Author Topic: Young lambs with swollen bellies (Read 6086 times)

Paul and Caroline · « **on:** May 23, 2016, 09:53:56 pm »

Hi

I have 6 young pet lambs (7-8 weeks) that I have bottle fed since I got them at just a few days old. They have been weaned and out on new pasture for just over a week. I have been giving them pellets in addition to their grazing on the advice of the farmer who gave me the lambs. Over the last few days they have all developed very large bellies which are quite solid as opposed to "squashy". They are all eating, drinking and defecating normally, they seem bright, alert and happy and in no distress at all but I am becoming very concerned about this. I have stopped the pellets but I am unsure as to what I should do next. I am loath to call the vet out if this is just the lambs acclimatising to the grazing but don't want to just sit on my hands if they are sickening - does anyone have any suggestions for me please?

twizzel · « **Reply #1 on:** May 24, 2016, 08:55:19 am »

If its bloat they would be rolling around, going to lie down then getting up, stretching their back legs out as if you would if you had gut ache. Generally uncomfortable. It could just be that they are eating a lot of grass and getting fat. We brought in 6 of our tame lambs from the field last night and their stomachs were very full, they were like barrels, but a night in on hay has brought them down to normal size. You could give 40ml of oil just to expel any gasses in their stomachs that have built up as a precaution and give them some hay but if they are out at grass they probably wont touch it.

Marches Farmer · « **Reply #2 on:** May 24, 2016, 03:22:32 pm »

How long is the grass and did you introduce them to it gradually? Very wet grass can sometimes contribute to bloat.

Jullienne · « **Reply #3 on:** May 24, 2016, 03:25:41 pm »

My lambs are like that too, but generally happy. I give them a bit of yogurt in their milk and it usually gets it down a bit, only in one of their feeds a day though, not both. make sure they have access to plenty of water.

Paul and Caroline · « **Reply #4 on:** May 24, 2016, 04:38:37 pm »

Hi Marches farmer

We went "cold turkey" with weaning and because I couldn't get them onto grass immediately (because my stock fencing was insecure) I gave them pellets and ad lib hay. The grass is very long and has a high population of docks, which they seem to treat as a delicacy. It's not particularly wet though.

Julienne they are all fully weaned now so no milk to add yoghurt to unfortunately.

Absolutely no other signs or symptoms to suggest bloat but you can imagine a neurotic first time lamb keeper (me!) fretting at anything out of the ordinary.......!!

waterbuffalofarmer · « **Reply #5 on:** May 24, 2016, 06:34:18 pm »

It sounds like they're pigging out a bit on the grass and docks. Always put them out mid morning to avoid the wet grass, as this will cause bloating, you could try and keep them in a certain size area, a bit like strip grazing for sheep in a way to control how much they eat in a day to avoid overeating (if that makes sense

) I hope you can get it sorted out soon. One question have they been wormed yet?

SallyintNorth · « **Reply #6 on:** May 24, 2016, 10:18:00 pm »

Had they learned to eat pellets and grass before you weaned them?

Paul and Caroline · « **Reply #7 on:** May 25, 2016, 09:37:25 am »

Hi Waterbuffalofarmer

I did initially put up some hurdles in a narrow channel formation and could probably go back to that. They have not yet been wormed. I spoke with the vet who told me that as they were out on 'virgin' pasture (never had sheep on it) that I didn't need to worry about worming until they were 3 or 4 months old

SallyintNorth - introduced pellets when they were about 2 weeks old (a handful between the 6 of them) and gradually increased it so they were eating about 250g each per day - I used this to bucket train them which worked extremely well. I do think however that maybe the farmers advice to 'give them as much pellet as they want' may have been a bit excessive.....??

waterbuffalofarmer · « **Reply #8 on:** May 25, 2016, 09:44:47 am »

I think youre right about the pellets, if out at grass never give ad lib pellets. I put a few scoopfuls out for them overnight when I bring them in and they do tuuck in, but they have enough and dont pig out on them.

Old Shep · « **Reply #9 on:** May 25, 2016, 07:32:00 pm »

Ad lib creep feed is quite normal as they need the protein. Are they drinking a lot of water by any chance? They sometimes do this to make up for the milk I think. Can make them a bit bellied.