Baby Lambs

[MSRminis]

OK-We have a sheep and she is pregnant. The kids really want to keep the baby and want to make it friendly!! We were thinking about bottle feeding it-but not taking it away from its mom-just bottle feeding in addition. Is this a good idea? What do we feed it? Any other sheep taming suggestions???

 

[Lucky-C-Acres-Minis]

Honestly it's not a good idea.. Just interact with the lambs like you would with a foal and they will become friendly.. By bottle feeding your just asking for a mess of the lamb becoming super pushy and over-friendly as well as just more workload for yourself.. Best thing to do is try and catch when the ewe lambs, we caught nearly every one of ours, we helped 'clean' the lambs by cleaning off the face and making sure the mouth was clear while the ewe licked it clean and also dipped the navel.. We'd always play with the lambs and hold them when we went out to the barn and never had a problem with them not being friendly, they'd always come up to us in the field and were easy to work with..

 

[Denise]

I have goats that I bottle fed and they are adorable but a pain in the hinny!

Waaaaay to friendly, under foot all the time. It does make it easier when it comes to hoof trimming and shots though.

Anyway congrats and I cant wait to see pics when they get here.

 

[babygoose]

If the mother is feeding them they probably won't really be that interested in a bottle and mothers milk is probably better for them anyway. Just play with them alot from the beginning. Hopefully the ewe is friendly herself or she will take the baby or babies (it isn't uncommon for sheep to have twins) away from you. If that is the case you may have to pen her and babies in a smaller pen so they are easier to catch and play with. Just pet them and hold them and they should stay pretty friendly.

Check out this video of clicker trained sheep. Might be something to try once the little one is old enough to enjoy treats.

 

[Miniv]

Don't know a lot about raising lambs.........but have raised our horses, llamas, cats, dogs, etc.......

I agree with everyone. As long as the mom is providing milk, I don't recommend compromising the lamb's early nourishment.

Give the lamb(s) lots of love and attention from day one, I think you'll be better off. We've learned with our llamas that just doing a lot of imprinting can make a huge difference...........(foals too, for that matter!) But llamas can be much more offish.

MA

 

[StellaLenoir]

oh I am so jealous! I am on a waiting list for a babydoll lamb. They are so cute! Please post pictures of your mom to be and of course when she has the babies!

 

[The Simple Life Farm]

I totally agree with all the other posters. It is healthier for the babies to receive their meals from momma. As stated, just spend alot of time with them, especially at birth. Please post pics when they arrive.

 

[miniaddiction]

No way! Lambs will easily scour if overfed and fed different types of milk (mothers vs powdered).

We have raised a lot of lambs over the years but only when the lambs were orphans. You can easily make them friendly by teaching the ewe to eat treats like bread and then her lambs will learn to come to you for bread etc.

And like lucky c said just handling them. Dont feed them milk.

 

[MSRminis]

Thanks everyone for the info. We have raised of course horse, dogs, cats, chickens..just new to lambs. The Mom we bought at 8 months old but she was never handled and have not been able to tame her really. The kids really want a pet so just wanted to do what works best. Good to know! No bottles, just lots of love and holding and petting!! Thanks. Will post pictures when they arrive! She is due I believe in January...

 

[Ashley]

I honestly wouldnt if you dont have to. THey are very hard to keep normal when on a bottle. If mom is friendly, the kids will be just fine if handled. If not, then when you wean them just handle them like crazy.

I disagree with Lucky C. While bottle feeding makes goats a pain in the butt I have not had the problem with lambs.