[Penninehillbilly]

Advice please,
I have a ewe, first timer, lost her lamb at birth yesterday.
I've managed to get an orphan lamb, it's had a suckle while I held her, but she butts it if left together. Lamb follows ewe, ewe not impressed. Currently in same pen but divided.
Can I still skin the dead lamb (yukky ) and put it on the orphan.
And how often do I need to hold ewe for lamb to feed.
I don't know how old the orphan is, still got umbilical cord but it's black and dry.
And will the colostrum do any harm to older orphan lamb?
TIA,

[Fleecewife]

Did your ewe ever lick her dead lamb?  If not then using its skin may not work.  Changing the skin is pretty yucky but it does work where the mother knew her lamb. Much simpler we found was to strip out some of the ewe's milk and splodge it on the lamb's head and bum (takes weeks to get it off again!). Once her milk goes through the new lamb and it's droppings smell of her there is more chance she will accept it. I've seen various ways to adopt on lambs, some using 'adopters', and sometimes they work, sometimes they don't. Sometimes spraying perfume on the lamb and on the ewe's nose can help blot out any smell.
No the colostrum will not do harm but it's too late for it to do good. I suppose it could give the orphan the runs.  I find myself feeling sorry for the orphan lamb whose mum either died or rejected it, or it was a triplet.  I hope they pair up 

[Penninehillbilly]

Thanks FW, I think maybe she licked it's body a few times, there were clear patches in the covering, but it's head/nose was enclosed. 
Interesting idea about milk on head and bum, never heard of that but I'll try it.
Went down at 11pm, it had another feed, not too much objection by ewe, but def. got the runs, looks like egg yolk down its back legs. I'll go down again about, 1am, then hopefully OK till tomorrow.
I think I've heard of putting Vicks vapour rub on ewes nose? Forgot that trick. Too late I think, she knows it's there and not hers.
I hope they pair up as well, lamb is quite cute, white, with white face, black patches. I can't find the breed, maybe it's a common cross, I see a lot about.

[Anke]

If you don't know if the new lamb has had colostrum I would be tempted to give it a longacting antibiotic just in case. The the yellow stuff coming out of its back end could mean either that the ewe's milk is very rich or that the lamb is not digesting it very well. Hopefully the ewe will accept it in time, I have in the past just persevered with holding the lamb on to feed for a few days - yes it is tedious but I never got my OH to build an adopter, as I can always use goatsmilk and bottle feed. Have found that the ewes do dry up pretty quickly if put on straw for a week or so and no hard feed.

[Penninehillbilly]

If you don't know if the new lamb has had colostrum I would be tempted to give it a longacting antibiotic just in case. The the yellow stuff coming out of its back end could mean either that the ewe's milk is very rich or that the lamb is not digesting it very well. Hopefully the ewe will accept it in time, I have in the past just persevered with holding the lamb on to feed for a few days - yes it is tedious but I never got my OH to build an adopter, as I can always use goatsmilk and bottle feed. Have found that the ewes do dry up pretty quickly if put on straw for a week or so and no hard feed.

Thanks Anke,  it would have had colostrum, I think maybe it was a triplet, it seemed to suddenly remember about mum's teats, but I know farmer has powdered colostrum as well. I chose from 10 in the 'orphan pen', so maybe just his name for it. I was expecting the runs, as it was first milk on a slightly older lamb (i remember the effect it had on me when i tried some  ). I really want to keep the mum milking and adopting this lamb.
She stands if I stand and hold her, but she's still not too happy about it this morning.

[landroverroy]

If you can hold her 2 or 3 times a day and let the lamb have a good suck, you'll find the lamb becomes more insistent and the ewe becomes easier to hold. I used to find that in a short time the ewe would stand automatically even if you were just standing next to her - which makes it a lot easier on your back. Sometimes if you put a dog in front of the pen the ewe suddenly gets a surge of maternalism and gets very protective.                                                                           

[Penninehillbilly]

I'm going about every 2-3hrs, she'll mostly stand with one hand under her chin and my knee against her side. Starts jumping about after a few minutes, never taken notice how long they feed lambs in the field.

[Fleecewife]

Sometimes if you put a dog in front of the pen the ewe suddenly gets a surge of maternalism and gets very protective.                                                                           

We found that out by accident    It very endearing 

[SallyintNorth]

Well done, sounds like it's going quite well.  A bereaved, lambless ewe will almost always take an adoptee eventually.  The longest I have had to support feeding in these circs is 10 days!  But that was just one case (of literally dozens and dozens over the years) and in the end she loved that lamb to pieces, followed it everywhere, lol.        Otherwise the longest is a week, and usually you find the lamb is actually not empty when you go in by day 2 or 3.  (And I have never used an adopter; not a fan, personally.  I just do what you are doing.  It's lambing, I am not going to be anywhere else, am I?!)

For future reference, the skin thing will usually work - but at the point of setting the lamb on (even when you think the skin too smelly :/ ).   If you can't face skinning, I find it helps to rub the dead lamb all over the adoptee, and especially anus to anus, and get some of that scent and / or birthing fluids on the new lamb's head too.   (When I skin, I keep the tail skin and the anus on the skin.  So the ewe smells *her* lamb's bottom.)

[SallyintNorth]

Sometimes if you put a dog in front of the pen the ewe suddenly gets a surge of maternalism and gets very protective.                                                                           

I know lots of people have had this work, but I have to always say that I have found it a dangerous practise, and if you do try it ever, be very ready to lift the lamb out of the pen very quickly.  Several times I have had ewes get the red mist at seeing a dog, and really beating up everything in reach - including the lamb. 

(That behaviour is possibly breed related, these were all mountain, moorland, upland type sheep.   And of course more dangerous as mostly horned, can quite easily kill a lamb in a small pen.)

[Penninehillbilly]

Sorry, I didnt give an update on this.
Went down one day and lamb refused bottle, looked fat enough. Maybe the fact it was stood on top of the ewe when i went in should have given me a clue .
Now inseparable.