[Old Shep]

Hi all I know its late, but hoping someone is still up!  We had a c section today and lamb survived but has a big tongue so cannot suckle.  He has been tubed twice now 50ml each time.  How often do I need to do this through the night?  He has stood up but is cold so he now has an electric radiator :-)

[hexhammeasure]

Big tongue as in Hung lamb effect?  if so the tongue will go back to normal fairly soon within a couple of hours - keep trying to teach it to suckle or use a bottle.  on cold days I will check on a hung lamb every other hour, on busy days it may be every 3 or 4 hours.  nearly always (never say never!) they pick up once the swelling subsides

[zwartbles]

After initial colostrum 4 hourly is what we do. Good luck

[Old Shep]

Thanks - just given him another 50ml after trying to suckle him.  He's so huge he can't get the hang of bending down to suckle! His tongue is subsiding a bit. I'm milking out the mum so he is getting her colostrum :-) I have the feeling he has a strong survival instinct after the hellish birth he had - so fingers crossed.  I will feed again in an hour or so and then get a bit of sleep.

[Sbom]

If he can't bend down to suckle then try lying him down and putting the teat in his mouth. Once he starts sucking you can let him stand and he should catch on from there.

[Old Shep]

thank you everyone - where else but TAS could you get this advice at this time of night?  Just given him some more of mum's colostrum this time in a bottle and he's sucking well.  Hopefully in the morning he can suckle his mum directly.  Off to bed for a while now.

[Blacksheep]

If he is not drinking any colostrum directly from his dam you may need to tube in a bit more than 50ml every 4 hours to make sure he gets the correct amount depending on his weight.  Found this guide which I hope helps -
'A lamb requires between 180-290ml of colostrum per kilogram of body weight, this means each lamb requires over a litre (based on an average birthing weight of 5-6kg) of colostrum. Colostrum requires a lot of investment, energy-wise by the ewe so if she gives birth to multiple offspring, it can be very demanding to keep up with the amount of colostrum required by her lambs. For maximum efficacy, new born lambs must consume the required amount of colostrum within the first 18 hours of life, putting even more pressure on the ewe.'

[horlicks]

Blacksheeps right needs more than 50ml at a time and a litre of colostrum would be good just not all at the one time. I think 50ml per kilo at each feed is about right although if milking out the ewe a lot of work .

[Pasture Farm]

Only just seen this thread.... I would also keep aneye on his temp.... This makes excellent reading
http://www.defra.gov.uk/publications/files/pb2072-lamb-041104.pdf

[Old Shep]

Thanks all - he is having 100ml of mums colostrum at a time now from a bottle, and is trying to suckle his mum but I haven't actually seen him succeed.  He sucks the bottle fairly well so hopefully he will get the hang of it soon.

[Marches Farmer]

The first six hours are the most critical.  After that the energy from the brown fat they're born with will have been used up, especially in bad weather.  If he's cold do you have a rectangle or fabric (acrylic fleece, old blanket, etc.) you can cut a cross in at the front corners for the front legs to go through and pop over him.  Makes a tremendous difference to survival rate.

[Old Shep]

He's toasty warm in a nice warm loose box and a dimplex radiator!! The ewe is being brilliant considering all she's been through - I wouldn't have blamed her if she didn't want him but she is very attentive.

[shep53]

The amount of colostrum advised as standard is 50ml per kg of weight eg a small triplet 3kg needs 150ml per feed

[Old Shep]

Thanks all again.  The vet said just to tube 50ml at any one time which to be honest didn't sound enough to me unless you do it say every hour. I think in bits he got enough colostrum in 24 hours. I am happy to say now though he is suckling Mum although still looks a little dopey but I find big tup lambs sometimes are to start off with.  His tummy isn't full to busting but its a big tum to fill and its level with his ribs as you run your hand down so I think he's doing ok!  Mum has plenty of milk and is very bright despite her C section.