Got a Lamb today! Advice :-) PIX

[hooligan]

So we got a little girl lamb today, she was born this morning. Very vocal but a bit shakey legged...seems to be drinking okay from a bottle though.

She is a Katahdin/Dorper/St. Croix mix so no shearing for us!

Can anyone give me some advice on lamb rearing, weaning etc? Esp. those that might have these breeds.

 

[Royd Wood]

How come you got her so soon - shame she couldnt have some of mums milk for a few days at least. Was she abandoned or a triplet ?????
Good luck with her hooligan

 

[she-earl]

If the lambs were getting pushed aside, it is better to start bottle feeding sooner rather than later. Someone had two ewe lambs they gave to me. However, he had left them get to weak and I was not able to save either one. I have gotten five bottle lambs over the last six weeks. The two ewe lambs I have are from two different people who each had a ewe have quads. The ram lambs are either twins or triplets from three different places. Most of them were only one or two days old when I got them. I started them out feeding 1/4 every two hours between 4 a.m. and 9 p.m. I gradually bumped them up once they were adjusted to a regular feeding schedule. I would suggest you keep an eye on the manure and make sure they can handle the amount of milk you give them. We live on a dairy farm so I am just using straight cows milk and they are doing well. Two of my lambs don't have the typical "wool look" to them. They are softer and whiter. I don't know if the person I got them from has any hair sheep or not but I didn't see any if he did. However, these lambs are slower at growing. The farmer told me that he had vaccinated them for tetanus and overeating. I wonder if that has had a bearing on their growth rate.
I am attaching pictures of my two ewe lambs. The all white one is Marshmallow and she has "hair" instead of woo. The other one is Oreo with the wool.

My oldest bottle baby is six weeks old. I have been weaning him gradually. He is down to two bottles a day and I am only giving him a half cup each time. He is eating grass, hay, and feed real well and looks like he doesn't need additional milk. It will be noisy when you wean them.
Keep us posted on how she does.

 

[Beekissed]

Those are all very pretty lambs! No advice to offer but just a congrats on your hairy lamb!

I have St. Croix/Katahdin ewes and will soon be breeding them with a Dorper ram, so I will be having little lambs just like yours in the early fall.

I love my hair sheeples!

 

[hooligan]

How come you got her so soon - shame she couldnt have some of mums milk for a few days at least. Was she abandoned or a triplet ?????
Good luck with her hooligan

Her mother wasn't doing well, was older and had mastitis on one side. Her brother stayed with the mom, even though the breeder tried to get me to take him as well. Since we live in town, we figured that one would be enough for us.

She-Earl, Your lambs look adorable! When I went to get her I had no idea there were non wool producing sheep and when I asked about when to shear her the breeder had to explain that not all sheep produce wool. LoL

I am planting a variety for green stuff in the yard for her (and possibly a pig that we might be getting), does all this sound okay:
Hairy Vetch
Cinnamon Clover
Red Clover
Alfalfa
Rape
Rye Grass
Any other suggestions?

We have a small yard so she will be mainly on hay with local produce added in on farmers market days.

Anything I should stay away from? I just read that that Azaleas are poisonous to the and I just planted 3-which I will have to dig up when the snow dries up. :/

 

[aggieterpkatie]

What's your seed ratio? Your mix is full of legumes (high protein), which should be mixed with enough grass that it doesn't cause problems. JMO.

 

[ksalvagno]

I don't know if sheep have the same problem as alpacas but we don't plant rye grass for alpacas because of possible problems with rye grass staggers. Orchard or Timothy grass are good choices. Bermuda grass is a good summer/drought grass but you don't want everything Bermuda.

You do have to be careful about the amount of legumes. Too much isn't good for them and too much clover can give them slobbers.

Also be absolutely sure that your grass seed is for pasture. The regular grass seed for the typical lawn is not good for animals.

 

[aggieterpkatie]

I wouldn't go with timothy because it really can't handle being grazed. It's good for hay, but not pasture.