I have 2 orphan lambs I have been raising from day 1 and day 3 respectively, and they are my first ever. I have enjoyed the process, though it has been hard work and a bit nerve wracking! They are pets only, with no intention of eating or selling. I have gotten myself to this stage with a lot of research (including a lot from this site, hence why I have joined!). They are 10 weeks old, and apparently fit and healthy. They have been going into a hastily fenced off area of about 75 m2 in my grassy garden for a few weeks during the day, and the grass in here has been demolished by them a while ago now, and they are only able to eat whatever new growth appears. They are allowed a bit of grass in the rest of the garden a few minutes a day, but this is under close supervision so they don't eat anything else that might be bad for them. They are having a bottle morning and evening, but only of about 150ml each time, more as comfort and for getting them in and out of their night shed. They have been eating creep well for a while too. They could easily go off the bottle now because of that of course, but we have a lot of milk left, and as I say, they are not getting much.
What I don;t understand is this: as I say, there is hardly any decent grass left in their penned area. We have a nice 3 acre field they will go into, and they will share this with 2 alpacas and 4 donkeys from September. Currently, the field has been growing since May (we take the other animals out of it then for the summer), and it is filled with grass of course, and clover, buttercups, and a few other wild flowers like a meadow (no poppies though). I have had it in my head that they will go in there when the farmer has cut it down for us, usually in mid to late July - am I right in assuming they should not go in there until then? Until then, while in their scrubby grassed pen, will they be ok completely off the milk and eating only creep and the little grass there is in it? I have held back from finishing milk altogether as I am really not sure how to manage that bit of it and can't seem to make a decision about it! Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.