Survey of Lamb Fostering Methods used in UK Farming Practices

The following survey has been planned to assess how often fostering lambs onto other ewes occurs in sheep farms, how it is achieved and which methods are most successful. These results can then be used to compare popular and successful methods in terms of production and animal welfare. The results of the survey will be analysed and made available for interested parties.

Please complete all questions as fully as possible. All comments will be treated anonymously.


Location

Please give the beginning of your postcode so that area comparisons can be made e.g. NN3



Section 1 : Your Flock

The first section of this survey is to find out information regarding your flock and most recent lambing records.

1. Do you have any hill (above 500m) ewe breeds in your flock? Please include the number and breed in the space provided.

Breed 1
Breed 2
Breed 3
Breed 4

2. Do you have any upland (300-500m) breed ewes in your flock? Please provide the number and breed.

Breed 1
Breed 2
Breed 3
Breed 4

3. Do you have any lowland (below 300m) ewe breeds in your flock? Please provide the number and breed.

Breed 1
Breed 2
Breed 3
Breed 4

4. Do you have any mixed breed ewes in your flock? Please provide the number and breeds.

Breed
Breed
Breed
Breed

5. In the most recent lambing season, how many lambs were...

Born alive
Weaned
Sold

6. At what age were the lambs sold?

7-9 weeks 10-12 weeks 13-15 weeks 16-18 weeks 19 weeks +
Single?
Twin?
Triplet?

Section 2 : Fostering Methods

This part of the survey concentrates on the fostering methods which you may use incuding:

Skinning: removing the skin of the dead natal lamb and placing it onto the alien lamb

Textile Jacket: Placing cloth jackets onto the natal and alien lamb and swapping the jackets prior to fostering

Birth fluid: Rubbing birth fluids from the natal lamb to the alien lamb

Odorants: Coating the natal & alien lamb in the same lotion e.g. neatsfoot oil

Restraint: Placing the ewe in a crate to restrict her movement allowing the alien lamb to suckle without her being able to discard them

Cervix Stimulation: Inserting your hand into the ewes' vagina and applying pressure to the ewes' cervix to simulate contractions

Induced Lactation: Injecting or sponging the ewe with hormones to provoke the production of milk

1. Do you ever foster lambs onto ewes?

Never
Sometimes (up to 10 out of 100 lambs)
Frequently (between 11 and 30 out of 100 lambs)
Always (over 35 lambs per 100)

2. Why do you decide to foster? (Tick as many as apply)

Ewe dies
Triplets are born
Ewe too weak
Ewe not producing enough milk
Other Please specify

3. Which lamb would you normally select for fostering?

The strongest?
The smallest?
One of average size/weight?


Definitions for the following questions can be found further up this page. For the following questions please select one of the following.

Never
Sometimes (up to 10 out of 100 lambs)
Frequently (between 11 and 30 out of 100 lambs)
Always (over 35 lambs per 100)

Never Sometimes Frequently Always
4. Do you ever bottle feed the lambs?
5. How often do you use the skinning method? Twin?
6. How often do you use the textile jacket method?
7. How often do you use the birth fluid method?
8. How often do you use the odorants method?
9. How often do you use the restraint method?
10. How often do you stimulate the ewes' cervix as a method of fostering?
11. How often do you induce lactation using injection or vaginal sponges?

12. Do you ever use any other forms of fostering?

No
Yes Please specify

13. Do you ever combine two or more methods at the same time?

No
Yes Please specify

14. If you had to choose one of these methods, which would you prefer?

Bottle/tube feed lamb
Foster the lamb
Not interfere with the lamb

15. Which of the methods described above do you feel is the easiest method of fostering?

Skinning a dead lamb
Textile jacket
Birth fluid
Odorant
Restraint
Cervical stimulation
Induced lactation
Other Please specify

16. Which of the methods described above do you feel is the best and most preferred fostering method for yourself?

Skinning a dead lamb
Textile jacket
Birth fluid
Odorant
Restraint
Cervical stimulation
Induced lactation
Other Please specify

17. Which of the methods described do you feel is the best and most preferred fostering method for the animals?

Skinning a dead lamb
Textile jacket
Birth fluid
Odorant
Restraint
Cervical stimulation
Induced lactation
Other Please specify

18. Place in order of your preference your top four fostering methods. (Indicate by numbering 1-4 in order, where 1 is the most preferred)

Skinning a dead lamb 1 2 3 4
Textile jacket 1 2 3 4
Birth fluid 1 2 3 4
Odorant 1 2 3 4
Restraint 1 2 3 4
Cervical stimulation 1 2 3 4
Induced lactation 1 2 3 4
Other 1 2 3 4 Please specify

19. Do you think that fostering methods used have any impact on the lambs'/ewes' welfare?

No welfare implications
Slight welfare implications
Medium welfare implications
Severe welfare implications

20. How do you decide if the fostering method is successful or not? (indicate by number 1-5)

Behaviour of ewe 1 2 3 4 5
Weight of lamb 1 2 3 4 5
Growth of lamb 1 2 3 4 5
Amount of time showing success 1 2 3 4 5
Other 1 2 3 4 5 Please specify

Section 3 : Thoughts and Opinions

The next part of the survey will look at your thoughts and opinions towards fostering lambs.

Using a five point scale.

1. Strongly disagree 2. Disagree 3. Neither agree or disagree 4. Agree 5. Strongly agree N/A. Not applicable

Please select the answer that most closely matches your opinion.

1. I enjoy lambing time 1 2 3 4 5 N/A
2. It is important to keep as many live lambs as possible 1 2 3 4 5 N/A
3. I have tried a variety of fostering methods 1 2 3 4 5 N/A
4. I tend to stick to fostering methods I know about 1 2 3 4 5 N/A
5. I tend to stick to fostering methods I know have worked before 1 2 3 4 5 N/A
6. I would be interested in finding out about other fostering methods that are used 1 2 3 4 5 N/A
7. I think that fostering is an important way of increasing my returns 1 2 3 4 5 N/A
8. I would like to know the most successful fostering method to increase my returns 1 2 3 4 5 N/A
9. I always have the animals' health and wellbeing in mind when fostering lambs 1 2 3 4 5 N/A
10. I always have the production levels in mind when fostering lambs 1 2 3 4 5 N/A

Please use the space below to add any additional comments you think may be beneficial to this study.

Section 4 : Finally

Would you be willing to be contacted again if needed?

Yes
No


Would you be interested in receiving a summary of the results of this questionnaire?

Yes
No

If you have answered Yes to either of the above questions, please could you leave your contact details below. (Your details will be kept strictly confidential and will not be given to anyone else.)



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