fighting maternal antibodies as well as essential nutrients. If colostrum is not available or insufficient from the ewe, the lamb can be provided colostrum from another ewe, ewe or cow frozen colostrum warmed to body temperature.

For the first two weeks of life, lambs need to be fed every 2-3 hours (night meals can be provided every 4 or 5 hours) and then every 4 hours for the next weeks, according to their health status.

For the first several weeks of life, lamb requirements for nutrients are covered by maternal milk. By the time lambs are 4 to 6 weeks old, they may be obtaining as much as 50 percent of their nutrient intake from sources other than their mother’s milk.

Feeding programs of lambs vary, usually affected by the type of production, market options, geographic location, and cost and availability of feedstuffs. Most of the time, lambs born in winter are creep-fed and finished on high concentrate diets, whereas lambs born later in the season are finished at pasture with the ewes. Some feeding programs utilize both pasture and grain.

Colostrum management in lambs

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Colostrum contains a complex mixture of proteins that actively participate in the protection of the neonate, through passive immune transfer, against pathogens and other postpartum environmental challenges.

Animals growing under an artificial rearing system need to be fed, by bottle, an adequate amount of colostrum during their first days of life, to obtain adequate passive immune transfer and increase future productivity. It has been reported that lambs not fed colostrum in the first hours of life are more susceptible to diseases and mortality. Therefore, it is crucial to provide an optimal colostrum source.

Lambs need to be fed an amount of colostrum (pasteurized at 63 degrees Celcius for 30 minutes) equivalent to 8 g of IgG/ Kg body weight, divided into three equal meals in the first 24 h after birth, given 2, 14 and 24 hours after birth. This corresponds, on average, to about 150-200 ml colostrum per feeding. The amount of colostrum produced by the mother and its composition can be affected by several factors such as nutrition and/or litter size. Lambs fed with cow colostrum run the risk of developing anaemia. In addition to the amount of colostrum fed, management during the milk feeding and weaning period, such as stress produced by dam separation, milk quality and suckling frequency, can affect the final immune status of lambs.

Thus, feeding the newborn ruminants with adequate quantity of colostrum, as early as possible after birth, is an effective good practice to obtain good passive immune transfer for optimal protection of lambs, so their health is improved and less likely to need antibiotic treatments for the infections.

Clearing Farm-specific colostrum from Johne’s disease causative MAP bacterium to prevent horizontal cow-calf transfer of paratuberculosis.

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Johne’s disease or Paratuberculosis in cattle can cause detrimental productive and economic losses to dairy and beef farms as well as impaired animal welfare in clinical and terminal stages of the disease. Control and eradication of the disease are difficult and lengthy considering the long incubation time of the disease, the infected animals shedding the MAP-bacterium (Mycobacterium avium paratuberculosis) long before clinical signs occur and the absence of accurate diagnostics in the early stage of infection.

It is clear that prevention is better than cure. However, in the eradication of the disease it is important to stop direct transfer from the cow to the calf. One aspect of this strategy includes clearing the MAP bacterium from the colostrum of infected cows before feeding it to newborn calves. While colostrum can be pasteurized to kill off bacteria you also risk destructing the much needed maternal antibodies that offer the calves their immunological protection in the first weeks of life.

ILVO’s food pilot has developed a decontamination protocol consisting of different heat treatments and centrifugation steps to clear the colostrum from MAP whilst optimally preserving the antibody count. First the colostrum gets heated up to 53°C for 30 minutes followed by skimming. Next is another heating step up to 70°C for 30 minutes. Afterwards the colostrum is cleared by centrifugation and bottled in easy to use and sizable portions. This service allows dairy and beef farmers to have their farm-specific colostrum cleared from the MAP bacterium.

Flushing the drinking pipes in broiler farming

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Drinking water is an essential feed for broilers. Over the course of its life, a chicken will drink twice as much water as it will eat food. If this water is too hot at the drinkers, the chicks’ water consumption will decrease, which can harm the growth of the animals, especially during the first days of rearing.

In addition, biofilm, which also develops in the pipes when the flow rate is low and the temperature is high, is a risk factor for bacterial development and clogging of the drinking system.

