# At what Age and How do you Wean your Lambs



## rockdoveranch (Jun 26, 2011)

Our lambs are just over 2 months now.  We wean our ram lambs at 3 months and leave the ewe lambs with their moms.  Since our grasses are not the best because of the drought some of our ewe moms look a bit pulled down  - bony at the hip from loosing too many nutrients to their babies.  

I am thinking that maybe we should pull our ewe lambs off moms at 3 months too this year.  I hate the crying and there will be more because of the girls, but this is what I am thinking of doing.   

How do ya'll wean and at what age, etc?


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## doxiemoxie (Jun 26, 2011)

I say pull them all at the same time so they can comfort each other and maybe get all the caterwauling with over at the same time.  But you do need to pull the babies so the moms can start to bounce back.

I haven't had to pull babies yet so I can't say for sure the best age.  But from everything I've read three months is plenty far along.  (But I have gotten young goats and had to listen to those plaintive cries while they adjust, so I understand your dilemma)


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## boykin2010 (Jun 26, 2011)

I leave ewe lambs with the moms but supplement both so the moms gain the weight back. Ram lambs get moved about 2 or 3 months. 
My grass is dying as crispy too because of no rain. I just give extra hay so they wont starve


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## aggieterpkatie (Jun 27, 2011)

I wean all lambs at 8 weeks.  Unless like right now I've got 9 week old ewe lambs with their dam still because I just haven't had a chance to wean them.  I will in the next day or two though.  I wean all babies and don't leave any on mom.  Ideally you'd leave the lambs where they are and remove the ewes (less stress on the lambs b/c they're in a familiar place), but with my set up it's just much easier for me to put the lambs in a new pen.  It is noisy for a few days, but then they all settle down.  This is also when I give CD/T to the lambs, and a booster in 3-4 weeks.


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## rockdoveranch (Jun 27, 2011)

Wow!  I love posting questions and learning what others do and suggest!

I have always wondered how much milk the lambs are getting as their moms attempt to wean them on their own. 

I have started cutting back on our bottle baby ewe lamb.  She is 9 weeks old today.  For the last couple of weeks I have been giving her a full 8 ounces 3 times a day, but with only 3/4ths of the milk replacer.  Yesterday I mixed the correct amount of milk replacer to 4 ounces and she was NOT a happy camper.  She normally stays with the ewe and lamb herd grazing and only comes up to the house when I call her.  Yesterday she was at the front and back door several times screaming for milk.  I may just go back to the full 8 ounces and gradually decrease the milk replacer until she is just getting water.

Our first bottle baby, January 2009, was a ram lamb.  He stayed in the house with us and even went to the door when he had to potty, but at 2 1/2 months all he wanted to do was play with the other lambs.  He was through being in the house.  We continued with the bottle until he was 3 months.  Our second bottle baby was a ewe lamb, April 2009.  She stayed in the house for over 3 months.  I finally had to put her out when I could not keep her off my bed.  I loved having her in the house.  Once outside she stayed by our back door until she was old enough to breed and then we put her in with our Dorper ram.  Now that we keep her with the ewe herd she continues to stay around the house when we turn the herd out.  

With this third bottle baby we decided no more house lambs.  It has worked surprisingly well keeping her with the herd even though she is turned out with them in the morning.  This is a much better plan.


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