Course Content:

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Preparation:  Planning for lambing - pre-breeding health checks, tupping, scanning.  Pre-lambing vaccinations.

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Feeding the Pregnant Ewe:  body condition scoring, planning rations and supplements.  Metabolic problems related to nutrition - twin lamb disease and hypocalcaemia.

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Lambing Shed:  Setting up, pens, essential equipment.  Hygiene in the lambing shed.

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Normal Lambing:  We will look at how a normal lambing proceeds, timings, and when you might need to intervene.  We obviously cannot guarantee a 'live' lambing during the course, so we have plenty of good videos available to demonstrate this process.

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Assisted Lambing:  When to intervene.  Recognising and dealing with abnormal presentations.   When to call the vet!   This is a practical session, using our realistic simulator, where you will gain the confidence to assist your own ewes during the lambing process.

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Care of Newborns: Treating navels, colostrum intake, warmth & hypothermia.  Ensuring proper feeding and 'mothering up'.  Tube feeding.  Castration, tail bands & eartags.  A look at some of the common problems encountered with young lambs. 

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Orphan Lambs:  How to 'twin on'.  Bottle feeding and rearing.

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The aim of this course is to send you away with the knowledge to prepare your own flock for a healthy, problem free lambing time - and to be able to confidently deal with any issues that do arise.