Sick Lamb?

[nifarming]

In the past few days we’ve noticed a lamb that isn’t very healthy looking.

It was out in a field with its mother and brother; but whilst the brother is thriving well, it isn’t doing as well.

We think it wasn’t getting enough milk as it is very skinny looking.

We brought it inside to see if it would help, maybe this was a mistake? When we put meal in it’s mouth it will chew and swallow it, but it won’t go to the meal and eat itself, it also won’t drink water from a bucket or drink from a bottle.

If anyone knows what we could try to give it to help it please let us know.
Thanks!

 

[primmiemoo]

How old is the lamb, please? If he's starving, he'll need enough milk, little and often, until he regains appetite in any case.

If he isn't suckling from bottle, have you stomach tubed him at all?

Has he got navel ill (swelling/hardness of the navel), or maybe joint ill (bacterial arthritis)? Once he's rehydrated, he will need treatment for that, so best bet would be to take him to your vet.

Hope he does respond for you.

 

[Norfolk Hill Farmer]

Have you looked at his mothers bag , suspect she's become one sided and that lamb is starving. If this is the case, take him off and try to get some artificial milk into him , tube if necessary.

 

[nifarming]

How old is the lamb, please? If he's starving, he'll need enough milk, little and often, until he regains appetite in any case.

If he isn't suckling from bottle, have you stomach tubed him at all?

Has he got navel ill (swelling/hardness of the navel), or maybe joint ill (bacterial arthritis)? Once he's rehydrated, he will need treatment for that, so best bet would be to take him to your vet.

Hope he does respond for you.

Its about a month - a month and 1/2 old. We’ve checked him for joint ill but he doesn’t seem to have it. Haven’t properly looked at the navel yet but will do.

 

[nifarming]

Have you looked at his mothers bag , suspect she's become one sided and that lamb is starving. If this is the case, take him off and try to get some artificial milk into him , tube if necessary.

Unfortunately she has became one sided. He’s around 1 - 1 1/2 months old and won’t drink from the bottle, we would like to try and get him to eat independently as we can’t keep tubing him constantly. We night have to end up tubing him though as it really needs to eat.

 

[primmiemoo]

Sometimes gentle persistence pays with feeding from the bottle, so he's unlikely to continue to need tubing more than once, if it's just hunger that's troubling him and nothing else. At 4 - 6 weeks, he could, ju-uu-u-st, be weaned - but as you say, he isn't eating meal.

 

[cheviot53]

Time & patience , you try the bottle first squeezing the teat to get milk down its throat or a plastic bottle you can squeeze while massaging its throat to swallow , then move on to tube to fill it up , milk in a bucket or pan left in pen same for creep . some come to the bottle, some at that age won't have it , putting in with other pet lambs may encourage it . Good luck we've all been there