[cambee]

As well as our own few lambs (3 so far) we adopted 3 cades currently a week and a bit old and bottle feeding in a pen. We did this as we were concerned that our 4 girls weren’t going to birth live lambs as we had a dog worrying incident resulting in prolapses, an abortion and our first lamb dying at birth. Anyway, we have now had 3 of our own lambs but are really enjoying the cades. I know it’s early days but how soon would you let the cades outside with the other lambs and mums. I can’t quite get an answer from the books. I know they have to be on creep etc. From this weekend we move to 2 bottle feeds a day rather than 3. I’m not being impatient it’s just to help with planning. Thanks

[twizzel]

Lambs just over a week old need to be on more than 2 feeds per day. I’ve got a pet at the moment 2 weeks old on 4x 250ml feeds per day, next week she will go down to 3 feeds of 350ml, the week after 2 x 500ml and then wean at 6 weeks. Plan is to put her out once weaned, otherwise the mix of grass, milk and creep can cause bloat.

[Backinwellies]

Totally agree with T.  at just over a week old they cant take in enough milk in two feeds a day ..... at that point I would have only just dropped the night feed and still be doing 4x day. 

The last lot I had I kept in a shed letting out into field in day (when weather was OK)  until they were weaned at 6 weeks. , then they went with other sheep.

They are at risk of Fox and crow in the field as they don't have a mum to protect them.

[bj_cardiff]

Agree with the others, 2 or 3 feeds a day isn't enough IMO. At a week old my lambs are getting four feeds of 350ml Lamblac each. They'll stay on that until weaned at 6 weeks or so.

I keep my lambs indoors in a communal pen of ewes and lambs, until all of the ewes have been turned out. When their 2 or 3 weeks old the lambs can go out on nice sunny days in an area I can keep a close eye on them, I use my garden. Maybe at 4 weeks I'd leave them out with the other ewes and lambs, it depends on the weather though and makes the late night feed impossible!

[SallyintNorth]

Agree with the others, lambs that young need an absolute minimum of three feeds a day, four is better. 

They are greedy little things, lambs, and they will drink more than their first stomach can hold if you let them.  If the first stomach overfill, it overflows into the rumen, which is not equipped to digest milk.  Bloat will result, which can kill.

How soon they can be outside depends on several factors.  They'll need to come in in bad weather and at night, so the outside area needs to be handy for fetching them in.  Also, you'll need to be careful about overfilling them, so in general it seems to help to not let them onto grass for an hour after giving them their bottle. 

Ewes with lambs are likely to be aggressive towards unmothered lambs, (and need to be in order to prevent them pinching milk), so generally I have found it best to not mix them with family groups until they're weaned. 

I used to use a small area of poor, rough grass to introduce my cades to grass.  An hour a day at first, in the middle of two feeds, gradually increasing until they're used to eating grass.  By four or five weeks, if there's shelter outside for them and it's fox proof, they can stay out full time.  (I used to use an old chicken run, so it was fox proof and had a house the lambs could use.).

Then once they're weaned you can try introducing them to a flock with ewes and lambs - but be watchful for them getting bullied by the ewes.  It's safer really to keep them separate until there's a batch of weaned lambs they can join. 

[cambee]

Very interesting as you’ve all come back strongly saying more than 2 feeds but the reason I said that was that we are following the instructions re quantities and feeding times off the sack of Downland Lambforce milk replacer we are using. As per those instructions we are currently on 3 feeds 8 hourly around 350ml each (I offer that but they don’t always finish it though sometimes they do). They all seem to be thriving at the moment but now I’m terrified of bloat! They’re a week old. The pack only said 4 feeds for the first 24 hours. So should we go back to 4???

[cambee]

Oh and we have a chicken ‘field’ about 1/4 acre all fenced etc. Would that be a good place for them to go out when the time comes or wouldn’t you put them with chickens?

[Backinwellies]

Not sure exactly what you are feeding but these instructions from Downland Landforce  says 4x a day for first 2 weeks then 3 for next week


https://www.downland.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/Lamb-Force-Skim-10kg.pdf


Don't know how many chickens you have in your field .... but sounds ideal.

[Buttermilk]

My cades are on an ad-lib bucket of lamlac.  I will not be letting them out onto grass until after weaning.

[Marches Farmer]

Most milk powder instructions are directed towards large flocks where the logistics of individual bottle feeding don't apply.  Bear in mind how lambs suckle from their dams - a moderate amount, then rest, then a moderate amount again, all through the day and night. 

[Anke]

I am not sure about mixing lambs with chickens.... especially if heavily contaminated with chicken droppings. They can pick up al sorts of bacteria from it... And the lambs will try and eat the chicken food - it will look quite similar to their own creep.

[cambee]

Thanks for all your replies. Those instructions you sent Back in Wellies are different to the ones on my bag of Downland oddly as mine definitely says 3 feeds from 8 days.  However, I think I’m going to go back to 4 now just to be on the safe side although they are hop skipping about now and seem very healthy. I’ll take them back to 3 feeds gradually over the next couple of weeks again when they’ve grown more. Our chicken field only has 10 chickens but we now think that the grass is to long. We also have a ‘pet pen’ with bantams and a rabbit in it (we have a holiday let so it’s for kids to look at!) Might let them out in that for a few hours a day once the weather improves as the grass is more lawn height. BTW does anyone do the ad lib feeding out of the bucket feeders you can buy or the bottle racks? Just wondering about that for next year.

[davet]

I am not sure about mixing lambs with chickens.... especially if heavily contaminated with chicken droppings. They can pick up al sorts of bacteria from it... And the lambs will try and eat the chicken food - it will look quite similar to their own creep.

Chicken feed might have more copper in it than you'd want your sheep eating.  Check the bags though, in case I dreamt it.

[SallyintNorth]

There is also the issue of feed regs, and not allowing feeds for different stock to get mixed. If your meat is all for your own consumption, perhaps you don’t mind (although I think the authorities still would, if you had an inspection).

[cambee]

The chicken food is inside (as everyone’s should be with the avian flu thing) so they can’t get at that but maybe mixing isn’t a good idea with the bacteria issue so I don’t think I will. Will just have to give them a field of their own I guess instead of resting it. Thanks for all the advice I’ve had recently during lambing. Really informative. 2 ewes to go