[ZaktheLad]

I have kept quite a few bottle fed ewe lambs over the years and have never had an issues with them mothering their lambs.  In fact, they have all been super mums and I find that due to the initial human contact they had at an early age, they are far more content to have you around when they are lambing and not flighty as some ewes can be.  I started by flock 30 years ago with 2 x cade ewe lambs and would certainly do it all again the same way if given the time back again. 

[SteveHants]

... As for you not buying off anyone who's bred a suck lamb, I think there's not too great a chance your sheep don't have at least one of those in their ancestry somewhere. And, of course, I'm not saying any breed of sheep ought to require help lambing nor mothering, I don't think anyone's espousing that; this is more a discussion of why a motherless lamb might be chosen to be kept alive rather than culled outright.

Many lambs aren't on the bottle because they failed to stand or suckle, in fact I'd surmise that possibly the majority of those particular lambs fail to make it to adulthood. Quite often the mother was lost or something else happened that was not the lamb's fault, as Brucklay noted. The particular lamb I'm raising now came down with paralysis tick poisoning, neither her nor her mother's fault, nor even a congenital weakness. In fact she's by far the best animal that flock's produced. I am aware being a bottle baby puts her behind though.

... Lost mothering instinct can be restored, with kelp and patience. Not that I blame anyone who doesn't take that path. More effort, who needs it...? I know it's not actually an option for many farmers.

I very much doubt any of my sheep were suck lambs - I get to know the people I buy off pretty well before I buy. One of them is in much the same boat as me (grazier, no farm to speak of) and has to sell bottle lambs before they get too big for his garden shed, much as I do, the other runs some 1,500 ewes and employs nobody else full time - I cant guarantee none of his are suck lambs, but I severely doubt it. Of course I would keep a motherless lamb alive - until it is fat enough to send on.


Ticks aside - when the mother has dies for some reason that wasn't the lambs fault - if it is a disease, there is a strong chance that the rest of the flock were exposed to it, but did not die. Id much rather keep lambs out of those ewes than the one that did.


I run a pretty small flock of 300 ewes and I dont really have time for kelp and patience, no.

[sh3ph3rd]

I run a pretty small flock of 300 ewes and I dont really have time for kelp and patience, no.

Fair enough. I did gather that you might be more commercially oriented than me. I only grow for my own family's consumption, which puts me in a rather different boat than those trying to make a living off their flocks. What's right and commonsense for me is not for you, and vice versa. Nothing wrong with that. 

[Dogwalker]

Of the lambs i'm bottle feeding,
one had an injured leg so was brought in, now thriving and getting fat on grass,
one a smaller twin given to me cos the forecast was awful and the farmer didn't think he'd cope with hail storms on the hill,
twins whoses mum died and three hogg lambs cos that farmer only leaves one on hoggs.
neither farmer have time for cade lambs in May when they're moving on to calving and silage etc.
all doing well until two days ago when I started introducing some lamlac to the goats milk.
 
First time I've had cade lambs but I like looking after them and can they be any worse than goat kids?
 
At least I'll be able to check for flystrike etc, I can't with tizaala's moorits.
 
 

[thenovice]

The old shepherd I talk to, cant wait to sell on any sock lambs he has. And lucky for him, there is a ready supply of people with the time and energy to raise them. Im inclined to agree with SH about not breeding from a sock lamb, but if they are to be pets/lawnmowers/meat then why not I suppose. They never grow as big and hardy as a ewe reared lamb imo, but commercial and hobby flocks are run on different lines 

[sokel]

We keep a few for ourselves and my sisters freezer. We enjoy the bottling and makes life easy when we have to do anything to the sheep as they all come running as soon as you shout.
I set out from the start that they are for eating and can happily let them go at the end of the year.
Ours are as big and healthy as any of the ewe reared lambs in the ajoining fields aswell
The only problem we have is they are way too friendly with dogs and actualy run towards a dog something that could be a disaster in an area where people walk dogs but we dont have that problem here