Lambing time!!

[frustratedearthmother]

Might be a preemie which will make keeping it warm and getting colostrum into it extra important. Does it have any teeth on the bottom? If there are no teeth erupted through the gums it's probably premature.

 

[Zummerol]

Ok so managed to milk mommy... little one only drank 25ml to start with. Not sure how often I need to feed now every 2 hours or so? Think it is a prem as there are no bottom teeth. After feeding mommy cleaned baby and she is back in the crate.. if all goes well I will take pics and share them later. Its 10pm here now...

 

[Kusanar]

Ok so managed to milk mommy... little one only drank 25ml to start with. Not sure how often I need to feed now every 2 hours or so? Think it is a prem as there are no bottom teeth. After feeding mommy cleaned baby and she is back in the crate.. if all goes well I will take pics and share them later. Its 10pm here now...

Ok. I did some googling and found this:
A 6-lb lamb born in a lambing shed that is 32 degrees F needs 480 cc of colostrum in the first 18 hours of life. The same lamb born outside will need a total of 570 cc. Feed the lambs 4 to 5 times in the first 18 hours of life if the lamb is unable to suckle on a ewe. When feeding lambs with a stomach tube, give no more than 20cc per pound of body weight. This is roughly 4 ounces per feeding in a 6 pound lamb (1 ml = 1 cc; 1 oz = 30 cc).

Raising Bummer Lambs on a Bottle

 

[frustratedearthmother]

Is your lamb at least 6 lbs? I think since it's only taking a small amount of milk at a time - it might be a long night for you. I'd feed every few hours and hope she starts taking more. Good luck - sounds like you're doing what you can!

 

[Zummerol]

Nowhere near 6 pounds... I will be feeding every 2 hours until such time as the baby can either get up and feed from mom or I remove totally from mom. Dont really want to do that as mommy is still very interested in the little one... yup super long night for me...

 

[Kusanar]

Nowhere near 6 pounds... I will be feeding every 2 hours until such time as the baby can either get up and feed from mom or I remove totally from mom. Dont really want to do that as mommy is still very interested in the little one... yup super long night for me...

That link I found has a formula for how many oz of milk per pound of lamb in 24 hours, that may give you a decent idea of if you are getting enough in her or not.

 

[Zummerol]

Thanks so much Kusanar... will look it up...

 

[Kusanar]

Thanks so much Kusanar... will look it up...

Here it is


Milk Replacer After the initial colostrum feeding, lambs should receive about 15% to 20% of their body weight in milk replacer daily.
Example: 5 lb lamb X 16oz/lb= 80 oz X 20% = 16 oz daily.

Divide the above daily amount by the number of feedings in a 24-hour period. Increase the amount as the lamb gains weight and gets older. As you do this, increase the time between feedings.

Suggested Feeding Schedule: For the first 24 hours of life, give the lamb colostrum. Feed it every 2 hours if possible through the first 24 hours of life. In the next 24 to 48 hours of the lamb's life, begin gradually mixing the colostrum or colostrum substitute with lamb milk replacer. By day four of the lamb's life, it should be receiving nothing but the lamb milk replacer according to the schedule listed below.

Follow the schedule listed below after the lamb is over 24 hours old:

Day 2 through 3: every 3 hours
Day 4 through 7: every 4 hours
Day 8 through 21: every 6 hours
Day 21 through 35: every 8 hours
Day 35 until weaning: every 12 hours.

 

[Baymule]

I hope your baby makes it. It sure won't be from lack of trying on your part.

 

[Zummerol]

Morning all... ok so fed babe through the night. She only takes in between 20 and 35 ml at a time. I weighed her and she only weighs 1.5kg so she is super tiny... she just had another feed and we also tried to put her on mommy as we dont want mommy to lose interest... not quite strong enough to latch on as yet but a lot stronger than she was 12 hours ago so fingers crossed... will send pics of this tiny mite after next feeding