[Imafluffybunny]

We had triplets born tonight, the last lamb is much smaller than the other two, despite being bottle fed colostrum she wouldn't get to her feet and was being ignored and stood on by mum, she is currently tucked up in front of the Aga ?
She is doing well now and on her feet.
The night previously we had a ewe lose one of her twin lambs sadly, would it be possibly to foster the third triplet onto this ewe? If so, how would the best way to go about be?

[Bramblecot]

Do you still have the dead lamb?  If so, try rubbing the body over the new lamb so that the smell transfers.  Or use the placenta if you have it.  The idea is to transfer the smell of the ewe so that she believes the lamb is hers.  You may have to hold the ewe and let the lamb suckle if it is strong enough.   Also bear in mind that she may only have enough milk for one lamb and  although some ewes readily accept another lamb, others will have none of it.  You can only try but it is a lot to ask.  Good luck.

[fsmnutter]

You could also use the skin of a dead lamb as a jacket, but I also would double check she has plenty milk first

[Fleecewife]

As above, but if you don't have the dead lamb, there are a couple of other things you could try.  Ewes identify their lambs by smell as well as by call and by sight.  Take some of the ewe's milk and rub it over the lamb's head, and take some of the poo from the lamb she already has and dab it around lamb's bum.  Milk the ewe into a bottle and feed it to the lamb, so it's own poo will soon smell like her present lamb.

[Llandovery Lass]

Skinning is the best, it's not as bad as you may think, the same as a rabbit. Cut around the neck and down the stomach, the aim is to keep the leg pieces whole to place as sleeves over the other lambs legs to hold the skin on. The other thing is to have the new mother and children in a different shed. The real mother will keep calling for the other one to start with and that upsets things. Good luck.

[Marches Farmer]

If we don't have afterbirth fluids to hand we just put the ewe in an adopter for a couple of days.  As has been mentioned, once the ewe's milk has gone through the digestive system the new lamb will smell right to her.  Also helps that the lambs will sleep together and the smell transfer that way.  I don't adopt onto first-timers, as their milk will take a while to get going properly and a small lamb needs all the help it can get to make it through the first few days.

[shep53]

AM I reading some thing different, you are saying that  a ewe lost one of twins and has bonded with the remaining  lamb  for at least 24 hrs  , normally in this case I wouldn't try to put an extra lamb on  , I would keep the orphan ready for the next  single to be born