# Lamb doesn't eat...



## Arpyhh (Jul 13, 2014)

My little lamb is 4 1/2 months old. She was a quad and very small when I got her at 6 weeks. I bottle fed her milk replacer lamb gro.
She took a long time to start on hay and grasses, but I cannot get her to eat her ewe ration or drink water at all. 
I still give her half a bottle (250 ml) of milk replacer with half a bottle of water three times a day, because she cries constantly if I don't. She is eating plenty of hay now, but refuses the grain. I've never seen her drink water from the pail like the others. 
I've read to take her bottle away totally, but that's so very hard for me to do, she cries and cries. She seems very thin and her skin is too loose I think.
I added extra molasses to the grain and stuck some in her mouth, which she didn't like.
Other than total deprivation of her bottles can anyone advise??


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## mysunwolf (Jul 13, 2014)

Try just feeding her once a day instead, in the morning so the crying is not so bad for the first part of the day. Do you have any other sheep? My bottle babies wouldn't eat grain until they watched their older flock mates doing it. They were weaned at 8 weeks. Ours took to a bowl of water the same way, when they watched other sheep drinking from it. If you have her eating a high-quality hay, she may not even need grain. Fresh pasture might be more inviting, but I don't know what your setup is like. But I do know that you have to wean her 100% ASAP because it sounds like she still wants to get most of her nutrients from replacer, which is just not going to happen at her age.


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## Arpyhh (Jul 13, 2014)

Her herd mates (another lamb and goats) are all the same age, they all eat hay/grass and drink water normally and weaned fine off the bottle. There are no adults in our herd. 
She is eating from the pasture and the hay quite enthusiastically, it's just the grain and water I can't get her to cooperate.
I did try the am only bottle, she screamed all day until I gave in... I'm a terrible farmer :-/


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## bonbean01 (Jul 13, 2014)

Just a thought...what if you put only water in her bottle?


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## Arpyhh (Jul 13, 2014)

bonbean01 said:


> Just a thought...what if you put only water in her bottle?


I did give her water only because I was worried she would get dehydrated, but I was advised not to because then she wouldn't look for water, but I don't think she is... I need a surveillance camera out in the pen with her!


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## SheepGirl (Jul 15, 2014)

Just stop giving her the bottle completely. I would've weaned her by 1-2 months of age. Not having milk won't kill her. She'll be okay.

As far as being skinny, it's hard to tell from the photo you posted.


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