As mulesing season comes around it’s time for sheep producers who aren’t using pain relief to reconsider the benefits, according to Monaro sheep producer Simon King.
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“Using Tri-Solfen has almost completely limited my losses from marking,” he said.
“Last year I might have lost one lamb, the year before, I lost none. Since using pain relief, my marking and weaning numbers are essentially the same.”
Where Simon noticed the biggest difference was with his twin lambs.
“Before Tri-Solfen, in the twin paddocks after mulesing, there would always be half a dozen small twin lambs left alone at the fence, after their mothers had gone off with the other twins.
“Some of those had to be weaned straight away, and even if they survived they’d never catch up again.
“Now I walk the lambs back to the paddock and in a short time they have all mothered up - including the twins - and they’re drinking and moving around easily.”
Simon said the financial benefits were clear.
“You only have to save a few lambs, or have your lambs recovered and increasing weight straight away instead of losing condition by standing still for weeks after marking - and your Tri-Solfen has paid for itself.”
The application of Tri-Solfen has become standard operating procedure in many merino enterprises, according to Bayer HealthCare Animal Health Technical Services Veterinarian Dominic Dell’Osa.
“As a veterinarian, pain relief is the top priority for me,” said Dominic.
“In my opinion, pain relief during mulesing is simply a must have.
“The research on Tri-Solfen is absolutely clear - it significantly reduces stress and pain for lambs, with clear follow-on benefits including faster ‘mothering up’, faster healing and better recovery.”