[kanisha]

My very thin ewe has given birth over night to a small thin lamb which is dried off mum is attentive but lamb hasn't managed to suckle and has that thin weedy cry. I have milked colostrum off mum  and lamby is now full bellied and warm. Ewe is very thin but does have milk I intend to keep lamb with the ewe and top lamb up at the very least. I got in a couple of packs of colostrum in case they were needed would you give them in any case? Once the ewe has lost her colostrum I don't intend taking any more off her and if I have to bottle feed lamby thats fine by me the ewe needs some reserves but will I do any harm using up colostrum on a lamb past 24 hours old?

[Brucklay]

When my first lambs were born about 10 days ago to a ewe I discovered had very bad mastitis scarring from before I go her, I worried how much they had fed so have been topping them up since. I read my colostrum packet details and it said it could be used as a supplement over 24 hrs but I think the mix was a bit more dilute so I would say it couldn't do any harm but someone with more experience may tell you more - good luck with the wee lamb

[jaykay]

Personally, I'd keep going with trying to get it to feed from mum. You've done the critical thing by getting some of her colostrum into it. Lambs have tiny stomachs to start with and if you feed it, you remove the incentive to suckle. Plus it's her colostrum, with her antibodies, that it needs.

Have you clipped all round her udder so her teat is very easy to find? I sometimes have dozy lambs that spend a lot of time sucking on wool 

If you can get someone to hold her, or if not, tie her up, hold the lamb to feed. To do this successfully you need not to push the back of the lamb's head at the teat or it'll resist, try to get it underneath as the natural instinct is to push upwards against something. Sometimes pulling a little bit of colostrum so there is a bead on the end of the teat helps the lamb get the idea. I have squirted a jet at some very dim lambs - sounds like your ewe is letting you milk her, not all will let milk down to humans.

Good luck 

[in the hills]

Being a first time lamber I was worried that one of my lambs hadnt suckled. Now Im sure it had  I tried to help it onto the teat but it put up a real fight. My farmer friend came and just tapped the lamb gently on its bottom. Wow, under it went. Imitates mums pushes I am told.

I hope your little lamb does okay and that mum is in good enough condition to feed her herself.

[kanisha]

thanks for the replies lamb is weak and wobbly but vital so i don't forsee too many problems at this stage. will see how things go later today.

[SallyintNorth]

Going back to the question of feeding colostrum to over 24 hour old lambs, I think natural colostrum is always a good boost to any lamb, just don't overdo it as it's so rich.  If I've spare mixed-up colostrum replacer, I just mix it into my next bottle feed for any lamb - again, not too much at once; seems to do no harm, quite the reverse.

[woollyval]

It is most vital that a lamb gets colostrum, preferably from its dam withing first 6 hours. After that it will have the incentive and ump to look for more and a dilute amount of packet stuff will not hurt. My weeny lamb is still weeny but very robust now after being the weakest tinyest lamb I have ever managed to keep alive. Remember a ouessant will need a minute top up...no more than 20-25ml at a time!

There is one problem I forsee.....if you leave the lamb with his mum and he is feeding from her he will not take a bottle so readily....or he might, but that will eventually leave his mum with too much milk and then she may well get mastitis.....It is very difficult to leave a lamb on a good mum without her producing milk for him....and trying to bottle feed.
In my long experience it only works in a ewe who loves her lamb but has a non functioning udder...i.e one that lambs and you find to your dismay that both sides are damaged from previous mastitis and this is usually in a ewe that has been sold to you be someone who 'knew' .
 In cases like that its very possible, but with a ewe with a functioning udder, and esp one who is underweight and whom you want to feed up! All you will do by feeding her up will make her make more milk!

I know this sounds hard but have you considered waiting a few days, getting him on a bottle, and then having his dam pts if you are not going to breed from her again and you think she has an underlying health problem?

Can you post a pic of her so we can see exactly how thin you think she is?....just a thought 
 

[kanisha]

thanks Sally 

Lamby was born late last night ( umbilicus was dried up this morning) so I know lamby didn't have colostrum within the first six hours. I checked at last light and again this morning at first light.

As for thinness of ewe. you can see spinous processes and scapulae through a full winter fleece skin is also tight on the ewe. After 25 + years working professionally with pets and yes horror of horrors as an RSPCA  shelter manageress I know thin and skinny this ewe is skeletal. I will not put the ewe to sleep I am not convinced that any health problem is related to an ongoing infectious disease process but more as a result of a loss of condition during pregnancy that due to the pregnancy was never recovered.

 potential possibility in my mind  is fluke burden ( ewe did appear to be anaemic at one point) If it had hit her liver hard this might explain problems with weight loss and or weight gain.     However the added burden of rearing a lamb will not be doing her any favours.  I take your point re risk of mastitis and that would be  a valid concern and reason to remove the lamb from the ewe. As of this afternoons check the ewe has no colostrum to draw down....has lamby topped up or is she having problems I'm undecided. I have semi reared lambs half on the bottle but remaining on the ewe possibly more by luck than judgement, some good points there and more for me to think on Val. thanks

[woollyval]

Good luck....

[kanisha]

well the ewe doesn't have enough milk for the lamb, lamb is hollow and hungry  so decision made

[Rosemary]

We have a gimmer with twins and she doesn't seem to have much milk. She's got a lovely udder, no heat, nice placed teats and her lambs do suckle away. She loves her boys and tucks herself up so that they get latched on easily. They suckled quick so have definitely had whatever colostrum she had - and they are nice bright lambs (we've nicknamed them "the stringys" as they are quite bid framed but, well, stringy".

We're giving them a top up three times a day. I try to make sure they feed from her first, then give them a wee bottle just to fill them up. I'm hoping that this will work out for all of us 

Good luck with your wee lamb, kanisha

[kanisha]

Thanks Rosemary you too

[Brucklay]

Yes still topping my 2 up too - 2 x daily just to make sure and they are starting to take a little more which leads me to think I'm doing the right thing. Mum is great with them both now, very attentive

[kanisha]

Here she is at five days old. after day two mums milk came in and from then on she flatly refused to take a bottle. shes out with mum whos getting extra feed. For such a tiny thing she has some character

[woollyval]

Excellent result  Nice lamb too! My tiny one is now 3 weeks old and still smaller than the one born yesterday! He is not quite what I had hoped for and will be going with 3 other castrated lambs as mowers on a caravan site!!!