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Author Topic: Am I ready ?  (Read 26182 times)

vfr400boy

  • Joined Jan 2013
  • one life live it
Re: Am I ready ?
« Reply #60 on: April 02, 2021, 01:32:55 pm »
Ok I will slowly increase the creep thank you,  the ewe lamb that was a bit off is now sucking like a gooden but still not as happy as her pen mate maybe still misses her mum

vfr400boy

  • Joined Jan 2013
  • one life live it
Re: Am I ready ?
« Reply #61 on: April 03, 2021, 05:53:46 pm »
Next question the lambs on the bucket have started bitting the teats n splitting them is they anything I can do or just keep replacing the teats ? Thanks

SallyintNorth

  • Joined Feb 2011
  • Cornwall
  • Rarely short of an opinion but I mean well
    • Trelay Cohousing Community
Re: Am I ready ?
« Reply #62 on: April 03, 2021, 06:08:06 pm »
Some buckets and bottles have a harder plastic option for when the lambs get bigger and stronger.
Don't listen to the money men - they know the price of everything and the value of nothing

Live in a cohousing community with small farm for our own use.  Dairy cows (rearing their own calves for beef), pigs, sheep for meat and fleece, ducks and hens for eggs, veg and fruit growing

shep53

  • Joined Jan 2011
  • Dumfries & Galloway
Re: Am I ready ?
« Reply #63 on: April 03, 2021, 06:29:28 pm »
If you leave the bucket out for ad-lib then teat nibbling is par for the course , as sally says often soft white teats & then red hard teats but once they start biting then nothing stops them , this is why i use the bucket as i do bottles eg as soon as finished take away

vfr400boy

  • Joined Jan 2013
  • one life live it
Re: Am I ready ?
« Reply #64 on: April 03, 2021, 08:57:23 pm »
Buckets have the red teats on so thats bad ha  :roflanim:
I will just have to keep swapping them

vfr400boy

  • Joined Jan 2013
  • one life live it
Re: Am I ready ?
« Reply #65 on: April 05, 2021, 11:24:42 am »
Picked up another pet ewe lamb on Saturday she was a bit dirty on the back end farmer said its because she's had a bottle for the fist time and it will clear up,  she still has slightly slopy poo is bright and drinking bottle fine is they anything I can do to help her or will she be ok ? Thanks sorry for silly questions

SallyintNorth

  • Joined Feb 2011
  • Cornwall
  • Rarely short of an opinion but I mean well
    • Trelay Cohousing Community
Re: Am I ready ?
« Reply #66 on: April 05, 2021, 12:15:18 pm »
if it's yellow and watery, I would switch her onto PFS (Pfizer Scour Formula) for two days.

Another approach, if it's not that bad, would be to stir a spoonful of probiotic yoghurt into her bottle, or into one of her daily bottles.

If it"s brown and a bit loose but improving, you may decide to just see how she goes.
Don't listen to the money men - they know the price of everything and the value of nothing

Live in a cohousing community with small farm for our own use.  Dairy cows (rearing their own calves for beef), pigs, sheep for meat and fleece, ducks and hens for eggs, veg and fruit growing

vfr400boy

  • Joined Jan 2013
  • one life live it
Re: Am I ready ?
« Reply #67 on: April 05, 2021, 03:57:37 pm »
if it's yellow and watery, I would switch her onto PFS (Pfizer Scour Formula) for two days.

Another approach, if it's not that bad, would be to stir a spoonful of probiotic yoghurt into her bottle, or into one of her daily bottles.

If it"s brown and a bit loose but improving, you may decide to just see how she goes.

Its not yellow or watery its just a bit loose iv been n bought some yoghurt so fingers crossed it sorts it self out

vfr400boy

  • Joined Jan 2013
  • one life live it
Re: Am I ready ?
« Reply #68 on: April 09, 2021, 12:44:29 pm »
Iv been putting yoghurt in her bottle and now she's back to normal thanks
    Next question I have lots ha
   My oldest pet lambs will be around the 5 week mark , they are on creep barely straw and milk , should I now give them some hay and start cutting the milk down then put them out on grass ?

