Author Topic: Emergency milk for new born lambs  (Read 1898 times)

Gilly

  • Joined Apr 2019
Emergency milk for new born lambs
« on: June 11, 2021, 04:21:30 am »
Hi all. I've just had twin Suffolk crosses & the mum has no milk.. blocked teats. I've tried for ages & she's dry. It's 4 am, no vets or anywhere open to get colostrum & replacer.
Could I give them ordinary cows milk to keep them going till shops open, or would that make them sick?

I thought lambing was finished weeks ago. This one is a big surprise so am not prepared.


Any advice would be very welcome.

shep53

  • Joined Jan 2011
  • Dumfries & Galloway
Re: Emergency milk for new born lambs
« Reply #1 on: June 15, 2021, 11:13:01 am »
Very sorry that we didn't notice this post and hope that the lambs survived ok . For future referance you can mix up emergency colostrum with cows milk /egg /sugar  ( look on internet ) or if you have cows then you can freeze cow colostrum in individual pots for up to 6 months or colostrum from a ewe with excess
« Last Edit: June 15, 2021, 11:21:15 am by shep53 »

SallyintNorth

  • Joined Feb 2011
  • Cornwall
  • Rarely short of an opinion but I mean well
    • Trelay Cohousing Community
Re: Emergency milk for new born lambs
« Reply #2 on: June 15, 2021, 02:26:01 pm »

BUT...  it must be unhomogenised milk, which for cows' milk is hard to find these days.  Best to have some unhomogenised (sheep's, goats' or cows') milk in the freezer, for if you get caught out and don't have a sachet of colostrum to hand.

Hope the lambs survived...
Don't listen to the money men - they know the price of everything and the value of nothing

Live in a cohousing community with small farm for our own use.  Dairy cows (rearing their own calves for beef), pigs, sheep for meat and fleece, ducks and hens for eggs, veg and fruit growing

Anke

  • Joined Dec 2009
  • St Boswells, Scottish Borders
Re: Emergency milk for new born lambs
« Reply #3 on: June 15, 2021, 10:28:27 pm »
I always freeze some colostrum from one year to the next, in my case goats colostrum, which works for lambs as well as kids. So even if I have a very late (and unexpected) ewe lambing there is some in the freezer. It gets thrown out once the first batch of the following year is frozen.

 

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