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Sheep / Re: Weak Hungry Lamb

« Last post by SallyintNorth on March 22, 2026, 10:14:12 am »

Udder does not feel firm, it's small and flabby. I have not attempted to get milk out myself but am guessing she doesn't have much.

Flabby would suggest that either the lamb has drunk her dry, or that she hasn't dropped her milk at all yet. 

In the first case, there is hope that her supply will improve as the lamb keeps suckling, especially if there is sun and grass.

In the second case, massaging the udder and gently stimulating it with milking-like movements may cause her to get on with it, and/or you might find the vet thinks it might help to give her some oxytocin. 

There is a third possibility, being that she simply doesn't have a functioning udder.  In my experience, that's pretty unusual in a first-timer, especially one that gave birth normally, so I'd definitely be bottoming out all the alternatives first. 

72

Sheep / Re: Weak Hungry Lamb

« Last post by SallyintNorth on March 22, 2026, 10:00:47 am »

I was present at the birth, sitting quite close by (ewe is very tame and placid) and the first attempt at feeding looked successful in terms of latching technique and swallowing, complete with wiggly tail! However lamb kept repeatedly going from one side to the other to try and get more.

To me, that's describing a lamb which has not latched on successfully.  A wiggly tail is absolutely no guarantee of latching on, only that the lamb thinks it might be latching on.  The number of times I've seen lambs sucking with gusto, tail wiggling away, but when I look, it's got a lock of fleece in its mouth.     (Or a dag )

73

Sheep / Re: Weak Hungry Lamb

« Last post by Richmond on March 21, 2026, 03:10:03 pm »

Meant to say I am trying to feed her artificial colostrum as that's the only thing I have available (get some each year to have in lambing kit in case of emergencies!) but going on a swift trip shortly to get milk powder.

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Sheep / Re: Weak Hungry Lamb

« Last post by Richmond on March 21, 2026, 02:56:32 pm »

Thanks for your prompt reply! I was present at the birth, sitting quite close by (ewe is very tame and placid) and the first attempt at feeding looked successful in terms of latching technique and swallowing, complete with wiggly tail! However lamb kept repeatedly going from one side to the other to try and get more. Udder does not feel firm, it's small and flabby. I have not attempted to get milk out myself but am guessing she doesn't have much.

75

Sheep / Re: Weak Hungry Lamb

« Last post by SallyintNorth on March 21, 2026, 02:25:35 pm »

I would think it likely that the lamb has had insufficient colostrum, so I would be trying to get at least 50ml colostrum into it, pref twice that.  By tubing if it won't take the bottle.  Generally, once the magical golden fluid does its stuff, the lamb will eat with gusto, from ewe if she has some and is willing, or from bottle if that's the only feed on offer.

When you say the lamb did suckle, did you explicitly witness mouth latched onto teat, sucking and swallowing?  If so, then it looks like ewe may be short of milk, so you'll need to top up.  If you didn't explicitly witness all of those things, then my money is on that lamb did not in fact suckle to effect and did not get milk.  (They can look like they're suckling effectively, but are actually on a bit of udder with no teat.) 

Have you tried to express milk from the ewe?  If yes and none forthcoming, does she feel flabbyish (emptied) or firm (not yet dropped any milk.) 

Factors at play could include ewe not yet come into her milk, ewe not actually allowing lamb to latch on and suckle to effect.

If you can get the lamb accepting a top up, then keeping it with the ewe and topping up enough to keep it alive and vigorous but stopping short of feeding it to repletion, is more likely to result in her having a decent supply and meeting the lamb's needs.  If there is any suggestion that the ewe is avoidant, then I'd be penning them for feeds and helping the lamb get latched on if need be.  Generally, if there is grass and the ewe is attached to the lamb, they'll do better outside if you can deliver feeding support three or four times a day.  If any of those things isn't true, then I'd probably pen them until the lamb is feeding successfully.  In all cases, topping up from a bottle if needed, sufficient to keep the lamb alive and vigorous but stopping short of feeding it to repletion, so that it is still hungry and keeps trying to feed from the ewe.

