The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Livestock => Sheep => Topic started by: islaSkye on April 13, 2017, 11:13:03 pm
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So our first heb lambs have started to be born and to start, we have twins!
The first is a healthy ewe lamb, feeding and standing fine on her own, but her younger brother is considerably smaller and didn't stand for at least 24hrs which meant he missed out on feeding off mum. We managed to milk some colostrum and bottle feed it but it has become apparent that he has an ear defect which may be putting him off balance and so he is unable to stand and feed. We have been bottle feeding since. He is 48 hrs old now and just starting to stand but struggles to walk in a straight line. When we have examined him, his right ear seems slightly smaller and pressed back to his head, looking closely at it, it looks as if the ear canal is fused closed or so narrow that it's closed over. Has any one ever come across this before?
Also, does any one know what the ideal birth weight is for hebs?
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I would take the lamb to the vets and get him to check it out - if he has balance issues it may be kinder to have him pts. Also if he didn't get colostrum for 24 hours he is severely disadvantaged wrt to having a good start...
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I, agree. I'd take him to the vet, but not get my hopes up too high.
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It sounds as if the small bones of his inner ear will have fused too, which means he will never regain his balance. He's not going to have much of a life and you certainly wouldn't be using him for breeding, nor would he be acceptable at the abattoir with a serious disability, so sadly I agree with the others and think he should be euthenased. That's sad :(
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Thanks guys.
Its now day 4 and we continued to bottle feed every 4 hours and he has gained in weight and strength, on day 2 he started to stand (albeit Bambi on ice!) and by yesterday he was walking around quite confidently without falling over, he is now quite mobile this morning, even running ov to the bottle and is taking about 75-100mls each feed. I think that the ear problem may be all external and he seems to be learning to compensate for his defect. I think a trip to the vets may be best to get a thorough plan of what can be done, if anything, but I think he may be able to live a full and healthy life. We are looking for a companion for a breeding ram (should we get a good one this season) so fingers crossed he may be a candidate.
Any tips on helping to build him up? He's moving onto Lamlac imminently (we did have a sack on standby but a recent fire in the outbuilding destroyed our batch, and Easter hols have delayed the delivery of a replacement)
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If you're considering keeping him as a wether remember banding needs to be done by day 7.
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Thanks Marches Farmer, we'll look to get this done Asap. We've kept him on the colostrum powder for now as we have Lamlac on order (our supply went up in a fire last Sunday and with the Easter holidays, the delivery can only come this Tuesday) given his size, how long should we give him colostrum and when's best to change to Lamlac?
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Colostrum is only really beneficial for the first 24 hours, after that they should be on milk powder.
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Just an update, little lamb is now 17 days old and doing great. He's still half the size of his sister but still keeps up with her and the two are inseparable. He has a castration band on and all looks to be going well, we were late putting this on because we had to wait as there was nothing to band! As soon as both were present, the band went on.
He's on Lamlac 4 times a day and regularly guzzling 250 mls each feed, we're going to start to introduce creep now and have decided he's staying with us and have called him Rueben! Any advice on the weaning process? I'm planning to reduce his feeds by one feed each week until six weeks where he will be on one feed in the evening then play it by ear from that point, seeing if he is moving well onto the solids or needs boosting. Is this ok?
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If he has unlimited good grazing or good quality hay you'll probably find that he'll take less from a bottle, or even refuse one, as time passes.