What to give or do to lamb that didn't get colostrum but am bottle feeding.

[mamasue]

Fond baby lamb outside in the pouring rain after coming home from trip. Mother gave birth early and died along with the other lamb. Took surviving lamb inside and am keeping him warm and bottle feeding. What else can I do. He is very wobbly and shakes a little sometimes after feeding. What else could I do. I am new at this especially at bottle feeding a new lamb.

 

[frustratedearthmother]

Do you know any other sheep breeders who might have some colostrum in the freezer? If not, you can probably find colostrum replacer at your feed store. I'd get some into that baby as soon as you can!

 

[norseofcourse]

Welcome to Backyard Herds - I'm so sorry about the loss of your ewe and the other lamb How old is the lamb? Once they are a day or so old, they can't absorb the antibodies from colostrum anymore, but giving him some won't hurt. I've never bottle raised a lamb, but keeping him warm and fed is good. What are you feeding him? Lamb milk replacer or whole milk? I have read that replacer with soy is not as good.

Good luck and I hope he makes it.

 

[mamasue]

Do you know any other sheep breeders who might have some colostrum in the freezer? If not, you can probably find colostrum replacer at your feed store. I'd get some into that baby as soon as you can!

Oh thank you for your reply. He is already 8 days old. Is it still okay to give him colostrum? Also he is sleeping in the house, in a big box with towels, at first I had hay, but that got really messy. We also have 2 jack russells and they are very inquisitive and know something is up. What should I do about a sleeping buddy?

 

[mamasue]

Welcome to Backyard Herds - I'm so sorry about the loss of your ewe and the other lamb How old is the lamb? Once they are a day or so old, they can't absorb the antibodies from colostrum anymore, but giving him some won't hurt. I've never bottle raised a lamb, but keeping him warm and fed is good. What are you feeding him? Lamb milk replacer or whole milk? I have read that replacer with soy is not as good.

Good luck and I hope he makes it.

Thank you. This is all so new to us. He (Angel) is 8 days old. I am feeding him LOL Ultra Fresh Optimum lamb milk replacer. I took him outside today and let him lay in the sun for awhile. He barely stands up for maybe a minute then plops done and lays there. When he stands, he sometimes sways and shakes a little. I am so scared he won't make it. Although today he seemed like he was nibbling at the grass for awhile.

 

[Latestarter]

Greetings @mamasue from the front range in Colorado So sorry to hear about the loss of your ewe and her 2nd lamb. That's such a shame I agree with what's already been shared... If you have another ewe who has just lambed, you could get some colostrum from her to share with the bottle lamb. My understanding is the colostrum is best the first 24 hours, but doesn't change over to all milk for 1 to several weeks. Any is better than none at all. As FEM said, maybe a neighbor has some frozen? or get some colostrum replacer at the local feed store/TSC/etc.

let us know how it goes pls, and good luck.

 

[Southern by choice]

How many bottles a day are you giving and how much is he getting per bottle?
They don't absorb the colostrum after 24 hours even though the dam may have some. A lamb/kid must get 10% of their body wieght of colostrum in the first 12 hours... from 12-24 hrs they can still absorb but not much. At this point I wouldn't bother.
The lamb if not able to stay on his feet may need a selenium injection- a vet trip is in order.
Keeping him warm and fed at regular intervals is the best thing for him.
He may nibble at hay but is not old enough and his rumen is not developed enough to utilize hay or sustain him.
How much does he weigh?

 

[maritown]

I'm sorry to hear about your ewe and lost lamb.
How much milk replacement is he getting and how often? It's very easy and dangerous to overfeed a bottle baby. How much does he weigh, how is his body condition etc?
I agree with Southern, if he is not walking or standing often I would rec a shot of BOSE. For kids we also get gel capsules of Vit E, poke a hole in them, and empty contents into kids mouths ~2x a day.

 

[mamasue]

Thank you all so very very much. Angel is doing quite well, in the house with diapers and all the TLC one can give. I took your advice and went to the Feed Store the next day and got the colostrum along with a electrolyte supplement. Two weeks into this I went back to our Feed Store (which by the way--they are so terrific and caring and know their stuff) and am now giving Angel a daily dose of Probios. He is up and about and thinks he is a Jack Russell. Those are the two dogs that I have and he thinks he is one of them. Again, thank you all so very much and with your help Angel is doing great. (PS I have never cried so much in a weeks time as I have with the little baby lamb,) Can't wait till next year. lol Oops for to mention that he is on Lamb Milk replacer and i am bringing in dry hay from outside to let him eat. Thanks again.