Purging the pipes regularly and under pressure allows the biofilm stuck to the walls to be removed and the hot water to be replaced by cooler, cleaner water from the network or drilling point. The chickens are better hydrated and thirst quenched. The chicks perform better in early life, reducing the need for antibiotic treatments. Farmers observe improved weight gain in broilers at five days of age.

However, if purging is done manually, it can be very time-consuming and wasteful of water. To limit these inconveniences, the installation of an automatic purging system is a good idea: purging can be programmed to be carried out at certain times of the day, triggered directly from the box in the building, or remotely with a smartphone.

Weaning piglets

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Weaning is a difficult time for both piglets and sows. To reduce the negative effects of weaning, the sow and piglets must be prepared for this critical event. In Romania, on large farms weaning is done at the age of 35 days when the piglets weigh on average 6-8 kg, and in small subsistence farms, it is done at the age of 8 weeks when they weigh 12-14 kg. The rules of weaning refer mainly to the gradual transition of piglets from the infant regime to the regime of weaned piglets, namely: providing additional fodder to piglets from 7-8 days of age so they can gradually increase intakes and become accustomed to solid feed, and reducing the number of milk feeds 4-5 days before weaning. Reducing access to suckling leads the piglets to consume additional feed in larger quantities.

This action is recommended as follows:
-5 days before weaning, 4-5 suckling opportunities;
-4 days before weaning, 3-4 suckling opportunities;
-3 days before weaning, 2-3 suckling opportunities;
-2 days before weaning, 1-2 suckling opportunities;
– one suckling allowed on the day of weaning.

The sow leaves but the piglets remain in the maternity ward for 5-10 days, depending on the technology that is applied. 2-3 days before weaning, the amount of feed administered to the sows is reduced, and on the day of weaning the sow does not receive feed, but only water ad libitum.

Enterotoxemia in sheep and lambs

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Enterotoxemia is a frequently severe disease of small ruminants of all ages. It is caused by two strains of bacteria called Clostridium perfringens, type C and D. Type C principally produces the β-toxin, which most commonly kills lambs less than 2 weeks of age. A typical symptom of lambs that die from β-toxin is simply sudden death. Type D principally produces the ε-toxin which affects lambs older than 2 weeks of age, particularly those eating diets high in starch. Lambs exposed to high doses of ε-toxin also die very quickly. Fatalities occur particularly in non-vaccinated animals or in newborn lambs whose mother was not vaccinated.

Vaccination of ewes 3-4 weeks before lambing improves passive protection in lambs up to 12 weeks of age, whereas there is no benefit of vaccinating lambs before 6 weeks of age. Since the causative bacteria proliferate in the intestine in response to ingestion of abnormally high levels of starch, sugar, or protein, there are two alternatives:

  • to divide the daily allotment into as many small feedings as is feasible, or
  • to feed roughages such as hay before feeding these higher-risk feeds.

These good practices, vaccination and Smart feeding strategies, can prevent animal losses and improve their welfare. Prevention of enterotoxemia is far more likely to be successful than trying to treat the disease. Treatment of enterotoxemia may not be successful in severe cases.

The transition period of the dairy cow

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The transition period is considered critical for the dairy cow and refers to the 3 weeks before calving and 3 weeks after calving. During this period the cow becomes vulnerable as physiological, metabolic and nutritional changes occur. This period can negatively influence the subsequent lactation of the cow, with implications on production and reproduction performance and implicitly on profitability. The manner in which this period is maintained are reflected in the frequency of postpartum disorders (milk fever, abomasum displacement, placental retention).

During the last three weeks of gestation, the cow’s body is under pressure from the rapid growth of the foetus, and from the synthesis of milk components for the subsequent lactation. Plasma insulin concentration decreases during the transition to the foetus and somatotropin increases rapidly between the end of pregnancy and the beginning of lactation.

At the beginning of lactation, the cows mobilize the body reserves (5-8% of the calving weight), the appetite is low and capricious (the ingesta is lower by 45%), the nutritional balance, especially the energy balance, is negative, the lactation curve is in ascension.

