The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Livestock => Sheep => Topic started by: Beneditcs Byre on April 03, 2020, 03:06:00 pm
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Hello,
I have seven orphan lambs, the youngest is about one and a half weeks old and the oldest two and a half weeks. I am keeping them in a little barn and letting them out to run in a small pen with no grass. They are feeding from a shepherdess feeder with warm milk at the moment but I am unsure whether or not to let them out to grass; last year we had pretty bad bloat from the grass and warm milk... is it cruel to put them onto cold milk at this age or at all? Would I be better just leaving them for the time being and letting them out to grass when they are older and have cold milk? I just feel bad not letting them have a big space to run around in because they love playing! But I don't want them getting bloat either.....
Any thoughts would be appreciated!
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They can go onto cold milk as soon as they are all feeding well on the shepherdess. It’s not cruel- far from it, as lib feeding is better cold so the milk doesn’t spoil in the bucket and the lambs don’t gorge and get bloat. I’d keep them in until weaned at 6 weeks and eating creep for a week or 2 after by which time they get their first heptavac jab, then they go out... but that’s how I rear my pets, some people let them out earlier.