Young Lamb Feed Consumption

[Sheepfarmer22]

A few days ago, I had gotten this lamb from a friend. I have no idea how old she is. She appears to be weeks or even days old. The story goes that she got minimum care from her mother and the flock basicly rejected her. She was transported to me (a few days ago) short and fat like she had worms. I gave her a dose of ivermectin and offered her milk. The problem is that she doesnt drink milk! She is smaller than my two-week-old lambs and doesn't drink any milk. Eventually I started force feeding milk replacer like I have before to save other lambs, but milk just drizzled down her face. However, she is eating food and looks good now. Her belly isn't as swole. I beleive her feed from before life might have also been a reason for her bloating belly. Again, I do NOT know how old she is. She weighs around 10-15 lbs. and is much smaller than my two-week-old lambs. It has almost been a week and she is still alive and appears to be healthy and alert living off of feed. She stays with the rest of the sheep that seem to accept her as well. Is she just small or should I be concerned about something? Also, what should I do?

 

[mysunwolf]

She may be over 4 weeks old and her stomach is developed enough to being digesting real food. I would give her free choice feed, a CDT booster, and offer her good grass hay and fresh water ideally in a stall with a buddy, away from the rest of the flock so she can get her fill. Definitely don't give any more milk replacer, since at this point it may do more harm than good. You're right that her large belly is basically her rumen trying to expand to accommodate more food since her body isn't getting enough energy and nutrition to meet its needs (be it from early weaning or parasites). Keep an eye on her FAMACHA to make sure she doesn't get anemic as she gets a bit older. And watch her for signs of coccidiosis as lambs like this are prone to it. Good luck with her!

 

[Sheepfarmer22]

She may be over 4 weeks old and her stomach is developed enough to being digesting real food. I would give her free choice feed, a CDT booster, and offer her good grass hay and fresh water ideally in a stall with a buddy, away from the rest of the flock so she can get her fill. Definitely don't give any more milk replacer, since at this point it may do more harm than good. You're right that her large belly is basically her rumen trying to expand to accommodate more food since her body isn't getting enough energy and nutrition to meet its needs (be it from early weaning or parasites). Keep an eye on her FAMACHA to make sure she doesn't get anemic as she gets a bit older. And watch her for signs of coccidiosis as lambs like this are prone to it. Good luck with her!

Thanks! I will research on those diseases/defections you just listed. Yes, I haven't given her anymore milk replacer and wasn't planning on it. As for feed, I give her 1/3 rice, 1/3 sweet feed, 1/3 sheep pellet, just like the other sheep. She stays with the other sheep currently (she's only in a flock of 5, nothing big and no adult rams). Since she showed up, I have had enough time to feed her on the side with a friend just weaned from the bottle, and she has been eating well. I think she'll make it! I will keep you updated.

P.S. I call her Cinnamon

 

[Baymule]

She could be stunted and never grow to size enough to carry a pregnancy. Or she could take off like a weed, or grow more slowly to full size. You just never know until you try.

 

[Ridgetop]

What breed is she? Some sheep breeds are much smaller than others.

 

[Sheepfarmer22]

What breed is she? Some sheep breeds are much smaller than others.

Katahdin.

 

[Ridgetop]

I went back and reread your original posting.

It sounds like this lamb was stunted due to lack of feed. DO NOT TRY TO FORCE FEED HER MILK since it sounds like she has moved to solid feed and her mik stomach has reduced. When lambs are born the rumen is undeveloped. They have a mik stomach that is large and as they grow and start eating grass, hay, etc. that stomach reduces until it is almost atrophied.

Did your friend breed this lamb? Where did it come from?

You did right to worm her, and since she is eating with the flock I would continue with that. There is no way to know if she will grow to the size of your sheep since you don't know what size her parents were. There is a large range of sizes even within the same breed of sheep. The rate of growth is also different in different bloodlines. I had a ram whose daughters always looked small next to others sired by a different ram. His lambs were just slow growers.

Her enlarged belly may be from early starvation. I had a bottle lamb that was beautiful but never developed properly on the bottle. She developed that huge belly look. Her sister (kept and fed by the mother) turned out fine.

Since she is currently doing well with the rest of the flock, I would give her several months to see if she grows. If she stays stunted, I would cull her from the flock.