2. Environment & Housing

Mammals have a range of behavioural and physiological mechanisms that enable them to adapt to a variety of situations to maintain an internal temperature within a narrow range of environmental limits to survive. Young lambs, especially in the first few weeks of life are particularly vulnerable to environmental factors that can influence their survival, health and wellbeing. 

Some of the welfare criteria and indicators associated with the Welfare Principle of a “Good Environment” as described by Richmond et al. (2017)are shown below. These may be useful animal-based indicators of the quality of the environment provided for the lambs during rearing. Some of these may be useful indicators within the context of practical farming environments.

General principles to consider for a good lamb rearing facility:

· Clean, dry, warm, well ventilated (to minimise ammonia build-up) and free from drafts and dust. 

· Air quality is essential. Monitor at the lamb level (not human level), i.e. get on your hands and knees in the pen and check the environment the lambs experience. 

· Minimise overcrowding. Consider grouping lambs according to age and/or feeding ability. Group pens should provide a minimum of 0.5-0.6 m2 per lamb (Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA, United Kingdom) Guidelines for lambs up to 12 weeks of age – more space is better. Area per lamb may need to increase over time depending on the initial pen size and stocking density, and duration of housing. 

 · AgResearch trials have indicated that providing 0.9 m2 per lambs in the first 3 weeks of rearing is associated with improved growth and health compared to 0.5 m2. Based on experience in commercial rearing units, small group sizes (e.g. 10-15 lambs) are recommended for the first 2-3 weeks of rearing to reduce competition at the milk feeder, for ease of handling of lambs to support training onto feeders and for animal health checks. Pen size can be increased after 3 weeks. 

· Aim to keep lambs in the same pen throughout rearing – mixing of lambs can increase the risk of spreading disease and aggressive behaviours due to changes in social structure. 

· If multiple groups of lambs go through the same pen during the season, clean out the pen between groups (i.e. change bedding and disinfect). 

· Pens constructed from inorganic materials (e.g. aluminium, steel, plastic) rather than organic material (e.g. wood) will reduce pathogen load in the pens and are easier to clean and disinfect than organic materials.

2.1 Nursery Pens 

 · A warm, clean, dry area for very young lambs (<3 days of age) is recommended especially for newborn or weak lambs. 

 · Pens should be fitted with heat lamps to provide warmth and/or coats provided for the lambs. Take care lambs don’t overheat (watch for panting). 

· Good ventilation is important (see housing above). Air flow is important but avoid cold drafts. 

· Replace bedding and disinfect pens between groups of lambs. 

· The number of lambs per pen should be small (e.g. 10-15) for ease of handling and to reduce the risk of smothering/crowding.

2.2 Hospital Pens 

 · Have a separate isolation pen available for any sick lambs that need to be separated to minimise the spread of disease (this needs to be separate to the other lamb pens). These pens should be equipped with a heat source for sick lambs and/or coats for sick lambs to reduce thermal stress. 

· Strict hygiene protocols should be applied to reduce the risk of spread of disease/infection from the sick pens to the other pens, as well as to reduce the risk to staff (see Chapter 05, Lamb Health).

2.3 Bedding 

· Ideally bedding should be clean and dry at all times. When setting up pens, ensure good drainage to minimise moisture build up where possible. Alternatively, use a deep litter-type system with frequent top-ups to reduce moisture and soiling. Consider using free-draining gravel (e.g. small river stone) or slatted flooring as a base, a matting over that (e.g. road matting) with the bedding material (e.g. kiln-dried wood shavings, dry bark or post peelings) over the top (see photo below). 

· All bedding should be as free as possible of dust because this is an irritant to the eyes and respiratory system. 

· If bedding needs to be replaced due to excessive moisture build-up or soiling, avoid disturbing the bedding material when lambs are in close proximity. Remove lambs from the pens to limit exposure to dust/ammonia. 

· Order bedding supplies early in the season to avoid the risk of shortages during the rearing season. 

