shepherdO
Loving the herd life
- Joined
- Sep 18, 2018
- Messages
- 127
- Reaction score
- 129
- Points
- 106
- Location
- Okanagan area of British Columbia
Okay, so this might not seem earth-changing, but after bottle-feeding a reject triplet for the last 11 days it's good news to me!
So on Saturday evening my Rambouillet Bonnie gave birth to a big dead ewe and a tiny weakling ramlamb who's just holding on by the skin of his teeth three days in. I've been milking Bonnie 3x per day to feed her lamb and build up colostrum. Very exhausting work...
So today my son and I put Bonnie in a stanchion - she hates it and just about strangles herself, lies down, etc., so we had to put two roped beneath her belly and kind of hoist her up. Stinker...
Anyhoo, we brought Tim-Tam, fresh from a day spent at school with my students, back into the shed, and prepared for a possible hours-long fight to try to get her to suckle on the Rambouillet - not her mother.
Well, I held Tim-Tam down, blindly squeezing milk around her muzzle, and within 3-4 seconds she latched on and sucked for all she was worth! I switched her 2 or 3 times to the other teat to get her used to 'sharing' and using both sides, and she was great!
Bonnie's a great milker, and used to me milking her, so she didn't put up a fuss at all. I'm super stoked, b/c, even if I have to restrain Bonnie 4 times per day to let Tim-Tam nurse, it means that I won't have to make homemade milk replacer anymore, mix multiple bottles and switch nipples, etc., etc., etc. Dairy isn't cheap in Canada like it is in the States, so this could end up as a great savings!
Anyhoo, I had heard nightmares about getting a bottle lamb to accept a real udder, so this is great! Now we just have to get the little guy better so he can clamp on the other side!
So on Saturday evening my Rambouillet Bonnie gave birth to a big dead ewe and a tiny weakling ramlamb who's just holding on by the skin of his teeth three days in. I've been milking Bonnie 3x per day to feed her lamb and build up colostrum. Very exhausting work...
So today my son and I put Bonnie in a stanchion - she hates it and just about strangles herself, lies down, etc., so we had to put two roped beneath her belly and kind of hoist her up. Stinker...
Anyhoo, we brought Tim-Tam, fresh from a day spent at school with my students, back into the shed, and prepared for a possible hours-long fight to try to get her to suckle on the Rambouillet - not her mother.
Well, I held Tim-Tam down, blindly squeezing milk around her muzzle, and within 3-4 seconds she latched on and sucked for all she was worth! I switched her 2 or 3 times to the other teat to get her used to 'sharing' and using both sides, and she was great!
Bonnie's a great milker, and used to me milking her, so she didn't put up a fuss at all. I'm super stoked, b/c, even if I have to restrain Bonnie 4 times per day to let Tim-Tam nurse, it means that I won't have to make homemade milk replacer anymore, mix multiple bottles and switch nipples, etc., etc., etc. Dairy isn't cheap in Canada like it is in the States, so this could end up as a great savings!
Anyhoo, I had heard nightmares about getting a bottle lamb to accept a real udder, so this is great! Now we just have to get the little guy better so he can clamp on the other side!
Great news! Tim-Tam will latch on to this fast, real fast! Plus will respond to the wholesome milk quickly. Just wait. Yep, on the milkstand & slap the babe under -- much, much easier than bottles.
