Jonathan Langridge and Amy Taylor
Jonathan Langridge and Amy Taylor run a flock of 1300 ewes, mainly mules, alongside Jonathan’s Dad and Mum, Bill and Alison, who milk 95 Friesian x dairy cows on their farm in Marchington Staffordshire, which they run in partnership together. They finish the beef sired progeny and the lambs are finished and sold to a local wholesaler. The fourth-generation farm is mainly grassland.
Amy works full-time as a veterinary receptionist in the large animal division of Glenthorne Vets in Staffordshire.
We found that Rehydion was easy to use, palatable and gave us peace of mind that the lambs would pull through and we were doing the best for each and every animal
“We’ve used Rehydion for many years on our scouring calves with great success. Jonathan’s Dad, Bill, suggested that we started using it during lambing to help with scour, having seen some information at the vet practice that it could be given to lambs, so we thought we would give it a go.
“Last year was the first time we used Rehydion on lambs; we used it successfully on scouring lambs, those with slightly loose faeces and lambs that were obviously lacking in energy and would characteristically bunch in the corner of the pen. We also gave Rehydion to lambs from multiple births to help them during the transition period.
“Last year in particular, we had a lot of triplets and if we couldn’t foster them on then we put them onto a shepherdess feeder, which meant that the lambs were more susceptible to scour as they were sharing teats. A handful were very weak, so they came back to the house and were treated, and hand reared by the Aga.
“We would give the lambs Rehydion twice a day straight into their mouth – morning and night – for two to three days alongside milk to provide them with the hydration that they required, and they recovered well. We found that Rehydion was easy to use, palatable and gave us peace of mind that the lambs would pull through and we were doing the best for each and every animal.
“You lose money when a lamb has scour; the lamb is quite poorly so therefore doesn’t go outside into the field as quickly, which is where they thrive. The farm also has to invest more labour into ensuring that the lamb pulls through. Scour also leads to other problems such as ill thrift lambs, resulting in a longer finishing period and a less profitable lamb.
“When I’m working in the vet practice, farmers will often ask the vets for antibiotics for lambs and calves with scour and while antibiotics have their place, I can use my own experience of using Rehydion on our flock and herd to wholeheartedly recommend it to our clients. Farmers use Rehydion on the back of my recommendation and reliably return for more again and again.”