[Sharondp]

Our 4 lambs, now 7 weeks old, are out in the large paddock with 6 badger sheep. We are feeding them milk twice a day, but want to start weaning them off.

I have read two different schools of thought on this;
1. Just stop abruptly.
2. Cut down gradually.

I'd be interested to hear which method you experienced lot have used and why!

The lambs are feeding and grazing well - even scoffing the Ewe feed as well as the creep!

[MrsJ]

Sorry, I'm as much in the dark as you.  everything you read tells you something different but most of the articles/books I've seen seem to say do it abruptly.  Seems a little harsh to me but I'm no expert, it's my first time too!  Advice on moving them from bottle to auto feeder bucket ranges from 3 days to 3 weeks!  Not much help I know, but you are not alone! 

[woollyval]

You can just stop at this point! If 7 weeks, big and bouncy and polishing off the grub then stop! Grass and big bottles of milk can cause digestive nightmares so be careful! If you feel sorry for them you could go from two bottles to one for a week then cut out all together. Hope that helps?

[Sharondp]

Thanks guys - they only had one feed today from the feeder bucket, and were happy munching the rest of the day - although very vocal when they spotted us!
Will give them one feed a day til Lamlac is finished - not much left now, but bloomin' pricey so not wasting it!

[ballingall]

Yes, I would drop to one feed a day, and maybe miss out a day's feed every so often if you feel really sorry for them. But once they are done to one feed a day I would just stop. Makes sense to finish off the lamblac.



Beth

[Rosemary]

I used to rear calves and as soon as they were eating straw and about 1kg of coarse mix (I think) we stopped the milk immediately. They bawled for 24 hours when they saw the others being fed then ate the coarse mix instead.

[Sharondp]

Thanks guys - we're down to just one feed a day now - probably only got 2 days worth of lamlac left.
Can't believe how noisy they are though!