Lambs not thriving

[RainbowFlower]

We have a couple of lambs which don't seem to be thriving like the rest of the herd. We have 35 Dorper ewes, who came to us pregnant and over a couple of month period dropped their lambs. We now have 30 lambs. Most of the lambs have been thriving, but we have had a couple who just seem to be thinner and weaker than the others.

We have one little lamb inside at the moment. We had a huge rainstorm this morning, and they all got very wet. When we were putting them to the next paddock this one and her mum fell behind. It was cold (stuck my finger in her mouth to feel), so my children have wrapped it with a hot water bottle to bring its temp up. Once she was a bit warmer they tried to feed it a bottle. She is not very keen though - very lethargic. She won't stand up and isn't bleating for her mum.

This is the third lamb we have had in this condition. The first one went fine after a good warm up and a couple of bottle feeds - back to her mum and doing ok. The second (a little boy) died, despite all our attempts at bottle feeding.

All of these lambs seem to have a similar configuration. They have peely ears, and very tight curly wool. Many of our lambs have much "hairier" hair - more like goats, and they seem to be doing well. The lambs have at least 2 different fathers (the ewes came from different flocks). We have a new ram in with them now.

Any clues and hints would be much appreciated.

 

[ShadyAcres]

I am so sorry to hear of your troubles. I know how frustrating it can be.

I bought some pregnant ewes once and had similar problems. They were all young ewe lambs with their first lambing. Even though there was plenty of grass available they had not been on any grain prior to lambing (lambing started the day after I brought them home). Moms just werent producing the milk they should have and lambs were not thrifty. Have no idea if moms had mineral or anything prior to their arrival at my house. Lambs born later did better. Stress from hauling? Better care? Better weather? Probably a combination. These same ewes had no problems the next year.

My lambs always look like 2 different types when born; some with soft fine snowy white hair and lambs with funny looking ears and short curly hair with their pink skin showing through. The curly ones always seem smaller and more fragile at first but quickly catch up or outgrow the smooth haired ones, usually developing into bigger heavier lambs. I only use 1 breeding ram at a time often seeing the 2 types in twins as well.

 

[Beekissed]

The dry, peeling skin and the difference in hair might indicate a vitamin or mineral deficiency during the ewe's pregnancy. You might offer more selenium prelambing and see if this helps at all. For now, all a person can do is keep them warm and dry...maybe pen mom and lamb in the barn so it can reserve energy, stay close to mom and get fed when necessary. When they are out with the herd, the flocking instinct keeps mom on the move in an attempt to not be separate from the flock...and leaves this weak lamb having to move right along with her.

All the sheep farmers I know who have large flocks just leave those non-thrifty lambs alone and let them die. That would be really, really hard for me to do...I'd rather kill them outright then just leave them out on the wet, cold ground in a weakened state. But then, I'm not a farmer who has large flocks and lambs to spare and my mothering instinct kicks in for lambs. They appeal to me like no other baby livestock for some reason.

 

[RainbowFlower]

Thank you for that. We didn't have the ewes during most of their pregnancies, so they may have been missing some nutrient. They are first time lambings too, but it was not necessarily the early lambs. I have provided them with licking blocks and bicarb soda to lick, and they seem to love those. Hopefully with the new ram, and better nutrition the next lot will be better.

I put the little lamb, and her mum in a separate paddock yesterday, and gave mama a biscuit of hay all to herself. They pottered about, and little lamby seemed to be much better - walking about and eating the hay.

We will have to sell most of the lambs, and perhaps some of the ewes. Obviously we will keep what we consider the best ones. These genotype probably won't be ones we keep, but we do want them to get to the best weight and health they can.

 

[Beekissed]

Good news that he seems to be getting stronger!