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SHEEP-fed-barely-sprouting-fodders, page : 186
With respect to the cutting of the umbilical cord, make sure it is cut about 2 inches (5 cm) long with a blunt pair of scissors or a blunt knife. If it is left too long, then ewes have been known to nibble at it and this can cause infection.
Feeding of lambs:
There are times when a lamb does not do what should come naturally. If the udder or teats have become soiled with manure or mud the udder/teats need to be swabbed off. To do this use a weak chlorine bleach solution before the lamb nurses, by doing this intestinal infection is less of a risk.
Usually, when the ewe stands up, she will nudge the lamb towards her udder with her nose. The lamb instinctively looks for her teats and is attracted by the smell of the waxy secretion of the mammary pouch gland in her groin.
Colostrum:
The first nursing is extremely important to a lamb's immune system as it contains colostrum and protects the lamb during those early days of life when it is most vulnerable. If your ewe has been previously vaccinated against tetanus, enterotoxemia and other common clostridial diseases, these antibodies are absorbed by the mammary gland from the ewe's blood stream and are now incorporated into the colostrum, this temporary protection is very valuable to the lamb. The small intestine of a newborn lamb possesses a very temporary ability to absorb these large molecular antibodies from the colostrum, and their ability to absorb these important antibodies decreases hour by hour, and after 16 to 18 hours of life it becomes almost non-existent.
Colostrum contains a lot of vitamins and proteins, together with a mild laxative, which can assist in passing feces – the first feces of a lamb is called meconium, and is a black, tarry substance passed shortly after the lamb nurses for the first time.
Should a lamb's first nursing be delayed the lesser benefit it will receive to survive. The fewer antibodies absorbed by the lamb means the lamb has less of a chance to survive if problems develop. A weak lamb or one with a low birth weight can be lost because of a delay in nursing.
The colostrum milk is very valuable. Be on the look-out for a ewe that has too much milk in her udder. If the udder becomes too full the teats will become enlarged and a lamb will have difficulty nursing. If this should happen, get a clean container, such as small plastic zip-lock bag, then milk some of the colostrum milk out, save it and freeze it immediately for use with orphaned lambs, or lambs rejected by their mother. Colostrum that has been solidly frozen will keep for just a little over a year if it has been well preserved. If possible, save and freeze colostrum from different ewes, and mix when needed, the reason for this is that not all ewes produce the same
Feeding of lambs:
There are times when a lamb does not do what should come naturally. If the udder or teats have become soiled with manure or mud the udder/teats need to be swabbed off. To do this use a weak chlorine bleach solution before the lamb nurses, by doing this intestinal infection is less of a risk.
Usually, when the ewe stands up, she will nudge the lamb towards her udder with her nose. The lamb instinctively looks for her teats and is attracted by the smell of the waxy secretion of the mammary pouch gland in her groin.
Colostrum:
The first nursing is extremely important to a lamb's immune system as it contains colostrum and protects the lamb during those early days of life when it is most vulnerable. If your ewe has been previously vaccinated against tetanus, enterotoxemia and other common clostridial diseases, these antibodies are absorbed by the mammary gland from the ewe's blood stream and are now incorporated into the colostrum, this temporary protection is very valuable to the lamb. The small intestine of a newborn lamb possesses a very temporary ability to absorb these large molecular antibodies from the colostrum, and their ability to absorb these important antibodies decreases hour by hour, and after 16 to 18 hours of life it becomes almost non-existent.
Colostrum contains a lot of vitamins and proteins, together with a mild laxative, which can assist in passing feces – the first feces of a lamb is called meconium, and is a black, tarry substance passed shortly after the lamb nurses for the first time.
Should a lamb's first nursing be delayed the lesser benefit it will receive to survive. The fewer antibodies absorbed by the lamb means the lamb has less of a chance to survive if problems develop. A weak lamb or one with a low birth weight can be lost because of a delay in nursing.
The colostrum milk is very valuable. Be on the look-out for a ewe that has too much milk in her udder. If the udder becomes too full the teats will become enlarged and a lamb will have difficulty nursing. If this should happen, get a clean container, such as small plastic zip-lock bag, then milk some of the colostrum milk out, save it and freeze it immediately for use with orphaned lambs, or lambs rejected by their mother. Colostrum that has been solidly frozen will keep for just a little over a year if it has been well preserved. If possible, save and freeze colostrum from different ewes, and mix when needed, the reason for this is that not all ewes produce the same