Experienced Lamb Handrearers Some Advice Pls

[bemba]

I am getting a Damara lamb female, she is 3 weeks old and has been with her mother for this time, My questions are.... Is 3 weeks too old to start bottle feeding to become a tame and friendly pet? As most seem to get lambs younger? I really want her but am scared she won't be tame and will fret too much, ... can this work?? PS she is black and white with the most beautiful patterns

 

[lasergrl]

You will have an extremely hard time getting a lamb that age to take a bottle. You may not succeed at all. They need to be a few days old, or you will have trouble. Most people that get a lamb that age have to resort to weaning them and end up with a stunted ewe. Someone with alot of persistence may be able to get the lamb on a bottle but it will take 2-3 days.

 

[bemba]

So if it won't take the bottle , would it still calm down and be a friendly pet?

 

[boykin2010]

Friendly, yes, but not nearly as friendly as a lamb that was bottle fed from a day old.
I also doubt that a 3 week old would accept a bottle if it has been nursing this whole time.
I wouldnt wean a lamb at 3 weeks either...
I would say get it between 8 and 10 weeks and spend a LOT of time with it. It will get friendly over time.

 

[lasergrl]

Sry just got online.

totally depends on the lambs personality. You will need to be persistent at first. Also depends how much handling it is getting now. Alot of times once the sheep know where the sweet treats come from you are tripping over them. Dont forget you need at least two sheep. I have some sheep that were dam raised that are super friendly and some bottle babies that do not have such nice personalities either. I find sheep are easier then goats in this way. I wont buy a goat that isnt a bottle baby but with sheep it can go both ways.

 

[bemba]

Thanks for the reply boy, Darn it!! I wish I had found this lamb earlier, he does have some ewe's lambing in the next couple of weeks, but we obviously don't know the sex and the colour of them yet.... Tried to upload a pic of her but it was sent via email and was damaged apparently..... Here's to hoping he has another 'cow' lamb

 

[boykin2010]

I would definatley wait and get a day or 2 old ewe lamb if he gets some. There is nothing better than a friendly bottle baby. I swear they are the best pets ever. I only have 1 and his name is buddy. He is going to be the sire to my herd this year. I hope everything goes good, keep us updated

 

[bemba]

Quote:
Well I was planning to only get one, We live on 45 acres, and the house yard is 9 acres which it would occupy with peafowl, turkeys, chooks etc, so what are the pros of having 2 sheep? Obviously for company, but would they bond with each other and not us? We don't have fencing, so wanted a SUPER tame one that would just hang around, it would be locked up every night in a predator proof pen, also we have 2 cattledogs who are VERY animal friendly, which I have no doubt, after properly being introduced, would look after and play with the sheep, we don't have many predators here... only carpet snakes (summer at night), hawks, and well paralasis ticks, which would be the greatest threat to the sheep, knock on wood we haven't seen any dingoes or foxes around, and that would generally only be a problem at night.

 

[bemba]

Quote:
Is a 4 day old to a week old ok as well, so it gets the colostrum from the mother.... how long does it need to drink that before taking it? PS the guy thinks it would be no different to take this one or wait for a younger one,

He didn't mentioin anything about hand feeding them before, so you guys that know first hand, is what I need to know

 

[lasergrl]

Well, one sheep is really not an option. It is even considered cruel and is illegal in some countries to have just one of herd animals. One will be ok for now but unless you are outside with it all day (literally) it will likely bleat and cry and run around looking for company and can stress itself into being unhealthy.

It would be near impossible to get that one on the bottle. If its so easy maybe he will start it before you get it

What i would do, is buy the one when it is weaned wich will be just in time to get a bottle baby. the bottle baby will teach this one to be tame and you will have a companion. Ideal age for a bottle lamb is the end of the second day or begining of the third. It starts to get hard to get them to except the bottle after that.

Also never bottle feed a ram. they are sweet and tame for the first year but after that they usually try and kill you! Not good! Rams with no fear or respect for man is a dangerous animal.