Pneumonia in lambs is caused by the interaction between bacteria, the lamb’s immune and physical condition and environmental factors.
For orphaned lambs inadequate colostrum intake at birth and exposure to extreme cold and rain is a precursor for this disease.
Bottle fed lambs can developing aspirate pneumonia which occurs when a teat is too fast and milk is breathed into the lungs. As a result it is very important to give bottle fed lambs lots of small breaks during feeding and to check teats do not run too quickly.