Protecting progeny by planning ahead

Timely vaccination of pregnant ewes prior to lambing will improve colostrum quality, providing a welcome boost of disease-combating antibodies to newborn lambs.

Giving ewes their annual pasteurella and clostridial disease booster dose 4-6 weeks prior to lambing transfers higher levels of protective antibodies to newborn lambs, when compared with unvaccinated ewes. This boost of antibodies will help improve lamb survival at a time when they are most vulnerable to a number of potentially fatal diseases.

Intervet’s veterinary adviser, Rosemary Booth, explains that colostrum will only contain high levels of antibodies against pasteurella and clostridial diseases if the ewes’ vaccination status is up to date. “Ewes must have received a primary course of two correctly-timed doses of a combined pasteurella and clostridial disease vaccine in the 12-month period before lambing,” says Ms Booth. “The initial course is two doses, 4-6 weeks apart. Continued protection is provided by a pre-lambing booster 4-6 weeks before lambing.”

Two Intervet registration studies demonstrate the protective qualities of colostrum from ewes vaccinated with the company’s Heptavac-P^® Plus.

In the first study, five- to ten-day old lambs from Heptavac-P Plus vaccinated ewes were all found to have protective levels of antibodies circulating in their blood, providing them with immunity against a number of clostridial diseases¹.

In the second study, the value to the newborn lamb of an increase in antibodies was put to the test. Progeny from vaccinated and unvaccinated ewes were challenged with pasteurella bacteria at 2, 15 and 30 days of age. Lambs born to unvaccinated ewes tested positive for pasteurella bacteria in their blood. However, all the lambs from vaccinated ewes were found to be free from pasteurella². 

“Newborn lambs must receive an adequate volume of colostrum in the first six hours after birth,” Ms Booth continues. “The ideal amount is 50ml per kg, which equates to around 150-500mls, depending on the size of lamb.

“The protective effect of the colostrum declines steadily after birth, so it is equally important that lambs are also vaccinated, ideally when they are around three weeks old,” advises Ms Booth.

^{1 2} Registration dossier