76

Sheep / Weak Hungry Lamb

« Last post by Richmond on March 21, 2026, 01:59:47 pm »

Advice please. Lamb born 9.15am yesterday outside. Easy birth and up quickly. Quick to find teat and to suckle. However Mum (first timer) doesn't appear to have much if any milk. She is a good strong well fleshed ewe and not thin. Lamb obviously got a little milk, enough to see it through the (frosty) night but is clearly weaker and hungrier today. Fortunately it is a glorious sunny day and lamb is staying warm in the sunshine. Worried about tonight and frost though. Trying to top up with bottle but so far lamb resisting. Ewe seems completely unfazed by me handling her lamb and just carries on grazing! Should I take lamb away completely or just carry on trying to bottle feed in field?

77

Sheep / Re: planning a sheep shed go welsh hill breeds

« Last post by Bywaters on March 20, 2026, 12:29:25 pm »

There's a pretty strong argument to say that lambing on the hill selects for fabulous mothers and hardy af lambs.  Whereas lambing indoors, the necessary interventions could mask an erosion of those traits.

Not a problem if you're only breeding for meat I guess.  But something to ponder on if you planned to sell breeding stock.

That's a good point. Back along a couple of decades, the RBST registered Whitefaced Woodlands were very much looked down upon by those in the Pennines and Derbyshire Peaks . A slight generalisation, but If they ever came up for sale at the Breed Sale, it was pretty obvious which were which, as the RBST animals tend(ed) to be much finer boned and "slack in their jackets" compared to the "natives". This was reflected in the price and demand

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Sheep / Re: planning a sheep shed go welsh hill breeds

« Last post by SallyintNorth on March 19, 2026, 10:42:32 pm »

There's a pretty strong argument to say that lambing on the hill selects for fabulous mothers and hardy af lambs.  Whereas lambing indoors, the necessary interventions could mask an erosion of those traits.

Not a problem if you're only breeding for meat I guess.  But something to ponder on if you planned to sell breeding stock.

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Sheep / Re: planning a sheep shed go welsh hill breeds

« Last post by Bywaters on March 19, 2026, 06:06:24 pm »

We are at 850 ft, at the foot of the pennines. Been breeding Whitefaced Woodlands (a hill breed) for 30+ years. In the beginning, we tried lambing indoors (in pens rather than a free for all) and they didn't like it at all
They lamb outdoors unless prolapsed or some other such reason for them to be inside. If there are any difficulties / awkward ones, we will bring them in for a couple of days to bond / receive TLC and then they are out again.
We can see almost all of our lambing field via cctv and have cctv in the barn so we can keep an eye on those inside.

Most of our lambs seem to come at dawn, rather than at a time convenient to us, so unless the weather is shocking or they have been delayed, we are able to kaap a remote eye on them.

It's up to you, of course, but nature is a wonderful thing, especially when left to it's own devices.
Sheep are fickle creatures, you would think that given the opportunity to go lamb in a sheltered shed, they would, but I've never known them choose what we would think is a common sense option !!

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Sheep / Re: planning a sheep shed go welsh hill breeds

« Last post by SallyintNorth on March 16, 2026, 09:38:03 am »

Survival rates for outdoor lambing will be impacted by conditions of course, and how swiftly the shepherd can take action if needed.  In cold wet weather, a lamb may need to suckle within half an hour, whereas in warm dry weather, it can stay alive for a couple of hours, so the shepherd has more time to get involved if there's a problem.

We moved our lambing back to mid April because we didn't want the sheep to have to deal with the impact of bad weather and no grass.  But if an earlier lambing is necessary for your own reasons, then yes, you might need at least a contingency for indoor lambing if the conditions dictate.