Bummer and the bottle

[trampledbygeese]

Hi all. New shepherd here with questions.

I'm getting a 4 week old wethered bummer in a few days, and I'm was wondering if I could ask you a few questions about feeding. They say he's 4 weeks old, but he's pretty small. He's a mixed race, with quite a bit of Suffolk in him from the looks of it.

At the moment he's being fed Milk replacer, Pablum, and egg yolk in the bottle. I'm not a huge fan of this combination, and since I have neighbours with goats, I'm thinking to switch over to goats milk. The current owner of the bummer says I can make the switch suddenly, but I wonder... usually when I bring an animal home, I buy a couple of days of their old food to make the move less stressful. I'm guessing lambs might have more ability to bounce back from a change. Do they? Or should I be more insistent in buying some milk replacer off her? What is milk replacer anyway - powdered milk? Is goat milk an okay substitute for milk replacer mixed with egg yolk?

About the goat's milk, I know the little babies drink it 'raw' (ie unpasteurized) right from their mum, but if I'm only buying it every few days, should I pasteurize it so it keeps longer in the fridge? Something I do for myself when I have raw milk, is I'll add a milk culture (it's like a yoghurt that cultures at room temp) called Fil Mjolk, which greatly extends the fridge life of milk (this also works great for commercial pasteurized milk near it's expiry date). Would a milk culture be a big no-no for bottle feeding the lamb? I know some remedies for digestive problems in sheep include yoghurt.

And now the big question: how much is this young fellow be expected to drink? From what I saw with my friend's flock, they should be nibbling on hay by now, and start tapering off on the milk... but all those lambs were mummy raised, so I don't know how it applies to bummers. I'm guessing I have another month of bottle feeding, does that sound right? The current owner is feeding him 4 times a day, one baby bottle full at a time... however much that is. Is that about 2 litres a day?

Anyway, any help you can give is appreciated.
If you have any good references on the subject, please let me know. I've read everything the local library has to offer, but sometimes they disagree. It's hard to know the quality of the reference when you're just starting out.
Thank you

 

[SheepGirl]

I weaned my four bottle lambs at one month old. They were getting three 10 oz bottles a day each. I weaned them cold turkey. They learned pretty quick how to graze, eat hay, and drink out of the water bucket.

 

[trampledbygeese]

I weaned my four bottle lambs at one month old. They were getting three 10 oz bottles a day each. I weaned them cold turkey. They learned pretty quick how to graze, eat hay, and drink out of the water bucket.

Thank you. That's good to know. Takes off a lot of stress knowing I can do things that way.

Though I'm a bit worried about this fellow, for a month old meat sheep he's about the height and weight of a 2 week old icelandic - or a large house cat. I would have expected bigger. Is it possible that the lack of (starts with letter C and is from the first milking) might be part of the problem? I don't think the current owner gave him any. Can I do anything at this age to help him overcome this deficiency? He's not a forever sheep, but I do need him to be healthy enough to live as a companion to the ram (starting this time next year) for two years, then travel to the freezer in year three.

I don't see any serious health issues other than size. He's interested in his surroundings, good posture, long bones the right shape, no bowing or knock knee, active but not excessively lively, eyes, teeth and gums all normal. However he's very calm... hopefully it's just his personality. He also doesn't have access to a salt lick where he is, so I'll be giving him free access to cobalt block, commercial mix powdered minerals, and kelp meal as well as hay and water. He had his selenium shot (which is the main mineral missing where we live), and shows no signs of the usual selenium symptoms we have locally. Just small and calm.

Only six more sleeps till sam the bummer lamb comes to live with us. Nah, I'm not excited, really. Okay, maybe a little, but it's fun to try something new and a bottle bummer is new to me.

 

[norseofcourse]

If he didn't get any colostrum (first milk), he didn't get any antibodies for his immune system. Has he been vaccinated yet for CD&T? If not, I'd do that right away (if they'll vaccinate him, even better), and a booster a month later.

I'd wean gradually, but I'm a real softy... lol. I'd also agree with a gradual change in diet from what he's used to now, but I've never had a bottle baby lamb so I can't give personal experience, but there's plenty of people here with really good advice. Good luck!

