The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Livestock => Sheep => Topic started by: m3joeEm on March 14, 2015, 11:28:46 am
-
So I went out to the field this morning to find my oldest lamb (number 1) laying on its side dead in the creep feeder , they haven't been eating creep I just had the feeder out with straw in it for shelter if they wanted it. The lamb is over 3 weeks old and shows no signs of injury. It does look rather empty though. I just hope whatever happened it does not happen any more! It was doing well on the mother and had no issues or sicknesses since birth :/
-
Sorry to hear about your dead lamb :bouquet:
If it was rather empty, do you think Mum may have been struggling to feed it? And/or had mastitis or some reason she couldn't? Was it one of a pair or a single? How is Mum now?
If Mum wasn't by the lamb, perhaps she'd disowned it?
I have often found that with a ewe who has been reluctant to feed one or other of her lambs, so I brought her in and got it on her, kept her until she'd taken it, then put them out - that often, that lamb dies at a few weeks old. Sometimes I think there must have been something wrong with it, that the mother knew about, and was why she didn't want it in the first place. Sometimes I think she appears to be letting it suckle but is actually keeping it on short rations, so it isn't getting quite enough and eventually fails. Sometimes a lamb like this is seen suckling other ewes - a sure sign it's not getting enough from its own mother.
-
Really sad when this happens. I lost a triplet like that last year. Looked like mum was managing them all then after a week it became obvious that one was struggling and a few days later it was dead.
This year as triplet mum (different ewe) had a rough time, I bottled tiny lamb for a coupke of days until strong enough to suckle then left her a couple of days. Thursday I offered a bottle and she guzzled it so now back to offering 3 times a day. She looks for it but still with mum. As so tiny I'm only letting her have about 100ml at a time.
Fingers crossed your other lambs thrive.
-
:( Sympathy from me
-
Really Sad x
-
Thanks Guys :)