Importance of Recording Lambing Difficulty
Accurately recording lambing difficulty is essential when documenting a lambing event.
It is vital that difficult lambing events are recorded accurately to prevent farmers making incorrect breeding choices in the future, which could result in increased financial loss due to increased lamb mortality.
Lambing difficulty is ranked on a scale ranging from 1 to 4.
A score of 1 being awarded to ewes which were completely unassisted during lambing and a score of 4 being assigned to ewes which required significant assistance during lambing.
The table below details the criteria of for each lambing difficulty score
| Lambing Score | Explanation |
|---|---|
| 1 – Unassisted | Ewe lambed down without any shepherd intervention |
| 2 – Voluntary Assistance | Lamb was presenting correctly and would have without doubt lambed down successfully without increasing the chance of lamb mortality |
| 3 – Slight Assistance | Ewe required slight assistance at lambing as there was an increased probability of a dead lamb(s) if no assistance was given. Example: head back, leg(s) back, breech. |
| 4 – Significant Assist | Ewe required significant assistant at lambing as there was a very high probability of a dead lamb(s). Example: C-Section, head back, leg (s) back, breech |
How to record lambing difficulty under a lambing event
Lambing difficulty is recorded under the lambing event on the selected ewe. When recording a lambing event, the selected lambing difficulty score should reflect they entire lambing event. In the case of multiple lambs, where assistance may have been required for one of the lambs, this should be reflected in the lambing difficulty score given.
Recording your lambing difficulty is simple but very important for genetic evaluations and your DQI.
Watch the video below to accurately score lambing difficulty
