Freezing weather may raise risk of mastitis

Acute mastitis usually affects between one and five per cent of ewes each year but Liz Genever, senior livestock scientist for Eblex, said the sustained freezing temperatures means the supply of feed available during the peak lactation period is severely limited and there is a risk that ewes may lose milk yield and body condition.

“This, together with contamination of the udder with mud and aggravation by cold winds, are all risk factors in the occurrence of acute mastitis,” she said.

Veterinary consultant Fiona Lovatt advises the following steps to deal with mastitis which can quickly prove fatal without a rapid response:

Bring in the ewe, pen individually and give good care to both her and her lambs, which will need supplementary feeding. She needs access to plenty of clean water and may need to be tempted to eat.

Veterinary advice should be sought and usually the recommended treatment is an injectable antibiotic and an anti-inflammatory drug.

The infection can be within the milk, the udder tissue or the inflammatory cells so ideally the antibiotic needs to reach all of these locations and remain at high enough levels to achieve a cure.

Some effective drugs can only be given by vets, which is an extra expense but may be worthwhile for a valuable ewe.

Long-acting antibiotics can be useful as it means it is not necessary to treat every day, although the ewe should be checked regularly.

It could be worth talking to your vet about anti-inflammatory drugs, as they reduce pain and the amount of toxin produced by the bacteria that causes mastitis.

Some vets may also prescribe antibiotic tubes to be injected into the teat. If these are to be used then it is essential that very strict hygiene is adhered to.