[Lostlambs]

If anyone could advise-2 lambs this morning cold brought both in ,milked and tube fed both but colostrum was really thick and only got enough to give about 30 cc each warmed then took back out. One doing good other cold again and hunched over.. Brougth her back in and milked again to tube again.How much does the lamb need for milk tonight? Good mom but maybe this one is not sucking-thought she was earlier but couldn't get her to nurse for the last hour. Thanks

[Pasture Farm]

If you have given them collostrum and have a comercial milk powder it will say on the label.
You must keep them warm and fed or hypothermia will very quickly take hold.Can you fetch mum and lambs ito barn with heatlamp or some other form of heating?

[feldar]

Would suppliment mum's feed until your ewe's milk comes through properly. I know it says in the books the recomended feeding times but i always give cold newborns colostrum every 2/3 hours and my hamps are big so they get upwards of 120 ml a feed.
After 24 hours they go onto a commercial milk powder or i milk mum if she hasn't enough i give both to top up until lambs can feed properly. I tube them to make sure they get it and also keep presenting to the mothers teat so it kicks their suck reflex to get going.
We pop a lamb mack on to keep their heat in, even in the shed.
once lambs are sucking well and ewe has enough milk you can cut back on the powdered milk
Good luck

[SallyintNorth]

Sounds like mum has milk if the other one is doing okay.

I'd have the whole family indoors in the warm and I'd be feeding the little one at least 6 times in 24 hours.  If you can get 0.5L into it over that period it should be ok.  Personally I bottle feed with the non-vac soft teat bottles; I have not found it interferes with the lamb getting back onto mum, quite the reverse.  But I know others have different experiences on this.  And if it won't take as much as I think it needs then I tube more into it.

Ideally feed colostrum for the first 24 hours and then you can switch to milk powder if you must - but if you've got mum there and can milk her, use that.  The early colostrum is very thick, like egg custard! but it should be more runny by now.  You can always mix it with powdered to make it easier to get it to flow out of a bottle.  And keep trying to get the lamb onto the teat - if it will suck a bottle it should suck mum.

If its sibling is getting stronger, it may need your support to get its share for a while.  If you can get it to suckle, stand with it to make sure the other sibling isn't pushing it off before its had enough.

Enough is when its belly is plump and round and when you leave it, it curls up and sleeps happily.  If it stands hunched, and looks collapsed in front of the hind legs, it's hungry.  If you're not sure, stand it on its hind legs and look at the belly; it should be plump and round.

[Lostlambs]

Crossing my fingers but lambs are alive this morning and look good. I was out till wee hours with the pair. I brought the one in last night and tube fed her after milking ewe-I thind I gave her too much at once-80cc but got her warm and took her back out. Moms really good and took her back finally got her to nurse about 4 hours later. The other has a frozen half ear but is nursing and up and about. They were born in the barn but it's still really cold, put them in a small pen with heat lamp and straw bales surrounding them but with -38 and windchill of -46 it's brutal out yet. My 2 pygmy goats weren't happy as they got moved out of the heat lamp pen but they are coming in to kid right away so will have to set up more heated pens today. The barn is getting pretty full-3 cows and calves, all the ewes, llama and 3 pygmy goats so loading the hay in is taking forever Hopefully a break is coming soon in the weather.  Thanks for the help

[SallyintNorth]

Sounds good - well done you    Those temperatures are no fun at all - you must get frostbite yourself if you take your gloves off outside?

[jaykay]

Sounds like you've done a great job  I'll remember those sort of temperatures when i whinge about here 

[feldar]

-38!!!! i'm cold just thinking about it!  you've got guts i'll give you that.I absolutely couldn't function at those temperatures. Well done you for doing so well

[Lostlambs]

Hence the name "lostlambs' because that is the only excuse for living in such a brutal climate sometimes is we were lost when we got here or just plain batty I'm sure the sheep would agree with me. So far the lambs are coming along, little worried yet as they have developed mucky bums but talked to the vet and put them on Neoease-a kaopectic type of antibiotic for scours in the lambs or other babies. Keeping an eye on them and now they are stretching when they get up and have full bellys I will try to get a pic of them up today. Thanks again for the help

[Brucklay]

Keeping my finger crossed for the wee ones - will tell my pygmys tomorrow when I get them up at -2 - +5 or whatever tomorrow will be - that they are very lucky!!

[Lostlambs]

Got some pics of my lambs born in the coldest weather we've had

[hexhammeasure]

A word of caution when finding cold /foundered lambs. place them in a warm environment and get the body temperature up before feeding milk. The act of digestion can take away any remaining energy reserves and the lamb can die. In severe cases a glucose injection into the stomach is probably the best method - although I have never done one

[henchard]

When I lived/worked on a real farm (30 years ago!) the best way we found to warm cold lambs up was to put an old sack (as insulation against the metal) in the plate warming oven in the Aga; then put the lamb in the oven.

They would usually be up and running about the kitchen in no time! 

[feldar]

Your lambs are lovely and they look toastie warm now.
I have done the glucose injection into the peritoneal cavity and it really does work, but you should only do it on prone, cold lambs who can't raise their head.
Saying that we did do it on a lamb who had been layed on by his mum and he was very flat! so we injected him and massaged 1/2 a litre of fluid off his lungs and he survived.
He ended up being made into a teaser and we kept him and called him Squash