Risk of acidosis due to wet weather

Lambs turned out onto barley stubble could be at risk of acidosis as wet weather has led to large amounts of grain dropping on the ground.

Lambs are able to seek out and eat large amounts of grain, resulting in ruminal acidosis (“barley poisoning”) with a recent incident of 10-20% of a batch of lambs dying from acidosis.

If putting sheep on stubble, consider restricting access and wait until the seed has sprouted. Remove sheep from stubble if showing signs of discomfort and diarrhoea.

Consider treatment of severely affected sheep with antacids and antibiotics.