3 week old abandoned lamb

[angy4000]

Hi all,I have voluntered to keep an orphaned lamb for awhile. I have never done this before and am learning a lot. While its been fun, its also a lot of work.When I got her at 2 weeks old the owners were only feeding her 2 a day and feeding about 12 ounces each time so when I got her she was pretty sick so I reduced amounts and increased how often and that cured the issue. So now I am not sure how much to feed her and how often. The milk replacer says one thing and websites say another. I have been feeding her 5x a day every 4 hrs about 180 ml each time. I feel at times that is even too much as she may have a runny poop.So is this the correct amount to feed? I have also started introducing alfalfa hay. She is also now starting to graze on the grass in my yard.



Also she has been staying a lot in the house with us in a diaper and loves it. She does sleep outside and while she cries at first usually settles in quickly. Once in a while I may hear a cry in the night. I am worried I am doing her a disservice allowing her inside so much as she will eventually go back to the farm and become part of the flock.I am making her stay outside alone a few hours a day now and all she does is cry. Is happy as can be when I and the dogs go out to hang with her. When I open the door she is now the first one barging through it to come in.



So am I doing the wrong thing with her? At the farm all she did was walk around alone and cried. I just want the best for her and want her transition back to the farm to go well. I even thought maybe taking her back and leaving her for a couple hrs once in awhile.



Thanks for any advice you can give me,



Angela

 

[alsea1]

I'm thinking that as far as she is concerned you are her mom.
Naturally she wants to be with you. She gets comfort from you.
She will adjust fine when you wean her.
As for how much to feed her I have no clue. I have never had to bottle feed yet.

 

[Latestarter]

Greetings and welcome to BYH. Very nice of you to take in the abandoned lamb. From what I understand: First thing that comes to mind is that sheep are herd animals and really do best when they have sheep companions. What breed of sheep is she? That will determine how much you need to be feeding her. You said you got her at 2 weeks, but when was that? How old is she now? I would think if she's over 3-4 weeks old, she doesn't need to be fed 6 times a day... I mean really... morning, noon and evening ought to be plenty, maybe 16-20oz each time. Not sure on the amount as it's size/age dependent. At 6-8 weeks you should be able to back off to twice a day. Many wean their lambs at 8 weeks. Others for larger breeds keep feeding them milk till as much as 12-16 weeks. Much depends on if the lamb starts eating vegetation and grain/feed. Once the rumen has developed and started being used, the milk can end. I'll throw out a shout to some Sheeple and see what they have to say. They'll need the same answers I was seeking...

@purplequeenvt @secuono, @norseofcourse @Sheepshape @mysunwolf and there are many more that I just can't think of at the moment.

Glad you joined up. please share some pics of your lamb! Browse around the threads and make yourself at home!

 

[angy4000]

Thanks Latestarter and Alsea
I have no idea what kind of sheep she is...she is all white and is the common lamb one sees in childrens books. I have had her a week so she is now 3 weeks old. I cant get her a friend as I live in the city and am not zoned to have farm animals...trying hard to keep this little one hidden. I did clear getting her with neighbor next door. The plan is to just keep her temporarily to help out a friend who owns her. She is friends with my dogs though..one being an aussie puppy lol..no herding going on yet!
I have started her on alfalfa but not sure just how much I should let her eat as I was told its "heavy" and can upset her tummy. I let her graze on it more yesterday and today she has an upset tummy. today she has started to really graze in my grass and eat weeds. She is fun and sweet! I just want to make sure I am doing right by her and not "ruining" her for when she heads back out to pasture.

 

[Sheepshape]

Hi, angy4000.

At about 3 weeks, and provided she is 'well padded' (bones not sticking out), she can be on 3 feeds a day. I let mine take what they want. They are medium-sized (adult ewe weight about 55kg) and currently take between 1.2 and 2.2 litres a day (400-700mls per feed), being about 4 weeks old. They vary in the amount they take per feed, with the larger ones taking bigger quantities with each feed than the smaller. The early morning feed is the biggest feed. If I have a Blue Faced Leicester ram lamb on the bottle (adult weight around 100kg), he may take as much as 3-4 litres of milk at 4 weeks of age.

Sheep are flock animals and really don't like to be by themselves, so will naturally adopt you as mum and any other animal as their siblings and playmates. Be sure that your dogs are 'lamb safe' and that predators cannot get to your lamb either by day or by night.

With regards to eating solids, I let them eat what they want as long as they aren't exposed to any poisonous plants. Offering grain and lamb pellets is also a good idea.

If the farm has lambs, then take her back for a few hours and leave her out with them, lambs love the company of other lambs.

Good luck with your little one.

Can you post pics. of her?

 

[angy4000]

Hi, angy4000.

At about 3 weeks, and provided she is 'well padded' (bones not sticking out), she can be on 3 feeds a day. I let mine take what they want. They are medium-sized (adult ewe weight about 55kg) and currently take between 1.2 and 2.2 litres a day (400-700mls per feed), being about 4 weeks old. They vary in the amount they take per feed, with the larger ones taking bigger quantities with each feed than the smaller. The early morning feed is the biggest feed. If I have a Blue Faced Leicester ram lamb on the bottle (adult weight around 100kg), he may take as much as 3-4 litres of milk at 4 weeks of age.

Sheep are flock animals and really don't like to be by themselves, so will naturally adopt you as mum and any other animal as their siblings and playmates. Be sure that your dogs are 'lamb safe' and that predators cannot get to your lamb either by day or by night.

With regards to eating solids, I let them eat what they want as long as they aren't exposed to any poisonous plants. Offering grain and lamb pellets is also a good idea.

If the farm has lambs, then take her back for a few hours and leave her out with them, lambs love the company of other lambs.

Good luck with your little one.

Can you post pics. of her?

Here is my little baby..and thanks for the advice..going to try feeding 3x a day..wish me luck!

 

[secuono]

Mine are a tiny breed and they eat a tiny amount for a couple weeks. I fed 3-4oz or so whenever they call for the first few days. Slowly up the amount and lower frequency, watching the poops. 3wks they eat 10-12oz 4x a day. Already nibbling up grasses.

My first bottle baby was Lolla and she was alone in the house, I had no issues with her being lonely. But I don't work outside the farm and so I took her with me and she would eventually graze and soon start making other lamb friends. But lambs are picky as to who they make friends with, lol. She had to learn to just shove herself among them and what they were doing and eventually, they started inviting her to play.

I left her out during the day at about 2wks and would go to her to feed her. Back in the house at night. I don't remember at all when I weaned her. But I do remember at some point, she just stopped wanting the bottle almost completely, she would run to me to say hello, but then go graze.

So try to have her among the other sheep as much as possible and hopefully, you have some lambs out there as well so she will learn how to sheep.

 

[norseofcourse]

I think you've been doing really well with her! I haven't had a bottle lamb yet, but l'd go by how she's doing, using the bag and websites as general guides. If she gets runny poop, back off on the amount a bit. Will she take plain water?

And she cries because she is lonely and getting bonded to you, sheep are flock animals and don't like to be alone. Since you can't get a friend for her, taking her back to the farm for visits is a good idea, she needs to learn how to relate to other lambs, they play differently than dogs and people do. Good luck!