The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Livestock => Sheep => Topic started by: Fishyhaddock on April 16, 2019, 07:53:26 pm
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Hi
Recently taken a 3wk old triplet off mum as hunched and hungry.
Day 3 into feeding she seems to bloat once a day. Baking powder treatment takes her back to normal.
Have cut back on amount of milk 50ml every 2 hours and that has helped but after the last 50ml has bloated again. She is a small lamb but has had only 300ml today. Have given her baking powder and water again but any ideas on what else I should be doing. She has eaten grass today.
Many thanks.
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Are you giving the milk warm?
An old, experienced shepherd told us when we had a similar issue to make the milk up with cold water and feed at room temp. It may be coincidence but we didn't have a problem after that.
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Someone once told me that you should never let a bottle lamb have warm milk and eat anything - as it will ferment and cause bloat. I allow my bottle lambs to eat grass and pellets but only ever feed them cold/room temp milk and I've never had a problem with bloat.
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Will try room temp /cold mix tomorrow and see how we get on. Will let you know.
Thanks both for taking the time to reply.
Fishy
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As you are feeding small meals, one possible cause is the milk is getting into the wrong stomach due incorrect feeding technique. I see lots of people holding the lamb’s head right up with the neck nearly straight; this is incorrect. The lamb’s head should be only slightly above the horizontal. The milk needs to run down the oesophageal groove in the front of the gullet, this takes it directly into the abomasum which is the only place it should go.
From reading, it would seem that the warm milk thing is to do with bacteria multiplying faster in warm milk. So if the hygiene isn’t tip top, it’s probably better to feed cooler, as others have advised. And if the wrong bacteria are established in the abomasum, then again feeding cooler milk will slow their multiplication.
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Lamlac instructions say 30C for young lambs and 25C or older lambs. Use a thermometer
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That's really interesting about the head position in bottle feeding lambs, and the reasoning Sally. I have hardly ever bottle fed, but now I'm wondering if I have done it correctly when I have :thinking: ....... I have noticed that some people, usually on TV, hold the bottle so the lamb is gulping air.
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We had a bloat prone lamb last year. The head position turned out to be our problem. When mother in law fed him she was holding the bottle flat out to him and milk was going to the wrong place. The farmer next door told us the best way was to hold the bottle as though it was mum.....so fairly upright and low so the lamb had to feed in the position it would naturally adopt when feeding from her.
Pretend to be a ewe and you'll be ok ;)
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The problems with holding the bottle upright are a) too likely to also end up with lamb’s head and neck upright, which is completely wrong and b) can end up with milk in lungs if lamb not guzzling as fast as it’s trickling out of the teat. (Most teats dribble even if the lamb isn’t sucking.)
The advice I was given by a hugely experienced vet student was to sit on a chair, hold the lamb on your lap with its back legs dangling, then hold its head slightly above the horizontal and offer the bottle. Keep the bottle also slightly above the horizontal so the air gap never reaches the teat (as you would when feeding a baby.)