[Remy]

Hi folks, not been here in a while!  Just got a query - I have one orphan lamb who I am bottle feeding and another lamb born yesterday was looking very poorly and tucked up so I bought it into a stable to keep an eye on it.  It didn't look like it had anything inside it so I gave it some powdered colostrum, but it stayed looking very weak and sickly and I gave it a bit of milk, which it drank.  The mother seems very attentive but the lamb shows no inclination to drink from her.  However, when it sees me it baas and starts suckling at my clothes!  I've got the orphan in with mum and baby to keep her company, so do I just ignore the lamb with the mum and hope she starts to suckle?  I was wanting to top her up as she didn't appear to have any milk from mum but now she associates me with food!


If I stop feeding her will she eventually suckle from mum?

[Old Shep]

Hi have you checked that Mum has any milk? Did you break the seals on her teats?  If she has milk, can you try to suckle the lamb onto her?

[Rosemary]

I"m not sure what you mean that the lamb has no inclination to suckle her mother. If she has milk and it's flowing, you may have to help the lamb latch on and stay latched on. Some, frankly, aren't very bright. It would be best for ewe and lamb to establish natural feeding.

[Marches Farmer]

Lambs find it hard to switch from Mama to bottle, or vice versa, after a couple of days.  Once you've checked the ewe has milk in both teats (if her udder feels hot or lumpy she may have mastitis) get someone to hold her front end nice and steady and hold the lamb along her side, facing her tail.  See if it searches for the teat.  If not hold its head near the teat, place a forefinger gently in its mouth to just open it a little, then guide it towards the teat and hold it on.  If it has a good sucking reflex from bottle feeding it should latch on quite quickly.  You may have to do this several times before it gets the idea but it will soon learn that Mama's milk bar is always open - much better than the occasional arrival of a bottle.  If you lift a lamb that's lying down you can generally feel if it has a full tum.  It should also stretch itself as it stands up - poorly lambs don't.

[Remy]

The ewe has loads of milk, the lamb just doesn't have any idea to go to it's mum.  It was looking very empty this morning so evidently isn't suckling.  It stands or lies looking hunched and miserable, even when the ewe is nudging it gently.  But as soon as I appear to feed the other one, it rushes over to me and starts sucking on my clothes, so it is very hungry.


I managed to catch the ewe (she is very flighty) in a corner and tried to put the lamb onto her teat, even after spraying it's face with milk and managing to spray some into it's mouth it would not oblige - it sucked on my finger then as soon as the teat was in it stopped!  Eventually the only way I could get the teat into it's mouth was by lying it down, then it had a good drink.  [size=78%]It still hasn't got the idea though so I guess I will be doing this several more times - as I don't want to give it the bottle any more.[/size]
[/size]
[/size][size=78%]Ironically the orphan lamb keeps going to the ewe to suckle, who of course doesn't let it.  Life is never simple with sheep .. [/size]

[harmony]

I tie up my sheep in this situation with an old stirrup leather around their neck to the gate. You only have to keep the back end still which you can do with your shoulder whilst you are dealing with the lamb.


If she has lots of milk and you tied her up the orphan lamb could suckle too.


I find with lambs who need help to suckle that if you put their back legs under them like a dog would sit, they don't push back off the teat like they do when you try standing them there.


I hope it gets going soon.

[Remy]

After having to put the lamb on all day yesterday, I saw it suckling on it's own this morning - thank goodness it has finally got the message!  Then went out in the field to find an older ewe had died in the night, a fox had got one of her twins    so I now have two to bottle feed 

[SallyintNorth]

Good news  and bad news    - typical lambing, huh.