Lambs 2 days old orphans~ They are well, New Pics!!

[bantymum]

Thanks Mods, this is no longer an emergency so perhaps it would be best in other pets and luvestock!!
Hi,
sorry its not a chicken emergency but a lamb emergency.
Mods feel free to move this if necessary.
I have been given 2x 2day old lambs to bottlefeed for a few weeks until they can learn to drink milk from a bucket.
I havent been given thorough info except that they will "baaahhh" when they are hungry, Fat lot of help that was!!
The milk replacer packet says 4 times a day>
Now, are these fellas going to wake me and the neighbours up tonite??? or just through the day.
We dont know how long their mums have been expired for but they are really undernourished.
I have fed them this afternoon at 5pm until 6 on and off.
I put them to bed in an old cabinet in a deep manger of hay and put a hot water bottle covered with fleece in with them to warm them up. They are gorgeous.
Im hoping someone here has lamb experience!!!
Thanks

 

[bantymum]

well Ive searched the net and found one Piece of info which says every 4 hours!! so I guess thats it, Ill set my alarm!!
problem is we dont know how old they are except that they still have their cords attached though dried and shrivelled about 4 inches long.
So again if someone has poddy lamb experience ~ any hints will be greatly appreciated, Why do I always end up being thrown in the deep end.
I think I know why I was put on this earth for: to care for Gods animals.
But its a labor of love.
Ask me again at 2am and I may say something else.
I love talking to myself!!
I guess you guys will be awakewhen its 2am here!!

 

[janjan1]

Don't know about lambs, but I bucket raised a foal a couple years ago after the mare rejected it. I tried the bottle method, no go, so thankfully I was able to get it to drink from a bucket. BEST THING EVER. It took abit to dunk the nose a few times, but after while it drank from the bucket. After that, I was able to mix the warmed formulia every few hours for the first week. No sleep for me, but the colt did fine. After two weeks I was able to go back to work as the new formulia had a longer "hang time". Good for 6-8 hours after mixing and he drank it cold too. So dispite the fact he liked the milk warm, he would drink it cold too. I got my life back. He is now a healthy 2 year old getting ready to be broke to saddle. Remember that you can do this. It's hard, but it can be done.
Jan

 

[Tuffoldhen]

I've raised acouple orphan lambs...every 4 hours for feeding by bottle...I always had to keep mine in the kitchen in a large box for awhile...putting outside in Jan. or Feb. cold weather they would catch pnuemonia really quick since they were weak...the last time I hand raised one I kept him in diapers in the farmhouse til the weather warmed up!...lol...

 

[bantymum]

Thankyou Jan, Yes I also had a poddy foal given to me to raise along with his mumma.
It turned out that the foal had put his neck out during foaling and couldnt twist his head properly to get milk.
So a chiropractor gave him some gentle treatments and it worked a treat.
I was up every 3 hours for a month helping this little sweety latch on to his mum. I set my alarm through the night and went outside in my pjamas with torch and milk and helped them.
The mum and foal ended up going to a bush vets for a week for more chiro treatments and a stupid brown snake bit the mum and another mum which left the 2 foals as orphans. The foals quickly learned to drink from suspended buckets which made it easier for us.
The foal that i helped ended up going to live with a sweet little handicapped boy and his family on a farm and as he is a shetland he has turned into a lovely pet for him!!!
I guess i was curious as to wether these little lambs are going to wake me up tonite, though its 12.38am now and im ready for bed but i sleep lightly so ill hear them cry.

 

[Ericasl]

Hi, I was in sheep 4-h for many years and bottle fed many triplets, we had a ewe who always had 3 lambs and we always had to help, and one ewe who died after giving birth to twins. Yes we were up every four hours. After about two weeks I would feed late before I went to bed and the about 6 or so. We never had a problem. Gettting up in the middle of the night when it is cold is a big bummer. Good luck!I could never get a lamb to drink milk from a bucket, but I was also a teenager back then and I love to bottle feed any little animal.. Then I had Babies and getting up in the middle of the night had a whole new meaning!!

 

[greyfields]

You don't need to feed them during the night. Every 4 hours during waking hours is a good rule. Make sure they have a heat lamp.

Also, I would only use Land 'O' Lakes lamb milk replacer. Everything else is simply inferior.

 

[bantymum]

Thankyou, it is just starting autumn here now, im in Australia!!
They didnt wake me through the night, they had an appetite this morning, it was cold, dew on the grass so I bought them inside until the sun came out onto the backyard.
Im going to make them little dog coats today so they are waterproof on the outside and fleecy on the inside. Velcro fasteners at front and under tummy i think or wide elastic? So they will be warm through the night, however they do snuggle together.
I have proper sheep milk replacer for newborn lambs. They need lots of nutrition right now to get their strength, They walk just like a newborn foal with long lanky legs!!
Im thinking that the coats during the night and early morning would conserve their body heat so they dont shiver off any condition.
This is fun and very rewarding.
NOTE: the teats seem to get blocked every now and then? so i take them and squeeze to get the milk flowing again, is this normal?

 

[Mary]

I've raised several bottle lambs. Yes, Land O Lakes is the best. It needs to be a milk replacer for lambs, not just a general type. They simply will not thrive on the others. Keep them warm, feed them warm milk every 4 hours, and don't bother using the bucket. They need to be bottle fed. Better for stomach that way. Rub them and stimulate them after a feeding. Have fun. They are fun to raise! You'll have to think about docking tails soon too, once they are over the hump. Plus vaccinations! Good luck!

 

[bantymum]

Hi again, ok. they are thriving!
They will be going to their forever home when they are weaned to a bucket! Im not in a rush to say goodbye just yet.
I found some wonderful lamb feeding bottles which can hang off a fence so they can self feed whenever they like through the day. Its quite hot here now so they enjoy it.
Their new owner will keep them as pets as she has 1 x10 year old poddy sheep which she raised from young.
So im happy that they will have a good life after They leave me.