[Womble]

OK, before I start this - if you found this thread through searching because you have a cold or hypothermic lamb, follow this flowchart:



But how to warm the lamb?  Well, most people use a lamb warming box - this is ours, for instance:



But what if you don't just happen to have one of those handy?

Well - last night I ended up with two cold, shivery lambs. They were only a couple of hours old, but due to cold and rain, they hadn't really dried off, and were going downhill fast. The thing is, I didn't want to risk taking them away from Mum to put them in the warming box, in case she then rejected them (they'd come back smelling of other lambs, for one thing).So I found a big bucket and filled it with warm water. Then I got two strong binbags, put a lamb in each one, and dunked them in the bucket - you know, like one of those floating egg-poacher things?

The key thing is that you're just transferring warmth, and as long as you keep the neck of the bag above the water, the lamb stays dry too. The other good thing was that I did all this out in the field, next to the ewe, which meant she was never separated from them.

I honestly don't know where I came across this idea - it may have been on TAS, but I can't remember. Anyway, it's a trick that deserves to be more widely known, I think  .

[ZacB]

Are there any circumstances where you’d warm the lamb prior to tubing?

[silkwoodzwartbles]

That's a cool trick - ours just get penned with mum and a heat lamp lol

[Penninehillbilly]

I think I first saw it on an American vet site, a very useful tip, as long as people remember to use the plastic bag!
I've read of people just putting them in straight in the warm water to warm them up, obviously as soon as out of water they will lose that heat.
If not too bad I put a couple of bottles of hot water in a towel underneath them, so heat is straight to the chest/belly.

[SallyintNorth]

Are there any circumstances where you’d warm the lamb prior to tubing?

Yes. as per flowchart, if it's cold and can't hold its head up you need to warm it first.

[SallyintNorth]

This was how I'd do it when I had one - but it's not so useful in the field, I agree!

[SallyintNorth]

And the other thing I've used forever is a hot water bottle, and that you can use in the field.  Hottie in cover, lamb and hottie together wrapped in a jumper and or in a box (or handy nearby trug ) covered with straw.

[Womble]

^ The thing I like about the bucket method compared with hot water bottles is that the heat gets all the way around the lamb. It must be rather like being back in the womb - both of the lambs yesterday almost immediately fell asleep!

[Womble]

Are there any circumstances where you’d warm the lamb prior to tubing?

Yes. as per flowchart, if it's cold and can't hold its head up you need to warm it first.

Yes, but remember that would only be done in conjunction with an intra-peritoneal glucose injection (directly into the bowel), so that as the lamb warms up, it has an energy source. This video explains how and where.

[ZacB]

Are there any circumstances where you’d warm the lamb prior to tubing?

Yes. as per flowchart, if it's cold and can't hold its head up you need to warm it first.

Yes, but remember that would only be done in conjunction with an intra-peritoneal glucose injection (directly into the bowel), so that as the lamb warms up, it has an energy source. This video explains how and where.

What a dope    - that’s me!
Good little video clip

[Backinwellies]

Best way I've found to warm up lamb (that isn't excessively cold and needing glucose inj) is hair dryer