The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Livestock => Sheep => Topic started by: lesbri on March 27, 2024, 09:46:51 pm
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Just after some advice about management of quad lambs. My ewe lambed 4 this morning, she is an experienced ewe and a great mum who has lambed twins at the most in the past. All 4 are lively, feeding and looking well and she is very happily looking after all 4. My question is would I be best taking 2 lambs off and bottle feeding them or would it be possible to leave all 4 on her and top up in the field?
Any advice appreciated, thank you :thumbsup:
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I’ve had a few sets of quads over the years, had a set this year. Make sure all 4 are full of colostrum, I would always give a powdered feed to top them up, tube them if necessary. Though if they are now 24 hours old the time sensitive window for colostrum has now passed.
I would take 2 away now and bottle feed. She’s produced 4 live lambs which is no mean feat in itself, but to expect her to rear all 4 is unfair, even with top ups. Peak milk production is needed at 4 weeks old so she may be just about coping now, but a month down the line will likely be a different story and you run the risk of 4 poor lambs and a knackered mother with mastitis.
My quad ewe has gone out with 2, she’s doing ok. I fostered one onto a single and the other is in the pet pen.[size=78%] [/size]
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Thank you. I was thinking that would probably be the case. All 4 lambs are passing nice yellow poo so I think theyve had a good dose of colostrum. I will take 2 off now and bottle feed them for now. None of my other ewes have lambed yet.
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I've never done it with quads - never had the opportunity - but I nearly always, with triplets, unless the ewe is clearly not going to manage, leave them all with mum and teach the lambs to come for a bottle. Then, once they'll all, or at least the number of extras she has, run to me for the bottle, they go out with everyone else and get topped up in the field, twice a day at first and once a day once they're a few weeks old and all eating grass well.
Only viable with small numbers of course!
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Ive taken 2 of the quads off and am bottle feeding them, which they have taken to really well, taking 200 ml a feed. Now they have got the hang of the teats, would it be safe to go onto ad lib feeding via a bucket or is there a danger of them gorging on it and bloating? I would be putting cold milk into the bucket.
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Yes definitely, it saves bottle feeding for 6 weeks! I have a fish tank heater in water then stand an inner bucket in the water, then mini suckler kit with teats on a hurdle. Once they’re drinking well off the feeder, turn heater off and just feed cold milk, it will stop them gorging. My lambs generally drink just over 2 litres per day per lamb ad lib. Make sure there’s creep available and fresh straw for rumen development, not hay.
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This may be too late but we had quads this year. We left all 4 on her for the first 2 days then 2 were given top up bottles. She rejected them initially but once we held her and they had fed a few times she accepted the smell of her milk plus the bottles. They now follow her, sneak occasional feeds but have a full bottle as well. I hope that means they get to live a natural life as lambs with a mother but effectively she feeds 2 and a bit babies. If it fails then I will know it’s a bad plan but a month in and it’s working so far!