Not only in dairy cow husbandry, but also in dairy sheep husbandry, the young animals that are not needed for breeding are often separated from their mothers immediately after birth and grow up on fattening farms. The lambs are often mixed with animals from various other farms. The separation from the mother, the transport and the new environment mean stress for the young animals. Weaning from the mother's milk and mixing animals from different farms also leads to the animals' immune systems being weakened, which has a negative impact on their health.
However, there are some dairy sheep farms in Switzerland that rear their lambs on their own farm. The lambs are bottle-fed or fed from an automatic feeder on the farm where they were born. A small number of farms use mother-bound lamb rearing. In other European countries, such as France, mother-bonded rearing is the predominant rearing method for lambs from dairy sheep farming.
There are many studies and information materials on calf rearing, including from FiBL. The information available on dairy sheep rearing is scarce. This project aims to change that: The existing knowledge and experiences of farmers in Switzerland and abroad are to be collected and made available. In the form of a leaflet, videos, podcasts and more. In addition, the exchange between farmers at home and abroad is to be promoted.
Project management and implementation, production of advisory and educational material for farmers