 

[Sheepshape]

I'm a REAL softie with bottle lambs. Weaning can occur in most lambs from 4 weeks (unless the lamb is tiny/premature), but their growth will be very slow for a while and they will lack energy.
I wean between at about 8 weeks and have bottle lambs as big as their counterparts with momma. I did this with my 10 bottle lambs last year.
The milk replacer is expensive, but they get to market much faster than if weaned early. Here in the mountains of Wales the season for good grass growth is not so long and, if they don't grow fast, the autumn is approaching and they won't gain weight on the failing pasture. This may not be the same situation as in parts of the States!

 

[trampledbygeese]

Great advice, thank you all. So glad I found this forum.

I'll double check about the colostrum and the vaccine. I know he had some shots, but I'll get more details. I don't know many farmers on our little island that vaccinate their sheep, so I'm trying to find resources to read up on what illnesses we get here. I know worms are a huge problem, that and mineral deficiencies. I've been reading Pat Colebys book lately which makes me realize how poorly our commercial mineral mixes match our local soil needs.

Wow, 10 bottle lambs! I was hoping to go the full 8 weeks. I noticed that with my friends flock, some of hers are nursing into month three, whereas some have stopped in three weeks. How do you wean them @Sheepshape ? Less frequent feeding or smaller amounts?

 

[Sheepshape]

I start for the first 24 hours with 6 feeds....day and night with colostrum in the first 12 hours, then ewe milk replacer.

After day 1-2 (depending upon the size of the lamb), I cut out the night feed and do 5 X 3hourly feeds by day, as much as the lamb will take. I then gradually reduce the feed numbers to 3 times daily (early morning, midday and about 8:00 p.m), whilst having them out on pasture and feeding grain/lamb pellets.. I go then from letting them have as much milk as they want to restricting to 500mls three times daily. Next I cut out the midday feed then the night feed and finally the morning feed (dropping off one feed per week).This takes me up to roughly 8 weeks.

It's a bit complicated, but works for me.

10 bottle lambs was REALLY time consuming as they were not all of the same age. I was permanently covered in milk and muddy hoof prints.

 

[BrownSheep]

If he is still small I would keep him on the bottle for a bit longer. I would change him over in two or three feedings just to lessen the shock.

We usually start weaning at six weeks. Although I have had lambs just "quit" at 4 weeks. I also have former bottle babies ( with babies of their own) who will still drink from a bottle if you let them.

 

[L J]

glad i found this thread. My lil geep is 6 weeks now, and I keep hay in his pen for the last 2 weeks. every so often I see him sniff or munch a tiny bit.
He is 15 lbs, eating 12-16 Oz twice a day for the last week. (over feeding him?) Last night he ate 16 oz, layed down for almost an hour. He stood up and collapsed, like bambi on ice. Took him to emergency vet- Bloat. Told its caused by the milk bc his rumen is developed. Thankfully already had a appt w my regular vet this morning. Both the emergency and my regular vet suggested cutting the milk to 3-4 oz a couple times a day w a teaspoon of yogurt. Did that today, but so worried he will bloat again. He seems to have no interest in the hay.
My regular vet said he thinks Sammy needs 2-3 weeks more of milk, as we transition to the hay.

So...do I just stop the milk all together and let him get hungry enough to eat? any suggestions would be awesome ! thanks!

 

[L J]

I

I start for the first 24 hours with 6 feeds....day and night with colostrum in the first 12 hours, then ewe milk replacer.

After day 1-2 (depending upon the size of the lamb), I cut out the night feed and do 5 X 3hourly feeds by day, as much as the lamb will take. I then gradually reduce the feed numbers to 3 times daily (early morning, midday and about 8:00 p.m), whilst having them out on pasture and feeding grain/lamb pellets.. I go then from letting them have as much milk as they want to restricting to 500mls three times daily. Next I cut out the midday feed then the night feed and finally the morning feed (dropping off one feed per week).This takes me up to roughly 8 weeks.

It's a bit complicated, but works for me.

10 bottle lambs was REALLY time consuming as they were not all of the same age. I was permanently covered in milk and muddy hoof prints.

I posted in the thread, but wanted to make sure you saw it. sounds like you have good knowledge in this area.