[Shropgirl]

Hi all
Do yo think I am overfeeding my lamb? he's nearly 3 weeks old and looking very rounded in the stomach, I'm feeding him 5 times a day still and he's getting just under 250 ml each time.  Looking at the lamblac packet this doesn't seem too much, he's 8lbs in weight. I'm trying him with hay but he's not really interested. I've bought some creep today and  really want to cut down on the milk.  I was thinking of giving him 300ml 3 times a day but this would cut his intake quite a lot.  Would this be safe? I really don't want to starve him.  Thanks a lot

[SallyintNorth]

He can go onto less feeds now, and needs to, so that he will start to pick at the hay and creep when he's hungry and/or bored between feeds and sleeps!

Now he's a bit older, his stomach will stretch to accommodate more milk per feed, so you can increase feed size gradually.  If you want to keep the overall quantity the same I would go to four feeds of 300ml first for a few days, then three feeds of 400ml.  A lot of people wean at five weeks; I keep them on to at least six and usually eight myself, and always ensure that they are eating a good amount of creep before weaning.  I also train them to eat grass before weaning but some people prefer not to introduce them to grass at all until they're off the milk.

[twizzel]

My 3 week old lambs were on 350ml x 3 feeds a day. Just dropped them down to twice a day 500ml at a time, they are 4 weeks old. Will drop down to 1 feed a day at 5 weeks and wean at 6 weeks. Both eating creep and hay now and doing well.

[Penninehillbilly]

What sort is he?
Happy to be wrong but 8lbs (3.6kg?) doesn't sound much for a 3wk lamb? especially  if it's taking 1.25ltr a day?
Started to suggest 4 feeds then realised I was repeating Sallys advice, I'd agree bring it down gradually,
Also maybe try some short cut dried grass, 'Readygrass' or similar, easier to start off for them.

[Backinwellies]

Echoing Penninehillbilly .... are you sure about weight?  ... my tiny, almost dead, scrap of a  Llanwenog lamb  has now reached 3 kg at 10 days old.

[Shropgirl]

Thanks very much for the responses, yes, I checked the weight and he was 8lbs, he's 12lbs now, still tiny but seems in good health otherwise.  I'm feeding him 4 times a day at 300ml and he's just started to eat creep but he's not really interested.  I'm going to drop the feeds to 3 times a day now and hope that he'll eat a bit more grass and creep

[SallyintNorth]

He is a small lamb - maybe he's a Shetland or similar?  The very small ones really don't need the full whack which will grow a socking girt Texel that's slaughter weight at six months.  So from about 5 weeks, if he's still not taking creep and hay, you could reduce the size of the morning and midday feeds to leave him room for hay and creep.  And at six weeks drop him to two milk feeds, so he gets hungry in between.

I've usually found that, especially if they're four weeks or over and not taking the creep, that they're more likely to eat a pasture mix than a creep pellet, picking out the bits that appeal to them.  Champion Tup & Lamb always seems to go down well, or you local agri merchant might do a coarse mix for lambs.

Oh, and the creep / cake has to be fresh.  Put out a teeny bit in the morning, and replace it in the afternoon.  Replace again the next morning.  Ditto fresh hay - put out just a bit of fresh each day until he's taking it.

Is he on his own or does he have other lambs for company and to copy?

[Shropgirl]

He's a Jacob lamb, one of triplets so he started off tiny.  Thanks for the advice on the dry creep, I've just been topping it up so it's got a bit damp in this continual rain (when is it going to STOP!!)  I'll see if I can get some pasture mix today and try him on that.  He's still on 4 milk feeds so I'll reduce that this week too.  Thanks for your advice.  I've just read a comment about bloat so I'm scared stiff he'll get that now.  So many things to worry about. 

[bj_cardiff]

I've always believed that the risk of bloat is less if you feed them cold milk, so I always feed it at room temperature. My pet lambs are around 3-5 weeks old now and live out with the rest of the flock, picking at grass and creep and bloat has never been a problem