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Bottle Lambs:

 Reality vs. The Cute Factor

continued

by Anita Gerber

We try to intubate as few lambs as possible, preferring to take the time to teach them to suck from a bottle.  We use pop bottles which easily take a nipple specifically sized for a lamb’s mouth.  Lambs that have been nursing on the ewe for several days usually have issues with suddenly sucking from a rubber nipple, but we do try to teach them, even if we have to intubate to ensure sufficient nourishment.  Once the lambs are used to the rubber nipples, we progress to a bucket which has nipples around the bottom.  These nipples are a special type of unit that includes a ballcock so that there are no leaks.   We try to do this as soon as possible so that they can feed themselves, a far more natural process, but also one that decreases the labor required and brings them closer to the day they can return to the barn.  Here I have to mention another disadvantage to lambing in January, milking buckets in the barn will result in the milk in the nipples freezing.  Lambs that have already suffered from hypothermia are more likely to succumb again, and it is prudent to wait until the lambs have a healthy fat layer to protect them.  This means January lambs will live in our kitchen at least a couple of weeks longer than those born in April.

There are obvious disadvantages to raising livestock, especially very young livestock, in your kitchen!  While the indoor pen is in use, a permanent feature in our kitchen is a mop and bucket.  Though we use absorbent mats in the pen, the mats need changing and laundering frequently.  I have seen no other animal that, for its size, produces so much urine!  There is also an added incentive to reading the directions on the milk replacer bag, no one wants a lamb with loose bowels because of having ingested a mixture too rich for his system.  Enough said on this topic, I’m sure.

We name each of our bottle lambs, as it makes it more convenient to keep track of what each has received and how each is doing.  The first male bottle lamb is traditionally named Fred, and, so far, the Freds always seem to do well.  Fred usually gets spoiled, too.  As they are herd animals, they benefit from social interaction, so, until Fred gets company, he will join us to watch TV on the couch and run freely around the kitchen when we are in there to supervise.  Once he gets company, this stops!  It is not amusing to watch six bottle lambs scamper over the couch, each stopping only to leave a mess while your attention is diverted by another.

As early as one week old, a lamb will show interest in nibbling at hay and corn, given the opportunity.  This natural progression is important in any lamb’s development, whether it be a bottle lamb or one being raised by its mother.  We make small amounts of both available in the kitchen using dog feeders.  A ewe will start weaning her offspring between a month and six weeks of age, with a bottle lamb we will try to aim at that same goal.  During this process we will keep a keen eye on the bottle lambs to ensure no further setbacks in the lamb’s growth and development.  Milk replacer for lambs is more expensive than grain or hay, but losing a bottle lamb as a result of early weaning is a complete waste of effort and money.  Bottle lambs have usually returned to the barn by the age of two weeks (regardless of the state of our sanity!) and their weaning is accomplished by gradually reducing the number of milk feedings.

Each year we build a creep pen in the barn.  This is a small pen to which only lambs have access.  In this pen they have free access to both corn and hay without competition from the mature sheep.  We also feed our bottle lambs their milk in this pen so that they gradually become part of the flock. We hang heat lamps in the creep pen to encourage all lambs to use it.  In a remarkably short time the only way to recognize the bottle lambs is by their response to a milk bucket.  Reaching this point is our goal and marks our success in raising bottle lambs.

Apart from time and effort, the only real investment in a bottle lamb is that one bag of milk replacer, which costs approximately $30.  Each bottle lamb will require one bag to reach weaning age.  If we had a dairy goat (which we will next year), only one goat would be needed to feed all our bottle lambs.  The expense of feeding that one goat would be far less than the cost of just two bags of milk replacer.  It is perhaps a thought for those who keep dairy goats, but not sheep, to relieve local shepherds of their bottle lambs and raise those lambs for market with no extra financial investment.  A feeder lamb at market weight (70-90 lbs) can bring more than $1.25 per lb, if marketed at the right time.  It can also be a wonderful opportunity for a child to not only learn responsibility, but also to reap the financial rewards of raising their own livestock without the burden of a flock of sheep.  It is worth considering.

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