The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Livestock => Sheep => Topic started by: sheepandponies on February 07, 2015, 06:30:06 pm
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This gimmer lambed twins on THursday late afternoon (posting this 48 hrs later). Birthed on her own and lambs are fine, smallish but quiet. Sucking regularly. Great mother but she is not eating up her hard feed and nibbles on her hay. Worried that her milk production will be low. Any suggestions for boosting her appetite please? :sheep:
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Did she cleanse ok? May have retained some and have an infection, if she were mine I'd give her some LA penicillin.
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Ivy is always good for boosting appetite; or if you can get any roots - carrots, fodder beet etc, they also go down well and are traditionally used to stimulate milk production.
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Yes she cleansed fine and has no temperature. If I give her antibiotics it will just be 'in case'. ???
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About to try carrots so thanks. Given her beet in her sheep mix but not that fussed about it.
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Try her with all sorts of different feeds if you can, if you're feeding sugarbeet you could try it wet or soaked, try her with licks or molasses is very appetizing. If she's a young sheep, 1st lambing? She may need help feeding 2 lambs.
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Thanks. Alway feed my beet soaked at lambing time and they get molasses in it. She is great with her lambs, a natural for her first lambing. She seems happy to snack in small amounts but tomorrow will see if she would like some ivy.
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Just an update. Gimmer still not eating up as well as I would like. Not surprising her milk production had slowed to a trickle so now topping up lambs with bottle and are doing fine. Friend suggested I try her on lamb feed and she seemed to be a bit more interested it this today. She how she goes as otherwise she seems well in herself. Also treated her for ketosis (just in case). Thanks for the replies :wave:
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Suggest you take a pair of secateurs and a bucket along the verge and gather any freshly-emerging greenery - new grass, dandelions, cleavers ..... I've done this every hour for a poorly ewe in the past and if they don't eat that lot then I know there's something else that's wrong.
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Ditto post from MF. At this time of year I also add hazel catkins, willow shoots, soft bramble tips, ivy, comfrey :fc:
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is she indoors? If so, can you just let her out for a bit to see if she prefers to forage for herself?
Also, coat some hay lightly in molasses to see if she will be tempted by that.
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Dr Green plus a big jab of steroids!
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She may also need some calcium - milk fever is characterised by low appetite. I would also drench with twin lamb drench just to keep her energy up. Will she eat readigrass - my goats will eat that if nothing else normally in this kind of scenario.
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Thanks for all those suggestions. She is eating her hay in smallish amounts and now eats up lamb mix. The milk production must have improved as lambs are lively and not taking as much from the bottle. Could try some readi grass as cutting from the verge would result in very little and sorry we dont have much meadow varieties at this time of year in Scotland. Also I did treat her for ketosis. As things are improving I dont think there is anything too serious with her now????????????????? :sheep:
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I would keep an eye on her though, but you seemed to have covered it. Ketol or other twin lamb drench is quite marvellous - even if they hate it! If the lambs do take the bottle I would keep topping them up a bit to reduce the pressure on her.
Also her udder is not hard/hot?
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No mastitis.