The main measures to support the transition period: grouping of cows (ante partum and post partum) in special areas (maternity); feeding balanced diet in terms of ionic (DCAD); maintaining good hygiene of the rest bed; ensuring optimal levels of carbohydrates, which stimulate propionate production; urinary pH monitoring (pH less than 5.8 leads to decreased feed intake and immune imbalances, pH over 7.2 leads to postpartum paraplegia and placenta retention).

Sieplo’s FEEDR

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A Dutch veal farmer feeds his 1,100 veal calves with the FEEDR, an intelligent feeding robot. This robot can monitor exactly what the needs of the individual animal are and can therefore deliver exactly enough feed. The robot feeds the animals small portions several times a day, instead of a large portion once. A major advantage of this is that the feed is always fresh. Consistently fresh feed ensures that the calves are healthier, thus reducing the use of antibiotics. The following are other advantages and disadvantages of the robot system.

Positives

+ Low labour requirement

+ Accurate feeding and higher feed intake (improved growth is an indicator of a healthier animal)

+ Better animal health (less use of antibiotics)

+ Little residual feed

+ Energy efficient

+ Lower costs for barn construction (narrow feeding alleys)

+ Little adaptation of existing stables required

+ No feed kitchen, roughage stays fresh longer (better for the health of the animal)

Negatives

– High purchase costs

– Can only process grass silage in chopped form

– Milk truck and bulk truck drivers sometimes find routing robot difficult.

The FEEDR can be used directly in almost all stables. It has been developed to provide pellets in raised troughs to white veal calves. For feeding larger quantities of roughage to sheep or rosé veal calves, adjustments have been made to the robot to allow the system to run smoothly.

Optimizing water quality on poultry, pig and dairy farms

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In practice, it is common for drinking water quality not to be optimal on farms. Water quality can be affected by temperature fluctuations, damage to pipe work, dead-end pipes, bends, pipe diameter and nipple connections.

It is good practice to have the water pipes checked regularly (i.e. swabbed and microbiologically tested) and to clean them thoroughly. Biofilms – the protective environment on surfaces that bacteria can live in that allows them to survive longer and resist routine cleaning – must be removed or not allowed to build up. Therefore, in addition to a cleaning agent, a disinfectant should be used to tackle the biofilm. At least once a week, perform a visual check of taps and pipework using a white bucket or transparent measuring cup. During cleaning, have the water supply checked by a specialist using an endoscope. In this way, a deterioration of the water quality can be observed over time. Check which products are effective against biofilms.

The water quality should be so good that you dare to drink it yourself! Good quality water saves you money by avoiding persistent infections that can lower an animal’s immune system and lead to unnecessary or excessive antibiotic use. Clean water = less need for antibiotics.

Colostrum management protocol for calves

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Calves are born with under developed immune systems; they have no antibodies to fight infection and so are very vulnerable to disease. Good colostrum management is of vital importance to the calf, especially where infection pressure is high. ZLTO has developed a colostrum management protocol – here are a few tips.

  • Milk the cow immediately after birth. The first colostrum is of the very best quality.
  • Measure the quality of the colostrum to determine the amount of antibodies using a colostrometer or hydrometer. Discard colostrum with quality <50 g/L. This gives you certainty about the amount of antibodies in the colostrum rather than guessing from appearance.
  • Make sure that the colostrum and feeding equipment is clean. Dirt contains bacteria and will reduce the effect of the antibodies in the colostrum.
  • Within 1 hour after birth, give the calf 4 litres (10% of body weight if known) of colostrum of around 40 degrees Celsius. The quicker the colostrum is given after birth the more antibodies the calf can absorb through its gut.
  • Preferably use a teat when administering colostrum. This provides a sucking reflex which stimulates the intestinal function.
  • Freeze remaining colostrum for reserves at a constant temperature of -18 degrees. Label colostrum with dam number and date and discard colostrum from Johnes positive cows.
  • The second milking for a second colostrum feed should take place 12 to 18 hours after birth to ensure that the calf has absorbed enough antibodies.
  • Discuss the colostrum protocol with the ZLTO advisor or your veterinarian.

Good colostrum management ensures a good start for the calf and means less disease, which reduces the need for use of antibiotics. Calves are the future of the herd and deserve care and attention.