Jane Knowles’s column last week was interesting. As she says, twin lamb disease can be treated if caught early.
The name is apt as it rarely occurs in ewes carrying single lambs.
The disease is due to the massive demand for glucose from the developing lambs and, sometimes, the ewe cannot produce enough for herself and the lambs.
An individual case can follow other problems such as lameness – so the ewe cannot walk as far to get to the food.
In 2001, some ewes with foot-and-mouth died from twin lamb, disease simply because their mouths were too sore to be able to eat.
I always regard a twin lamb case as a warning for the rest of the flock as it can indicate inadequate nutrition.
This can have significant effects on milk production and on the ability of lambs to withstand the cold in the first few hours of life.
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