Author Topic: Newbie Smallholder in Tenerife. (Read 2571 times)

Bridget Jones · « **on:** January 26, 2010, 09:42:59 pm »

Have just happened upon this site and it seems to be just what we need.

We bought our old Canarian farmhouse 12 years ago and have been renovating the house and land. We have around 7,000M2 of usable land (not sure what that is in English money!) and about the same going into a valley where I would love to put bees in the future. I have a question for today, but lots more for the future too.

We have just taken delivery of our first goat and two sheep last Monday and on Wednesday morning one of the ewes had given birth to twins, one of which was dead and the other not able to stand as it was so weak. I milked the ewe for the first 4 days and fed this to the lamb but she developed a rattly chest. Took her to the vet and I have been giving her Sub-cutaneous antibiotic injections every 12 hours. She is now doing really well, eating 6-7 ounces of milk per feed and amazingly her own mother is very pleased to see her when we take her out to the barn. I am very keen for her to live with the sheep and not in the house as we do intend to raise her for meat and don't want any of us (I have two children) to get too attached to her. My questions are therefore:-
1. Can she go through the night without a feed now? The barn is not that close to the house and there are no lights out there to see. She also wasn't that hungry this morning after taking 7 ounces at 3am, so only took 2 ounces.
2. I have penned her in with her mum who is very happy with her, but just not feeding her, is it a good idea to leave her there for the night? If she needs a night feed though I'll have to bring her in so this question may be void. The temperature drops to around 12 degrees C at night.

Thanks

shetlandpaul · « **Reply #1 on:** January 27, 2010, 05:39:58 am »

if she has finished the drugs put her in and see if she sucks if so give it a try. watch her carefully they can go down fast after an infection.

morri2 · « **Reply #2 on:** January 27, 2010, 10:49:55 am »

I've only ever fed my orphan lambs in the night for the first couple of days. I have had quite a few as I look after my neighbours orphans every year. Have to give them back too. I just make sure they get four feeds through the day and evening. If your lamb is with her mother and there's no danger of her rejecting and trying to butt her away then she'll be warm enough. There are farms here lambing right now and the temperature is barely above freezing and I can assure you their barns have no heating. After a week the're all out in the field, overnight as well.

Bridget Jones · « **Reply #3 on:** January 27, 2010, 10:46:08 pm »

Thank you so much for the excellent advice. She's with her mum full time and being well cared for in spite of not feeding from her.

ballingall · « **Reply #4 on:** January 28, 2010, 09:44:06 pm »

Hi Bridget,

I posted this in the welcome thread too, but I'll post it here as well.

My mum is a vet, and I'm going to ask you a question which she always says about goats and sheep. After the first 12-24hours, if you watch a sheep or goat behave naturally with its lambs or kids- Does it stand up in the middle of the night in order to feed the lamb/kid?

The answer is, no it doesn't. The only way you get it to take more milk at a time is to extend the gaps between feeds, so it gets hungry.

As to question number 2, if the sheep really likes the lamb, I'd leave it with her. Or if you want to be extra safe, make it a tiny pen insde its mum pen.

And Welcome Smiley

Beth