The Accidental Smallholder Forum

Livestock => Sheep => Topic started by: weewooliewifie on April 06, 2013, 02:29:34 pm

Title: What to give lambs?
Post by: weewooliewifie on April 06, 2013, 02:29:34 pm

My ewes are due to start popping out lambs any day (hopefully!), I was planning on giving all lambs a dose of Orajet and wondered if I would need to be giving them a dose of Multi Vit too?

What do you give your newborn lambs?  If anything?

Title: Re: What to give lambs?
Post by: Fleecewife on April 06, 2013, 03:27:43 pm

Mine lamb outdoors so I don't give them anything.   I do take great care when applying 10% iodine to the navels as soon as they are born, and repeat it 4 hours after birth.
 
Those who lamb indoors will do it differently.

Title: Re: What to give lambs?
Post by: weewooliewifie on April 06, 2013, 04:02:22 pm

Thank you for replying, Fleecewife.

I've got my iodine ready and waiting!  I'm lambing indoors, but hope to get them back out to grass asap.  We've been very lucky with the weather.  No snow, just very cold and dry.

Title: Re: What to give lambs?
Post by: moony on April 06, 2013, 06:48:45 pm

We just dip the navals and then give all ours a squirt of veleron.

Title: Re: What to give lambs?
Post by: weewooliewifie on April 06, 2013, 07:06:40 pm

Thanks for that, moony.

It's just been a while since I lambed, I want to get it all right - impossible, I know!

Title: Re: What to give lambs?
Post by: ZaktheLad on April 06, 2013, 07:26:32 pm

I give all mine 2 pumps of col-late lamb kick start when they are born and spray their navels with umbilical spray.

Title: Re: What to give lambs?
Post by: VSS on April 06, 2013, 07:34:01 pm

Everything has its bellybutton sprayed with bactokill. Otherwise they only get stuff if they need it. We do give triplet lambs Thermovite, and also give it to anything that is challenged in any way ie, if it is particularly small, weak etc.

No point giving them stuff unless they need it, or unless you have a particular problem in your flock that you know you need to deal with.

Title: Re: What to give lambs?
Post by: weewooliewifie on April 06, 2013, 07:36:28 pm

Thank you for all your replies.

I guess I am in danger of taking a belt and braces attitude!  We've only had these ewes for a couple of months, so I've no idea of their history or any issues that they may have at lambing time.

Thanks again, I'm so glad I stumbled upon this forum.

Title: Re: What to give lambs?
Post by: thenovice on April 06, 2013, 07:43:52 pm

If the lambs are born fit and healthy, why would you dose? Just a spray of septiclense on the umbilical  ???

Title: Re: What to give lambs?
Post by: weewooliewifie on April 06, 2013, 07:46:13 pm

thenovice, when I used to work on sheep farms, it was the norm to dose all newborn lambs with Orajet.  But I guess when you are dealing with large numbers of lambs in a shed, the chances of watery mouth increase greatly.

I'm just trying to get used to dealing with a smaller number of ewes and trying a less intensive method of sheparding.

Title: Re: What to give lambs?
Post by: moony on April 06, 2013, 08:07:16 pm

We dose with Veleron as we had a problem with watery mouth 4 or so years ago. For roughly 6p per lamb its simply far more cost effective to dose them as prevention. Its much less labour intensive and more effective than trying to treat. Sees the lambs through the difficult first couple of days when difficulties don't always show themselves until its a problem. Last year we lost 3 lambs out of 150 that came from ewes we lambed and 2 of them were due to a playful stallion so its definitely working for us.

Title: Re: What to give lambs?
Post by: thenovice on April 06, 2013, 08:26:39 pm

It has to be worth trying to dose less, or only when its needed. That way it promotes good strong stock