Increasing lamb survival rates depends on proper care and nutrition as soon as the animals are born. Starvation is all too common for new lambs. It is a problem because even though a ewe will initially provide enough milk for her lambs, her milk supply sometimes suddenly shuts down. Close monitoring is necessary within the first hours and days of life to detect scours. The disease is at times hard to detect, and may only be evident by a wet tail.
Prevention is, of course, better than treatment for any sickness.
Livestock experts say the key ingredient to limiting disease is to make sure new lambs take in quality cholostrom. It is also important to make sure that there is a proper lambing environment. A 35 degree, draft-free facility will assure warmth and limit health risks. On the Right Track South Dakota's winter wheat crop has faced a great deal of ups and downs already this year. Temperature fluctuations and little or no snow cover have had some producers worried about their crop's condition.