The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Livestock => Sheep => Topic started by: EP90 on February 24, 2018, 05:07:47 pm
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For the last few years I’ve been given 3 or 4 lambs from a local farmer. They will be orphans or a triplet that the farmer doesn’t want to spend time on. I’ll get them at 12hrs to a couple of days old. Previously I have bottle fed till weaned. This year I would like to try cold adlib. How and when do I get them to accept the adlib bucket? I was thinking of warm bottle for a few days, then try to get them on a warm bucket, then cold bucket. How do you folks do it?
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I start with warm bottles then reduce the temperature a bit and then give the ad lib bucket at that temperature for the first time then just make up cool milk for the bucket. I wash the bucket thoroughly every time I redo the milk.
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Thanks for that. Roughly at what age would they be when you introduce them to a bucket.
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5/6 days but the last lamb put itself onto the bucket at 3 days. It was in with older lambs that had the bucket in the pen. The bag of powder says ad lib after 7 days.
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Thanks.