# Newborn lamb, no mother.  Need advice.



## honey_silvas (Jan 17, 2012)

I just got a newborn lamb.  He was born Sunday.  His mother had someting wrong with her udders and couldn't nurse him.  They put him in my arms and said if somebody doesn't feed him, he will die.  What else could I do but take him home.  I gave him goats milk the first night while I tried reading up on how to care for him.  Monday I went to the TSC and got colostrum and sheep milk replacement for him.  He seems to be doing fine.  He is sleeping better with the colostrum.  Right now he is living in the house and wearing a pamper.  He follows us everywhere we go.

I am trying to read up on his care as fast as I can, but I am afraid I will miss something important before I find that information.  If anyone has information to give me about caring for a newborn lamb, I would really appreciate it.  I do want to castrate him as we plan to keep him.  I think he might be a Katahdin or something like that.  I know where I got him from they raise the sheep for meat, and that is the closest picture I found.

I don't have herd animals.  I have chickens, dogs and cats.  This is very new.


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## SheepGirl (Jan 17, 2012)

Just feed him as per the directions on the milk replacer bag/container. That will provide him with a well balanced diet. When he's one to two weeks old, you can start offering him lamb starter/creep feed.  Since you've already mentioned TSC, I would recommend getting the DuMOR sheep feed or ideally the Producer's Pride medicated sheep and goat feed. Provide the creep feed free choice along with fresh alfalfa hay (or another high quality hay available).

If you want him castrated, you can buy a plastic elastrator from TSC for about $10 plus a 100-pack of bands for about $2.50. If you don't want to spend almost $13 to castrate him yourself, take him back to the farmer you got him from and see if they will castrate him for free or for less than what it would cost to do it yourself. Also if you are POSITIVE he is a hair breed, don't worry about docking his tail. If you aren't so positive and you think he's a wool breed, then go ahead and dock him to be on the safe side.

I would also get him a buddy because one day he will have to move outside and a lonely sheep is a VERY unhappy sheep. Also when he's weaned and eating solid food, get him started on a free choice loose mineral. Since I assume you want to keep him as a pet, offer him free choice hay (or quality pasture) and that should be okay. Since you are not pushing for growth, grain feeding is not necessary. (In the case of creep feeding, it helps their rumen adapt quicker to solid foods allowing you to get him off the expensive milk replacer faster.) But it doesn't hurt to feed him grain! Probably 1/4 to 1/2 lb per day split into two feedings would be adequate.

Pictures would be nice to help verify breed  (And because I like to look at adorable lambs )


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## honey_silvas (Jan 18, 2012)

Thank you SheepGirl,  we are feeding him the replacer.  He doesn't seem to want as much of it as it recommends.  I am not sure if we should push him to eat more than he wants.  He seems really thin to me, but I don't know how he should be.  The guy we got him from isn't really a farmer and I took the little guy 'cause I didn't think he would be very well cared for if I left him.  I don't believe I would want him to do the castration.  At what age is the castration done?











In the pictures I have now he is wearing a shirt because it was a little cool outside and he had been in the house.  I can get some pictures without clothes after work.  I should be able to get a picture of the mother this weekend.  I did see her and she doesn't look like a wool sheep, it's winter and she just has hair.  

Thank you again for your help.


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## jodief100 (Jan 18, 2012)

Sounds like he is in good hands.  I don't know much about sheep, I have goats but I think sheepgirl has given you some good advice.


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## Hillsvale (Jan 18, 2012)

honey_silvas said:
			
		

> Thank you SheepGirl,  we are feeding him the replacer.  He doesn't seem to want as much of it as it recommends.  I am not sure if we should push him to eat more than he wants.  He seems really thin to me, but I don't know how he should be.  The guy we got him from isn't really a farmer and I took the little guy 'cause I didn't think he would be very well cared for if I left him.  I don't believe I would want him to do the castration.  At what age is the castration done?
> 
> http://www.backyardherds.com/forum/uploads/5868_sspx0073.jpg
> http://www.backyardherds.com/forum/uploads/5868_ben2.jpg
> ...


Awwww. Too cute, the baby definately appears to be a hair breed and katahdin is definately a good contender... maybe you should send him here so I can get a closer look... one of my katadhins could adopt him.....


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## SuburbanFarmChic (Jan 18, 2012)

We had a bummer lamb last March and she did just fine on goats milk. Her mom abandoned twins at 12hrs old and wouldn't touch them. The other died and ended up with this girl. She did not tolerate cows milk ever. I fed her goats milk for the whole time she was "nursing". 


Now's she's fat and happy and will be having her first boyfriend this year


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## honey_silvas (Jan 18, 2012)

> Awwww. Too cute, the baby definately appears to be a hair breed and katahdin is definately a good contender... maybe you should send him here so I can get a closer look... one of my katadhins could adopt him.....


I think it might be a long trip for him, I am in Texas.


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## Hillsvale (Jan 18, 2012)

honey_silvas said:
			
		

> > Awwww. Too cute, the baby definately appears to be a hair breed and katahdin is definately a good contender... maybe you should send him here so I can get a closer look... one of my katadhins could adopt him.....
> 
> 
> I think it might be a long trip for him, I am in Texas.


Im sure some attendant could tuck him into a first class seat.... just put a hat on him, probably better behaved than most! lol


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## bonbean01 (Jan 18, 2012)

Darling little lamb...awwww!  Sheepgirl gave great advice and if you keep him, yes...you need to get him a sheep friend.  Good luck, and the shirt looks cute on him


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## SheepGirl (Jan 18, 2012)

Dawwww, he's adorable! <3

But I think with the elastrator, you can castrate them anytime up to three months old. But of course the sooner the better. I castrated my wether when he was exactly three weeks old because that's when his testicles dropped and so I didn't have to go fishing around for them trying to get them both under the band.


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## honey_silvas (Jan 25, 2012)

My little lamb(Ben) is doing good now.  We were given another little lamb (Chase) that is about 4 days younger than the first one.  It took a couple of days, but they are buds now and both are doing well.  They are half brothers.  Same father.


Ben and Chase





Chase




Ben


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## neener92 (Jan 25, 2012)

Those are going to come up missing if I keep looking at their cuteness! AWW!


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## aggieterpkatie (Jan 25, 2012)

Chase is such a cool looking lamb!


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## jodief100 (Jan 25, 2012)




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## SheepGirl (Jan 25, 2012)

Very cute! I'm glad you got him a friend.


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