3 week old orphans... What to do?

[Gulli]

Just picked up a dead ewe and not sure what to do with her lambs!
3 weeks old would you let them fend for themselves, bring them in and try and persuade them that milk from a bottle is a good idea, sell them?

 

[shumungus]

Just picked up a dead ewe and not sure what to do with her lambs!
3 weeks old would you let them fend for themselves, bring them in and try and persuade them that milk from a bottle is a good idea, sell them?

Sell / give away if you don't have a ewe.

 

[andybk]

bring them in , try a bottle (wait till really hungry) , but keep some very good creep under their noses (tasty coarse mix will help to start) , they will prob melt to nothing left alone , i had one the same at about 4 weeks old , and has done well .

 

[jendan]

Just picked up a dead ewe and not sure what to do with her lambs!
3 weeks old would you let them fend for themselves, bring them in and try and persuade them that milk from a bottle is a good idea, sell them?

They will just waste away to nothing and die if you leave them.Probably last only 3-4 days if only 3 weeks old.Only option is to catch them and bring them inside.Some breeds are really difficult to learn to bottle feed aswell if they have just been used to their mothers teat.As said,some appetising hard feed and water might help save them.

 

[Gator]

Had a ewe today that desided to live it's life's ambition and snuff it, had a three week old lamb on her which took some bloody catching on the moor the little . Anyway stuck it in the foster pen and it went stright to the creep so there's a Chance and the others will show her where the milk bar is

 

[Collie lovers 2]

Had a month old one. Put in per lamb pen and drinking milk and taking cake. Def learned milk process from others.

 

[rancher]

Had a ewe today that desided to live it's life's ambition and snuff it, had a three week old lamb on her which took some bloody catching on the moor the little . Anyway stuck it in the foster pen and it went stright to the creep so there's a Chance and the others will show her where the milk bar is

When a ewe dies here we build a pen round her with five or six sheep hurdles leaving a twelve inch gap in it, If you come back in a half hour the lambs are usually lying with her. Drive up fast (works best with a jeep/quad) to the gap and you have the lambs

 

[abitdaft]

I have had two similar cases so far this lambing. 1st was about a month old, ewe dead in the field and lamb ( Blackie ) a pig to catch. The first thing I did was to shove a bottle into it's mouth and within seconds it sucked, then I shut it up in a small area that it couldn't escape from ( it was doing the wall of death!). Gave it a second feed some hours later ( forced ) then let it in with the other pets, you can see them watching and learning from the other more petted pets. It is still flighty, but will come to the bottle now, also has free access to creep which it is eating. Doubt it would survive and certainly wont thrive without help at that age. 2nd was like a duck to water with the bottle, it's a Texel x though.

 

[abitdaft]

When a ewe dies here we build a pen round her with five or six sheep hurdles leaving a twelve inch gap in it, If you come back in a half hour the lambs are usually lying with her. Drive up fast (works best with a jeep/quad) to the gap and you have the lambs

I am going to use that from now on! Thanks

 

[Gulli]

I have no orphans. Sell them all as soon as their navels are dry... my buyer has enough now though so looks like I'm off lamb catching in the morning!

 

[Jonny_2]

We've never had much luck with older orphans, won't take milk from a bottle just nibbled a bit of creep and did badly. Now we've got a shepherds bucket they do great, chuck them in and let them learn off others