-
SHEEP-fed-barely-sprouting-fodders, page : 191
Color tagging has another advantage, you can select a certain color to distinguish sex, or use them to indicate whether they were twins or singles.
Ear tags:
There are some tags that are self-clinching, and those that need a hole to be punched. When the lamb is still very young the tag should be applied as it is still penned in with its mother. Use only ear tags suitable for lambs, and never be tempted to use large, heavy cow tags on adult sheep because they are too heavy for the ear to support. Likewise, never use a tag intended for an adult sheep on a lamb.
If you use the small, metal lamb tag, insert it onto the ear approximately half the length of the tag to leave growing room for the maturing ear.
PROBLEMS THAT CAN OCCUR IN NEWBORN LAMBS
We already mentioned lambs that do not get adequate feed, so there is no need to repeat it in this section.
Other problems to be on the look out for include hypothermia. Hypothermia is one of the most common problems to affect newborns, and it doesn’t have to be very cold for it to occur. Even on a fairly warm, sunny day a lamb can suffer from starvation hypothermia.
Another fairly common problem is a "weak" lamb. Weak lambs are often the result of the ewe having had a long, difficult delivery or insufficient nutrition.
Hypothermia:
Hypothermia has two basic causes - exposure and starvation. Hypothermia can result on account of very cold temperatures, or cold temperatures mixed with drafts. If a newly born wet lamb is exposed to these conditions it will kill it within a matter of hours after birth. Starvation hypothermia can occur in lambs just 4 or 5 hours old up to a couple of days.
When a lamb is dry and fed it can withstand quite low temperatures, but due to a large ratio of skin area to body weight, wet or hungry lambs can chill quite quickly.
When a lamb is stricken with hypothermia it will appear stiff and unable to get up. If you touch its tongue and mouth thy will feel cold. Should this occur you must warm it immediately with a heat lamp, because the lamb has lost its ability to control its temperature - wrapping it in a towel or blanket is not sufficient.
Ear tags:
There are some tags that are self-clinching, and those that need a hole to be punched. When the lamb is still very young the tag should be applied as it is still penned in with its mother. Use only ear tags suitable for lambs, and never be tempted to use large, heavy cow tags on adult sheep because they are too heavy for the ear to support. Likewise, never use a tag intended for an adult sheep on a lamb.
If you use the small, metal lamb tag, insert it onto the ear approximately half the length of the tag to leave growing room for the maturing ear.
PROBLEMS THAT CAN OCCUR IN NEWBORN LAMBS
We already mentioned lambs that do not get adequate feed, so there is no need to repeat it in this section.
Other problems to be on the look out for include hypothermia. Hypothermia is one of the most common problems to affect newborns, and it doesn’t have to be very cold for it to occur. Even on a fairly warm, sunny day a lamb can suffer from starvation hypothermia.
Another fairly common problem is a "weak" lamb. Weak lambs are often the result of the ewe having had a long, difficult delivery or insufficient nutrition.
Hypothermia:
Hypothermia has two basic causes - exposure and starvation. Hypothermia can result on account of very cold temperatures, or cold temperatures mixed with drafts. If a newly born wet lamb is exposed to these conditions it will kill it within a matter of hours after birth. Starvation hypothermia can occur in lambs just 4 or 5 hours old up to a couple of days.
When a lamb is dry and fed it can withstand quite low temperatures, but due to a large ratio of skin area to body weight, wet or hungry lambs can chill quite quickly.
When a lamb is stricken with hypothermia it will appear stiff and unable to get up. If you touch its tongue and mouth thy will feel cold. Should this occur you must warm it immediately with a heat lamp, because the lamb has lost its ability to control its temperature - wrapping it in a towel or blanket is not sufficient.