[Willson]

Please help. We have some orphaned lambs. We’ve had sheep before.

One of lambs fed well for about 24 hours and then refused. We’ve now had him for over a week. We’ve tried:
- different tests
- different temperatures
- not feeding him for 12 hours
- teasing his mouth with the teat
- clamping his mouth around the teat

We’re currently tube feeding him once a day and trying him on a bottle often. We have to pour it in the side of his mouth and he laps about 50mls. He’s not interested at all. Doesn’t even try and feed.

He mouths at bits in the paddock but don’t think he’s actively grazing. He’s about 4-5 weeks.

Please help. He’s losing weight and condition quickly and don’t want to lose him.

No diarrhoea that we’ve seen.

Please help I don’t  want to lose him   

[shep53]

Lambs of the age you have can be impossible to persuade to suck a teat , so try confining in a small pen with a pan or bowl of milk and  a similar container with lamb creep  plus  top quality hay and cut grass fresh every day . Or you can just leave it to eat grass and drink water .  In both situations lose of condition will happen ,its just how fast the lambs rumen develops .  Tubing a big lamb is very difficult but if you wish to percivere  then get at least half a litre in to the lamb or try using a dosing gun and  slowly  putting maybe 10 ml then stop then 10ml  stop etc . 

[SallyintNorth]

Might be worth giving it a mineral/vitamin jag or drench to try to improve its appetite.