[Womble]

OK folks, somebody must have a top tip or two:


1) Newborn lambs who keep 'questing' in the wrong place. Are there any decent ways to guide them to the target, or do you just let them suck on armpit wool for a few hours until they eventually figure it out? 


2) Pet lambs (wahey, just what I always wanted  ). We have one who's now 2 days old, and still can't get him to suck from the bottle. He'll swallow what dribbles into his mouth, but just won't suck. He's quite small and weak, but able to stand unaided, so not THAT bad. We've been stomach tubing with the aim of keeping him alive but hungry, but he just isn't taking to the bottle.  Again, any top tips folks?


Thanks in advance! 

[Beeducked]

In my limited experience the "questing in the wrong place" lambs suddenly seem to just get it and once they are in the right place there is no stopping them. I do make sure they have some colostrum early and then let them struggle. Somehow whenever I try to force them to the right place they just fight back and it actually seems to take them longer to get the hang of it. Very frustrating watching them struggle though.


As to the lambs that won't suck from the bottle, you have my sympathies! That is REALLY frustrating!!! But they do get there. I had a pair of cades 2 years ago that took me 5 days to get them suckling and I finally had an insight into why the parents of picky eaters let them get away with it! If they had asked for turkey twizzlers I would have given them to them, I just wanted them to eat! I did just what you are doing, kept giving them the bottle and then topped them up a couple of times a day to stop them starving and then suddenly they just got it and they were off!


I think it is why I was so dreading cades this year but the ones I have this year took to it on their first go without the slightest hesitation. Funny how different lambs can be!

[Beeducked]

Oh and sometimes I find wriggling the teat in and out of their mouth a bit, kind of like the suckling action and stimulate them into suckling a bit.

[mab]

Had one two days ago who didn't have a clue where to go - she just stood shivering by her mums head, baa-ing piteously. Eventually I went to my expert neighbour who said leave them alone for an hour(as in: stop hovering anxiously and let 'em alone) and if she still hasn't got it we'll do something. Well she still wasn't getting it so in the end we tipped mum over on her side and held her down (1st time mum who wouldn't stand for us) and got lamb's mouth on a teat - once there she started sucking and has been able to find a teat ever since. 



This morning had one with twin boys, one of which was fine but the other seemed a bit vague (was looking in the right place but kept missing the nipple and going right under mum and out between her legs - so I left them alone for an hour and he had figured it out by the time I came back 


can't advise on the bottle as the only experience I've had was from 2 years ago and I seem to remember it was a bit of a struggle - all I can remember is holding the lamb between my legs (kneeling) and holding her head & bottle firmly so she couldn't twist away until she sucked - good luck.

[mowhaugh]

I'd sit the sheep up on her bum and help the lamb to suck.

[Marches Farmer]

I get someone else to stand astride the ewe's shoulders and I put the teat in the lamb's mouth.  Sometimes have to repeat but they generally get it after a couple of tries.  For bottle feeding a weak lamb I pull the teat out about half a centimetre from the lamb's mouth every ten seconds - this generally drips milk into the mouth even if they haven't sucked.  Make sure the hole in the teat isn't too small (requires a lot of effort to suck) or too large (floods their mouth with milk if they do suck).

[twizzel]

Try a Pritchard teat for your tame lamb- yellow screw top with little red teat... Have more success with this than the normal non vac teats

[Hevxxx99]

I agree about Pritchard teats.  I've never had much success with anything else.  When you cut the tip off, the hole in the top can be made large for newbies who don't suck well so it runs into their mouths and that then often encourages sucking, once they've related teat to milk. At that point, a new teat with a smaller hole, or a cross cut in the top can be used so you don't cover everything in milk when you turn it up!

[Slimjim]

Something I've never tried but often wondered if it would work, is to try and find a teat (Mothercare?) that fits a 60ml stomach tubing syringe and then just push a little milk in at a time through the teat to establish the connection between teat and milk. But then I suppose you can always squeeze the bottle to achieve the same effect- what I normally do anyway!! Ho hum.

[SallyintNorth]

Newborns questing in the wrong place... Depending on how much time and patience you have at the time, either top it up with colostrum (from the ewe if you can) to give it strength and you peace of mind, then leave it for several hours and see how it's getting on, or sit with it, gently guiding it to the right place.  It'll fight if you try to force it, so it has to be patient and gentle.  Try putting the test in its mouth, squirting a little milk in its mouth, and so on.  BH is incredible at this, but then he's had 50 years' practise. I'm getting better, but still sometimes have to decide to top it up and walk away, because I'm getting frustrated and there are other sheep to see to.

Some people don't like to give a newborn a bottle, saying it interferes with it developing its ability to suckle from its mum.  Personally, I've never found this to be an issue and I must have topped up a hundred or more over the last 10 years.

[SallyintNorth]

On your weak pet lamb who's not taking to the bottle, it may just take time, but as he's weak as well, I think I'd give a vitamin jab.

[Womble]

Hi everybody,  Wee pet lamb finally figured it out yesterday morning, and is now bouncing around the kitchen. He particularly enjoys widdling in front of the fridge, which is driving Mrs Womble bonkers! 


The others seem to have figured out which bits of their Mums to suck on too!

[Hellybee]

Aww what a cutie, glad he's come right, yup I think once they know the bottle that's it your away.  We see nothing wrong with top ups either, helps Some first timers who maybe a little slower dropping they're milk.  If they need it they have it.  If we find a lamb not straight and bouncy like it s siblings it gets bocky and a dot on head and is then part of the bottle brigade.

[Louise Gaunt]

My nephew had his fiancée had a Zwarbles lamb living with them in their rented caravan. They put a nappy on it for a while to stop too much pee and poo getting on the floor. That might make Mrs Womble feel a bit happier, and save the fridge getting too wet!

[Womble]

Hmmm, it's bad enough making up bottles five times a day. If I wanted to change nappies as well, I'd have children!