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Mortality
The lamb mortality rate in Northern Europe is approximately 13%, showing a big variation between individual farms.
Mortality amongst lambs has many causes, such as:
- infectious diseases
- factor other than infection, such as poor hygiene, nutrition, housing, improper management and breeding
In most cases a combination of the above factors has a significant impact on the mortality rate of lambs.
Three different stages can be distinguished:
1. During and immediately after birth
Almost 50% of total mortality occurs in this period. Most often due to heavy and long-lasting births and improper help.
In the first 24 hours hypothermia and dehydration are the main cause.
2. The first week after birth
Problems in the first week after birth cause about 35% of the mortality and are maily ascribed to malnutrition, overlying (smothering of calf by lying on top of it) and various infections. Often the problems are birth-related (such as infections).
3. After the first week of life
In this stage, mortality primarily is the result of various infections.
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