# Bottle Baby



## skeleroo (Jan 15, 2018)

Hi y'all.

I've recently acquired a little ewe lamb. Someone basically dropped her on my doorstep. I didn't have any information on her but it seemed like she was <24 hours when I got her.

So we've had her for two and a half weeks now. I have no idea what I'm doing but she's still alive and very bouncy so I think I'm doing something right, but I cannot for the life of me find any information on feeding her other than a thousand different ways of bottle feeding.

So here's my question. When do I put out sheep feed? She has access to hay and she spends time in the outside pen every day where she quite enjoys chewing on sticks and dirt. Can I introduce sheep pellets now or should I wait? If I introduce feed do I make sure the bowl stays full? Will she eat and make herself sick? 

Please help. Thank you!


----------



## Latestarter (Jan 15, 2018)

First, greetings and welcome to BYH. I don't own sheep, but I would imagine they are similar to goats and you should start introducing her to pelleted feed by 3-4 weeks. Just a small amount placed where the lamb can "investigate" and learn what it is and that it's tasty. Please browse around the various forum threads as there's a wealth of info there you might find useful. If you have questions, by all means post them and generally someone will be along to provide help. I'll tag a few sheeple who might have more detailed info for you. Since sheep are herd animals, you might consider getting her a partner to "talk" to. Also, please consider putting your general location in your profile as it's sometimes important when asking for help... Climate and such...

@mysunwolf @Sheepshape @secuono @Mike CHS @The Old Ram-Australia @luvmypets


----------



## Sheepshape (Jan 15, 2018)

Hi skeleroo....welcome to BYH. 

So you have had a 'baptism of fire' with regard to sheep. As you have discovered, lambs are easy bottle feeders, and well done to you for getting this far and taking on a little orphan.

Your little ewe lamb looks beautiful.

Changing to solids is easy with sheep.Your lamb (does she have a name?)is already mouthing stuff in her environment,so will soon learn to take food and chew it. By all means put her some lamb food in a heavy bowl so she won't knock it over. She'll mouth it and eventually eat some. Adult sheep spend much of their time regurgitating....their complicated 4 chamber stomach means that stuff comes back to be re-chewed....so she won't have a problem at all.

As Latestarter says, sheep are not solitary animals, so companions would be ideal.

She'll need to have vaccinations at 4-6 weeks old and treatment for worms/fluke at some stage.

Always leave afresh water around for her, especially important if you have a hot climate.

Let us know how you get on.


----------



## The Old Ram-Australia (Jan 16, 2018)

G';day and "well done you",A friend is very necessary or you will become the rest of the flock.A lamb about 6/8 weeks old(preferably another ewe) would work as it will be already on solid food and the young lamb will follow it's example.Be aware that in our flock the lambs are still looking for milk for quite some time ,it's not unusual for them to "dive under " at 4/5 months old .The ewes will "naturally " wean them when the time comes.

Hope you find the above useful.....T.O.R.


----------



## skeleroo (Jan 16, 2018)

@Latestarter @Sheepshape @The Old Ram-Australia 

Thank you!! She does have a name. She's my little Rosemary (Rosie for short). About a week into having her I realized she needed a friend so I found a five month old white wooly sheep for her. Rosie had no interest in Juniper and Juniper had no interest in Rosie. And then started the sheep spiral. That's how we got four month old Benny. Benny is attached to Juniper but neither of them appreciate Rosie.

Thank you for the advice. I will put a small bowl of feed in with Rosie.

How much should I be feeding the other two lambs (if at all)? They have full access to hay and acres and acres of grass for grazing.


----------



## Latestarter (Jan 16, 2018)

I should think just a bit each day or maybe twice a day as long as they're looking "full" and growing well.  I see from your post that Sheep math is as real as any other animal math... they do have a way of multiplying over very short periods of time!  I'm sure they'll all become friendlier over time. Acres and acres of grass to graze sounds pretty much like sheep heaven   Just a consideration... from my understanding, green grass is mostly water so you should still provide them (some) hay as a "filler". Thanks for the pics! they're cute!


----------



## skeleroo (Jan 16, 2018)

@Latestarter 

How much do you imagine a bit would be? A cup per lamb? Less/more? They look full but I do not want to make them fat.


----------



## Latestarter (Jan 16, 2018)

So you have 3 now? and two are several months older than the baby? Ummm I'd start out trying to give each about a cup, maybe twice a day. You'll kinda have to watch that the older ones don't eat it all and the baby get nothing. Start slow as abrupt/major changes to their diet can really mess them up. Hopefully some of the Sheeple will chime in as pretty quick here these babes are going to need their shots... what and when I'm not really sure of. I'm thinking CD&T at a minimum, and I'm also not sure if you need to worry about possible Cocci either...  As long as they're growing, happy and healthy, running around playing, doing what appears "normal" for a young animal, then you're doing good. If they stop moving, get lethargic, start having diarhea, not eating/drinking, stuff that you WOULDN'T expect, then it's time to start worrying...


----------

