Livestock specialists also say sheep producers need to make sure their ewes are not overweight during gestation. If animals are overly heavy, they are more likely to prolapse during the birthing process. For proper ration amounts, follow the feed tables in the sheep production handbook according to a ewe's prebreeding weight. Up to twenty percent of lambs will not survive to weaning. 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.