Do you keep livestock? Having any problems? Want to talk about it, whether it be sheep, goats, chickens, pigs, bees or llamas, here is your place to discuss.
I was just about to say - INA!! You're needed urgently!!
Anyway, seriously I applaud you Red for doing some homework, and courses, on the subject first. I fear too many people just jump straight in the deep end (espcially here in France when people move suddenly to large plots of land and then decide to get horses, sheep, goats, you name it, without knowing a lot on the subject). Oh and not to mention all the rescue dogs and cats they pick up. And then they 'go home' to England and all these poor animals need rehousing. But that's another subject, sorry!
Yes, it's about to start here, too... Lambs are coming thick and fast. The most important thing is to keep the lamb straight (hanging down) when you are tubing it - and not to force it in. It should just glide down; once you've done it a couple of times on a live lamb, it's not so bad any more. But you should be past the stage where that might be necessary. I often keep a weak lamb on a hot water bottle -wrapped up in an old towel. That's easier than having a lamp or a heat box, and you can keep it in with mum.
Ergh - what breed is your ewe?
Devon closewool crossed with poll dorset
the tube feed worked well, and he turned around pretty fast after that. we tucked him up with a hot water bottle.. not too hot, under a blanket of old towels.
he even got the hang of drinking from the bottle.. latching on himself. and things looked good for a while - yesterday evening he leapt frm the box when he saw me.. headbutted me for milk! and drank plenty. drank in the night. but this morning he is dopey .. wont seem to wake, and certainly wont feed. I think he is on his way out.
the other two out in the field with their mum look good, although one is very small.
Red
I like like minded people... a bit like minded anyway.. well people with bits of their minds that are like the bits of my mind that I like...
red wrote:
Devon closewool crossed with poll dorset
the tube feed worked well, and he turned around pretty fast after that. we tucked him up with a hot water bottle.. not too hot, under a blanket of old towels.
he even got the hang of drinking from the bottle.. latching on himself. and things looked good for a while - yesterday evening he leapt frm the box when he saw me.. headbutted me for milk! and drank plenty. drank in the night. but this morning he is dopey .. wont seem to wake, and certainly wont feed. I think he is on his way out.
Don't be too cut up if he is - lambs are born determined to die... You've done everything right, so it's up to him to do his best now! They can easily catch something or other at that age, and before you know what it is, they've kicked the bucket. If you have one of those antibiotics that are given at lambing as a prevention, you could give him an extra dose - but that doesn't guarantee survival, either. This kind of medication is useful when you have a lot of lambs in one place; usually you get away without it if you only have a small number.
No wonder I didn't recognise the breed! Neither is exactly common around here.
Ina
I'm a size 10, really; I wear a 20 for comfort. (Gina Yashere)
yeh we are ok with it - its part of lambing. we wont try anything else now.. see how he goes.
he did seem fairly intent on kicking the bucket.. so perhaps there is something wrong we dont know about anyway.
the ewes are Devon Closewools, but the father was pol dorset.. if that makes any sense...
Red
I like like minded people... a bit like minded anyway.. well people with bits of their minds that are like the bits of my mind that I like...
well, predictably he did die.. and now the other smaller triplet looks like he is on his way out too.
vet says (we got antibiotics ) as the other two were born so much later than Rogan (the first big one) that chances are they did not get enough colostrum, and picked something up.
Just hopig the remaining one does ok
Red
I like like minded people... a bit like minded anyway.. well people with bits of their minds that are like the bits of my mind that I like...
Red - good news and bad huh. I always have in my mind what a local farmer told me -if you have livestock you will get deadstock. It must have been a roller coaster ride - triplets, one day, two the next....
