Stomach Tubing a Lamb

Al R

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
West Wales
14 days is the longest I’ve tubed a lamb for before it would take a bottle, tubed a month old that’s mum died while it waited for another but they tend to chew through the pipe if your not quick
 
I tubed one for three weeks a couple of years ago. It became a a point of principle that he would leave the farm and I would receive money in return. I got a warm glow the day he went up the ramp. Not something that I would like to repeat but after you get it so far...

Some that get badly hypothermic/hypoglycaemic seem to take ages to warm up/revive properly. However, I would agree with comments above that you're best at times to cut your losses.
 
I only milk stomach tube for 1.5 days max. After that I use the rehydration salts for 2 days max. Usually if it doesnt improve after that there is either bacteria problem in gut. I find 1ml pen and strep oral. I would of thought stomach tubing milk is bad for the guts. If a lamb isnt sucking on 3rd day there is an issue. My routine is jab with vit E and B complex, couple of squirts of the lamb life saver. oral pen & strep. Jab of ABs, followed by yogurt in mouth. No improvement on day 3 no chance. Ive done well on this system saved most of them only 1 was too poorly.
 
I had a vet told me anything longer than a day or 2 will kill the lamb, in practice I’ve gone much longer also

Yeah surely its the same as doing a calf you only tube feed colostrum followed by salts. Putting milk direct into a calf causes bacteria growth and bad guts. Ive done this good job the vet put me right. Ive taken this principal in lambs and saved more this year.
 

Agrivator

Member
What various techniques do folk use to activate the sucking action in a lamb (or calf).

It's an involuntary action, and for some lambs or calves, only the presence of their dams or a very experienced human who can mimic their dams will activate it.

So how do you mimic their dams? It's not easy, for eg, how do you manage to hold a bottle, create a cradle to resemble the mother's groin, and lick their arses, all at the same time?
 

Kiwi Pete

Member
Livestock Farmer
What various techniques do folk use to activate the sucking action in a lamb (or calf).

It's an involuntary action, and for some lambs or calves, only the presence of their dams or a very experienced human who can mimic their dams will activate it.

So how do you mimic their dams? It's not easy, for eg, how do you manage to hold a bottle, create a cradle to resemble the mother's groin, and lick their arses, all at the same time?
Was having an interesting chat with a guy about this in cattle ^^^ he keeps horned cattle (biodynamic: the best cows have horns) and said the first thing a cow does is jab the calf in about the second-last rib, with the tip of her horn, and then calf gulps and this begins the suck reflex.

I guess 'we' bred away their ability to do this?

Short of kicking it in the scone, maybe a wee poke in the ribs with your thumb - I will hopefully get to try it out before I'm done.

I made up a little rack to hold the bottles, back in the day we reared a heap of giveaway lambs, it hangs it a few inches off the floor on a good angle to crook their neck
 

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