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Author Topic: Lamb who rejected the ewe?  (Read 9344 times)

Ladygrey

  • Joined Jun 2012
  • Basingstoke
Lamb who rejected the ewe?
« on: April 06, 2013, 12:20:48 pm »
Hi there  :wave:

Firstly posting to say thanks to everyones advice regards bringing my ewes indoors, I managed to sort the barn and three have lambed happily and gone back out and two more ewes to lamb.

Looking for advice regards one ewe and her lamb.
A zwartbles gimmer who had NO tummy at all gave birth on Monday to a single ewe lamb,
this lamb was born very underweight and very very tiny weighing 1.5 kilo! (mum is in good condition so obviously just kept all the food for herself) every time she went to feed she just fell over so I have bottled her until she was strong,
She now weighs 2.8 kilo!
However I cannot get her to drink from her mummy now, mummy ewe has loads and loads of milk, (we have been milking her and feeding lamb) and ewe and lamb love eachother but cant seem to get lamb to drink from mum.
Is she still too small? or have I ruined her chances by feeding her :(

I put ewe and lamb out in the field with the others this morning as the weather is nice and I thought if she moves around and with other sheep it will help her bond with her mum more, her Mum adores her so its not the mum who is the problem.
If I stick little lamb underneath mum she instinctivley butts mums udder.
Maybe I am not leaving her long enough so she isnt getting hungry enough to try and suckle..

Any suggestions?

Thanks

Mummy and Tiny baby


Other huge lambies


« Last Edit: April 06, 2013, 12:30:07 pm by Ladygrey »

Fosterlambfarm

  • Joined Apr 2013
  • Muirkirk
Re: Lamb who rejected the ewe?
« Reply #1 on: April 06, 2013, 12:33:40 pm »
Problem could be that you've taken the lamb away and filled it's stomach. I'd maby bring it in and let it go hungry enough that it goes to the ewe to feed but keep an Wye on them. That's wats ussually been the problem up here if the lamb doesn't wanna feed, simply because it's full and won't feed
C mccrossan, foster lamb farm

Bionic

  • Joined Dec 2010
  • Talley, Carmarthenshire
Re: Lamb who rejected the ewe?
« Reply #2 on: April 06, 2013, 12:34:08 pm »
Sorry I can't help but they are lovely pics  :thumbsup:
Life is like a bowl of cherries, mostly yummy but some dodgy bits

Daisys Mum

  • Joined May 2009
  • Scottish Borders
Re: Lamb who rejected the ewe?
« Reply #3 on: April 06, 2013, 12:50:14 pm »
Looks like a good strong lamb now so I would let it get hungry and then maybe try to latch it onto mum if it doesnt do it on its own.
Lovely pictures!  :sheep:
Anne

Ladygrey

  • Joined Jun 2012
  • Basingstoke
Re: Lamb who rejected the ewe?
« Reply #4 on: April 06, 2013, 01:27:03 pm »
I never took the lamb away from mum! I just have been feeding it mums milk as she hasn't been strong enough to stand under the udder.

Waiting for some nicer sun so can get some more photos :)

At the moment she is sounding hungry so will try later when someone strong is around so I can put her on the ewe

Calvadnack

  • Joined Jun 2009
Re: Lamb who rejected the ewe?
« Reply #5 on: April 06, 2013, 05:18:15 pm »
I had the same problem last year and kept Mum and premature lamb together while I bottle fed the lamb.  I kept feeding but moved onto Lamlac until I caught the lamb sneaking feeds from Mum aswell !!!  I then left them to it....

Marches Farmer

  • Joined Dec 2012
  • Herefordshire
Re: Lamb who rejected the ewe?
« Reply #6 on: April 06, 2013, 05:36:50 pm »
The lamb may have been tiny because it was one of twins but the other was reabsorbed.  I agree that the lamb is likely to suckle if it's hungry.  If you pick it up and feel its stomach between navel and back legs it will feel rounded and quite solid if it's full.  Hungry lambs bleat (a lot!)

ScotsGirl

  • Joined Dec 2009
  • Wiltshire
Re: Lamb who rejected the ewe?
« Reply #7 on: April 06, 2013, 07:59:51 pm »
Sometimes they are just stubborn like children.  As said if its hungry just try and watch from a distance because nature should kick in and the lamb should go get her own food. They don't always like being forced to the teat.


They look adorable

suziequeue

  • Joined Feb 2010
  • Llanidloes; Powys
Re: Lamb who rejected the ewe?
« Reply #8 on: April 06, 2013, 08:08:58 pm »
I love Zwartbles but can't pronounce them.
We do the best we can with the information we have

When we know better we do better

Old Shep

  • Joined Feb 2011
  • North Yorkshire
Re: Lamb who rejected the ewe?
« Reply #9 on: April 06, 2013, 10:50:21 pm »
I love Zwartbles but can't pronounce them.


actually can someone tell me HOW to say it??

Helen - (used to be just Shep).  Gordon Setters, Border Collies and chief lambing assistant to BigBennyShep.

ScotsGirl

  • Joined Dec 2009
  • Wiltshire
Re: Lamb who rejected the ewe?
« Reply #10 on: April 06, 2013, 10:52:02 pm »
Me too! I never know whether to pronounce the 'z' or not

suziequeue

  • Joined Feb 2010
  • Llanidloes; Powys
Re: Lamb who rejected the ewe?
« Reply #11 on: April 06, 2013, 11:05:24 pm »
I always pronounce it wart - like wart with a "z" on the front and then ibles as in edible with an "s"


Probably completely wrong :innocent:
We do the best we can with the information we have

When we know better we do better

Fleecewife

  • Joined May 2010
  • South Lanarkshire
    • ScotHebs
Re: Lamb who rejected the ewe?
« Reply #12 on: April 07, 2013, 01:20:45 am »
It's Dutch I think.  The Zwart means black and is pronounced z-v-art or z-w-art.  Bles means blazed and should be pronounced as bless.  So 'black blazed'.  However, if you pronounce it that way in Britain most sheep folk won't understand what you are saying.   Round here they call them zwartables, or zwarbles as in a plural.  But then most people round here pronounce Soay as Soya. (It can be either So-uh or So-aie, usually the latter.)
 
If you can't beat them, join them  ;D
« Last Edit: April 07, 2013, 01:22:43 am by Fleecewife »
"Let's not talk about what we can do, but do what we can"

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Ladygrey

  • Joined Jun 2012
  • Basingstoke
Re: Lamb who rejected the ewe?
« Reply #13 on: April 08, 2013, 03:31:22 pm »
Have been to feed her now a few times and her belly has been full and she hasnt wanted to drink anything  :thinking:

So hoping to catch her in the act then I can stop feeding her :)

Zwartbles is pronounced Zvartbless, and yes it is Dutch :) which is one of the (many) reasons I love my "zoiburgs" as we call them  :excited:, my dad is South African and Afrikaans is very similar to dutch, so pronouncing zwartbles was never an issue for us :)

Had a lovely pair of twins born saturday afternoon, I would have never guessed that this cross with turn out this cute  :love:
see if you can guess what breeds are the parents




Marches Farmer

  • Joined Dec 2012
  • Herefordshire
Re: Lamb who rejected the ewe?
« Reply #14 on: April 08, 2013, 04:31:07 pm »
Round here it's Anglicised to Zwarbles - like warbles but with a Z at the front end.  We also call Paris, Paris, not Pa-ree!

 

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