Weaning Orphan Lambs Lambs are born with an immature digestive system. They are unable to digest anything but milk in the first stage of their life. The lambs digestive system must be fully developed before they can be moved from a milk based diet to a grass based diet. The weight of the lambs when weaning is a more important consideration than the age. Orphan lambs can be weaned from the milk bottle at around 25 to 30 pounds.  They usually reach this weight when they are 30 to 45 days old. Orphan lambs should not be weaned unless the are drinking water and eating solids. Its best to wean abruptly never dilute the milk replacer. Offer the lamb good quality hay and access to grass at 2 to 3 weeks of age so that their digestive system develops properly. The lambs may be introduced to lamb creep feed at a week old.  They will properly not eat it but the will lick it and become familiar with it.  Change the creep feed everyday as it can be a breading groun...

E.coli enterotocamenia is a contagious disease which is also known as watery mouth or rattle belly. Lambs usually become victim to this disease when sucking on a dirty teat. It is often found in young lambs and can lead to death if not treated on time. The lamb can die within hours of infection. Young lambs do not have the same defences to protect them form the e.coli bacteria, therefore lambs between one  and three days old are more susceptible to an infection of e coli. If there is an outbreak on a farm up to a quarter of the lambs may be infected, with  two thirds of those infected not surviving. The lambs contract the e coli through the ingestion of the e coli bacteria.  A lack of adequate quality colostrum ingestion and absorption increases the risk of infection of watery mouth. There are more cases in lambs who are housed  in sheds than the lambs that are  outdoors. There are vaccinations available for e coli (watery mouth). Caus...

Pinkeye Pinkeye in lambs is caused by chlamydia and mycoplasma bacteria. Pinkeye is contagious and infected lambs should be removed from the flock until they have recovered. The infection may last a few days to several weeks. Moderate to severe infections require antibiotics. Mild infections may clear up by themselves. The first sign of pinkeye infection is the reddening and swelling of the lining of the eye. There will be a discharge with tearing and matted eyes.The eyes will be sensitive to light and will tear up. The lamb may close its eyes when exposed to sunlight.The lamb suffers pain when infected with pinkeye. The eye may cloud over and develop a painful ulcer. The severe infections will cause the eyes to rupture and lead to blindness. It cannot be transferred from lambs to humans. It is transmitted by flies, dust and other nasty things that are living in your lambing shed. The best prevention of pinkeye is good clean husbandry of your stock. G eneral Eye Inf...

Arthritis This is caused due to a bacterial infection. It may be treated with antibiotic's. Bacterial Meningitis Lambs may get this at 2 to 4 weeks of age. Inadequate intake of colostrum makes the lamb more susceptible to this infection. The lamb will hold his head rigidly downward when infected. Hypothermia Common cause of death in young lambs. Lambs cannot regulate their temperature during the first day and a half of life. Lambs need to be in a clean draft free environment protected by their mother. Copper Deficiency  The lamb will have difficulty walking and standing. Enterotoxemia Type C It is a bacteria found in the soil. You need to vaccinate the ewe against this before lambing. Infection arrives when there is  a change in feeding. It causes bleeding in the small intestine of young lambs. Enterotoxemia Type D The ewe needs to be vaccinated against this before lambing. Overfeeding of the lamb causes the bacteria that are already prese...

The shepherd always tries to persuade the sheep that their interests and his own are the same {Stendhal}

Milk production in ewes usually lasts between 60 to 120 days. The milk production increases from the birth of the lamb and it reaches its peak at 4 to 6 weeks. It starts to decline after it reaches its peak. Milk production is very important during the first 3 weeks as it is the lambs only source of nutrition. Older ewe's tend to produce more milk. The ewes nutrition during gestation and while lactating has a huge effect on the quantity and quality of the ewes milk. Ewes underfed during this time will have a rapid decline in milk production. Ewes with poor body condition will have poor milk production. In order for the ewe to have high quality milk she must have a high quality diet. If a ewe has a parasite problem this will effect her condition and thereon the lactation. Ewes milk is 85%water so the sheep should always have access to clean fresh water. The fat content in a ewes milk mostly comes from roughage. If you want to increase the quality of the ewes...