February 26, 2021 6:20 am Some farms will be in the thick of lambing while many others will be hitting the ground running over the coming weeks. Either way, the importance of good hygiene in the lambing shed at this time is hugely important in order to avoid losses. By doing the simple things well, we can reduce mortality at lambing time. Teagasc says that half of lambs that die are lost in the first 24 hours of life, with one of the main causes being infection, which accounts for a substantial 38% of lamb losses. So the importance of good hygiene cannot be underestimated, as well as lambs getting sufficient amounts of colostrum.