Lambs born in harsh temps

KatahdinMomma

Chillin' with the herd
Joined
Jun 28, 2015
Messages
30
Reaction score
21
Points
41
Hey all!
Our worst fear confirmed today when our mama lamb birthed about 20 min ago. It's 0°f and the lamb is shivering under a heat lamp inside the barn. We are concerned for hypothermia. Any suggestions? We are about to bring her in and bottle feed.

Also, has anybody heard of adding a organic free ranged egg to goat milk to sub for colostrum? I have a friend suggesting, but had never heard of this before. Thanks so much! I love having this community to reach out to!
 

Hens and Roos

Herd Master
Joined
Apr 19, 2012
Messages
5,487
Reaction score
5,208
Points
483
Location
South Central WI
can you make a warming barrel- we used a plastic food grade barrel- cut a hole out of the side big enough for our kids to get in and out of and then a hole in the top to secure a heat lamp with a 75 watt red bulb in. The barrel gave our kids a warm place to get into and yet stay with the doe. I don't have any good pictures of the barrel but you can do an online search and hopefully get some more information on it.

Congrats on the new lamb!
 

babsbag

Herd Master
Joined
May 10, 2010
Messages
7,886
Reaction score
9,317
Points
593
Location
Anderson, CA
How to build a barrel.
http://onpasture.com/2014/03/03/dont-burn-down-your-barn/

I have never heard of the eggs as a substitute for colostrum. The colostrum has antibodies in it that eggs won't have. If you can't get colostrum from mom I would get the colostrum replacement from a feed store.

You can also put a dog coat on the baby, or an old sweatshirt, put the head through the neck and front legs in the sleeves.
 

mysunwolf

Herd Master
Joined
Nov 23, 2012
Messages
1,237
Reaction score
1,655
Points
343
Location
Southwest Virginia
I agree with all of the above. As long as the lamb stays dry, the sweater is an awesome idea! I hate heat lamps, but this is definitely the time to use one. Don't bottle feed her--if you can, just make a pen for mom in the barn and bring the lamb out to nurse multiple times a day. Once she has a few feedings of colostrum in her she should be better adapted to the elements. Please let us know how she does!
 

Sheepshape

Herd Master
Joined
Oct 19, 2012
Messages
1,706
Reaction score
3,095
Points
373
Agree with what's already said. Keep her and mom in as draught-free an environment as possible. See my avatar as to ideas for keeping warm.(this was a chihuahua coat on a tiny scrap of a lamb). Here's another .
example with a small dog coat. A baby sweater is also fine, but the dog coats cover more of the body. Sweaters are better with ewe lambs than ram lambs as the ram lambs tend to soak the sweater if it is too long.

Lam in dog coat.jpg


Mum's colostrum is the right food for her.

If she has become hypothermic, warm her up before trying to feed anything to her.

If the lamb isn't walking around, then place her in a cardboard box under the heat lamp. If she's walking around, generally she will be fine. Don't worry too much about the shivering....it;s pretty normal after birth and stops once they are dry.

Please keep us informed as to how she is doing(and post pics......everyone loves lamb pics.)
 

purplequeenvt

Herd Master
Joined
Aug 1, 2011
Messages
2,498
Reaction score
4,640
Points
373
Location
Rineyville, KY
Lambs shiver and shake after they are born. Completely normal! If you are ever concerned about hypothermia, start by taking a temperature. NEVER feed a chilled lamb!

Chances are good that if the lamb had only been born 20 minutes before, that it is perfectly fine. We routinely have lambs in that temperature or lower that do just fine. The main thing is to make sure that they get up and get a good nurse.
 

Sheepshape

Herd Master
Joined
Oct 19, 2012
Messages
1,706
Reaction score
3,095
Points
373
Looking good....well done. Oh, but that blanket will never be the same again, meconium seems to be able to withstand pretty much any attempt to was it out! (Not that THAT is going to trouble you right now).
 
Top