SallyintNorth

  • Joined Feb 2011
  • Cornwall
  • Rarely short of an opinion but I mean well
    • Trelay Cohousing Community
Re: Am I ready ?
« Reply #69 on: April 09, 2021, 02:39:40 pm »
I would give them some nice soft hay, yes.  Little and often, so it's always fresh and clean.  They will probably just mess around with it at first.

Views differ about letting lambs have access to grass while still having milk.  The key thing to keep in mind is that milk overflowing the milk stomach and getting into the rumen can be very serious; bottle lambs haven't learned when to stop feeding; and grass fills the rumen, meaning there is less room for milk in the milk stomach, so they may not have room for the same size bottle if they have been eating grass.  Or indeed, if they've just eaten a bellyful of creep or hay.

If you have a patch of poor grass, and can keep them penned on a small patch so can limit how much they can access, then you could start letting them have a bit of time each day on that grass.  As a rule of thumb, give them an hour or two between milk and grass, and between grass and milk, and don't just let them empty their bottles, also keep an eye on their sides.  If they start to get "love handles" as they drink (ie., bulges behind the rib cage as you look down on them), take the bottle away; they're full.  Too much milk will do far more harm than too little.

At five weeks they can't really digest much forage yet, so they need very little, it's just about learning to eat it and helping the rumen develop, and grow an appropriate population of bacteria. 

By 6 weeks the rumen is functional but not yet really able to meet all their needs.  By 8 weeks it is fully functional, so if at that stage they are eating enough forage and creep, you can stop the milk.

Having said which, there are folks on here wean at 6 weeks, have done it for years, and rear perfectly healthy lambs every year. 

The other point which may not be clear from the above is that ruminants need the right gut bacteria to digest their food, whatever it is.  So introduce new things slowly, and make changes slowly.
Don't listen to the money men - they know the price of everything and the value of nothing

Live in a cohousing community with small farm for our own use.  Dairy cows (rearing their own calves for beef), pigs, sheep for meat and fleece, ducks and hens for eggs, veg and fruit growing

vfr400boy

  • Joined Jan 2013
  • one life live it
Re: Am I ready ?
« Reply #70 on: April 09, 2021, 07:08:17 pm »
So one of the youngest older lambs has a saw bit on its mouth only small , I will pop a pic up , I think it could be orf whats the best way to treat her ? Sorry for all questions

twizzel

  • Joined Apr 2012
Re: Am I ready ?
« Reply #71 on: April 09, 2021, 07:29:31 pm »
Orf is a virus so there’s no real treatment as such. First off wear gloves when handling the lambs as you can catch it and it’s very sore when you do. Keep an eye on the sores for infection, then you’ll need some antibiotics, but most of the time they will dry up within a week or 2. Your lamb looks like it’s over the worst now. Put rock salt out with all your sheep now, now it’s on your farm it’ll come back. Dennis Brinnicombe do a great mineral bucket which helps to control it too, called Frobut. Well worth getting one if you can. Once sheep have had it they tend to be immune at least for a good while- I had orf go through my ewes over winter and now whilst their lambs have mild orf, the ewes are clear of it. You can vaccinate for it with scabivax but once you start you need to do it every year. The main thing to watch is ewes don’t get it on their udders- they get sore, don’t let lambs suck and then get mastitis.

vfr400boy

  • Joined Jan 2013
  • one life live it
Re: Am I ready ?
« Reply #72 on: April 09, 2021, 07:44:35 pm »
Thanks for the reply,  I have some himalayain rock salt with my ewes i will pop some with the lambs and sterilise all bucket and teats tomorrow,  all tho they are getting new teats every 2 days now ha ! , should I clean pen out and disinfect it or am I over reacting? Thanks

twizzel

  • Joined Apr 2012
Re: Am I ready ?
« Reply #73 on: April 09, 2021, 08:05:02 pm »
It would help reduce the spread but if they are all in the same pen the likelihood is they will all get it at some point. Just disinfect all the equipment properly once you’ve finished with it and they’ve all gone out to grass. Don’t put any of these lambs out until the scabs have fallen off and they are completely clear of it, the scabs are the most infectious part.

vfr400boy

  • Joined Jan 2013
  • one life live it
Re: Am I ready ?
« Reply #74 on: April 13, 2021, 12:11:57 pm »
My favourite sheep pic so far ,,,

 

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