· Damp and heavily soiled bedding is a source of pathogens that can cause health issues. A sign of a healthy pen environment is clean dry bedding and lambs that do not have soiled wool. The wool of the lambs should be clean and bright. A practice method to test if the bedding is dry is the “knee test”. Kneel down on the bedding for 10 seconds and if it is damp enough to soak through your pant knees, more dry bedding is required.

2.4 Shade/Shelter 

· For indoor rearing units where the environment is cold and/or drafty, creating additional shelter within the lambing pens should be considered. In addition to having solid panels for the walls of the rearing pens, mesh can be installed along the side of the pen with the prevailing wind and good quality grass hay placed on the mesh. This creates a micro-environment for the lambs that is warm as well as a freely available fibre source for the young lambs to eat. 

 · When outdoors, shelter should be provided for the lambs especially when young. This should be adequate shelter from wind, rain and sun. It is particularly important for dairy breeds to provide shade to reduce sun exposure and photosensitivity. Provide sufficient space for all lambs to minimise crowding, and maintain good hygiene.

2.5 Water 

· All pens should have clean water freely available. Clean out water troughs regularly (at least weekly or more frequently if soiled). 

· It is important to ensure that the smallest lambs can reach the water source but lambs are not able to climb into the water source and drown. 

· Water troughs/buckets should be secured to the side of pens (the corner is ideal) to reduce the risk of it tipping over. 

· If using buckets, consider tying one bucket into the corner of a pen and using a second bucket inside that for the water for ease of cleaning.

2.6 Transport The code of welfare for transport of animals in New Zealand can be found here. 

 If transportation of lambs to a rearing facility is required, it is important to ensure the safety and welfare of the lambs and compliance with the Animal Welfare Regulations. There are no specific practical guidelines for transportation of young lambs from their birth site to a rearing facility. This section aims to provide some guidance on a best practice for transport of young lambs. These procedures have been based on international guidelines, feedback from veterinarians and practical experience of researchers and farm operators.

Transportation times/distances should be minimised to reduce the impact on animal health and welfare. Below are some key points to consider.Lambs for transport offfarm should have a dry navel (minimum of 48 hours old), be healthy and able to stand unaided. All lambs need to be individually inspected and comply with the check list (see example ‘lamb passport” below).

 This can be adapted to suit individual animals or groups. The lambs should be fed within 2 hours of transport, especially neonatal lambs (e.g. 2-7 days old) and when transportation time is greater than 2 hours to minimise the risk of dehydration. When lambs are being transported between farms, where the management of the animals will be undertaken by different staff, it is recommended that a “lamb passport” is completed for each batch of lambs. 

This will enable animal health/welfare information to be transferred to the new staff to support a smooth transition into the new rearing unit and maintain a high level of animal welfare and care. This should include information relating to animal traits (e.g. date of birth, sex, tag numbers etc.) as well as animal health information (e.g. notes on any lambs that have required animal health treatments, any health issues the new rearers need to be aware of etc.). 

 Before entry into the transport vehicle/trailer, and upon entry into the new rearing facility, whether the navel is wet or dry, dip lamb navels in concentrated iodine solution (right down to base) to reduce the risk of infection. A dedicated trailer should be used with partitions to create small pens. Ensure enough space for all lambs with partitions (recommend 6-8 lambs/pen) to minimize crowding and risk of smothering. All lambs should have plenty of space to stand and lie down. 

The trailer should have good ventilation but be free of drafts and contain suitable clean, dry, dust-free bedding material. Ideally the trailer should be steam cleaned and sprayed with a suitable high-grade disinfectant (e.g. Virkon or Vetsan) and allowed to dry prior to lamb transport and between batches of lambs to maintain a high level of hygiene.

Check lambs regularly during the trip to ensure all in good health. 

Persons responsible for the loading and transport of animals need to have a good basic knowledge of the animals behavioral and physical needs. Planning the entire journey well in advance will allow adequate time for stock to be loaded and unloaded quietly and with care.