When feeding lambs inside: Lambs need 10-15% or their body weight of milk daily. Milk should be 35-40 degrees (which feels very warm). Should be fed at least three times a day until around 2 weeks old, then can be reduced to two times a day and once a day from 3 weeks old.
Lambs prefer less volume of milk in more feeds during the day as it is closer to their natural suckling behaviour. If feeding using multi lamb feeders or bottles be prepared to feed lambs 3-4 times a day (depending on your system and age of lambs).
Newborn lambs need to be fed every 2-3 hours for the first two weeks of life (the night feeds can be stretched to 4 or 5 hours) and then every 4 hours for the next few weeks, depending on how well they are doing. Divide up the total recommended milk amount per day and aim to match your feeds to this total.
Do not be tempted to overfeed! It is best to keep the lambs a little hungry especially in the first few days. Overfeeding can lead to scours or bloating.
A lamb requires 10-15 % of their body weight in milk. For example a newborn 4kg lamb needs 400 ml-600 ml total of milk, split into 6 feeds of 75-100 ml. As the lamb grows, the amount of milk can be gradually increased. 1 litre daily split into 3-4 feeds should suit most lambs over 3 weeks old.
A whole lamb on the roast can feed up to 45 people, which makes it the perfect catering options for smaller events. We advise that the recommended minimum number for a lamb roast is 14 people.
First and foremost is to make sure that the lambs are getting enough to eat. Typical lamb behavior is to stretch when they get up, ears should be alert and they should readily seek the udder. Lambs that cry, stand around hunched up, or simply don't get up most likely need more to eat.
Playful lambs
Healthy lambs nurse frequently, one to two times per hour during the first few weeks. A lamb that bleats all the time is probably hungry and not getting enough to eat. A healthy lamb usually stretches when it rises. Conversely, an unhealthy or hungry lambs often stands scrunched up.
It's quite easy to get enough sleep when feeding a bottle lamb, as there is no need to feed a lamb at night most of the time.
On the research / demonstration farm at Teagasc Athenry, lambs are weighed at birth, six, eight, 12 weeks and again when weaned at 14 weeks.
Deworming Lambs
Begin worming your lambs when they are about 8 weeks old, and continue monthly (or at the very least bi-monthly) until they reach a year in age. Ivomec and Cydectin are recommended for lambs, and Valbazen should be used to treat tapeworms.
(2008) and Nugroho (2012) who found that sheep eat only a small portion of feed at night. The time allocated for rest and rumination were found not significantly different.
If finishing lambs on an all concentrate diet, ensure diet is formulated for this purpose, initially offer 300 g/lamb/day and increase by 200 g/lamb/days every 3 days until full feeding, and continue to offer a small quality of long roughage (hay, silage, or straw). Ensure that lambs have water at all times.
Offer the newborn lamb a feed every 2 to 3 hours during the day for its first 2 weeks. At night, you can feed every 4 to 5 hours. You can work out the amount to feed every time by dividing up the total amount of milk needed per day.
It is recommended that milk be fed cold, about 40°F (~4°C). With cold milk, there is less tendency for lambs/kids to overeat, thus helping to prevent bloat, diarrhea, and other digestive upsets. Feeding cold milk is essential if milk will be offered free choice.
Lamb Shaking after a feed
If a lamb shakes following bottle feeding it could simply be a sign that the milk is too cool rather than a lamb fever. The change in temperature when the cooler liquid enters the body compared to the normal body temperature can cause the lamb to shake.
When bottle feeding, at between four and seven days of age, a lamb requires one litre of Lamlac, but only split over four feeds. From days eight to 35, a lamb requires one and a half litres of Lamlac, split over four separate feeds initially - reducing to two feeds a day until weaning.
Add fresh water, hay, and grass after the first week.
After a week of bottle feeding with colostrum and then milk, your lamb should have some solid foods in her diet. Give the lamb fresh water, hay, and grass. Let her eat and drink as she desires.
They eat grasses and other low-growing vegetation and ruminate (chew the cud). They spend most of the day alternating between periods of grazing and resting/ruminating. Sheep only sleep for around 4 hours per day.
Starvation typically occurs during the first three days of life. A lamb will be found standing with its head down, ears drooping back, or it may become too weak to stand. Hungry lambs frequently bleat. The stomach would be empty upon palpation.
Grass, clover, and forbs
Mostly sheep eat grass, legumes, forbs, and other pasture plants. They especially love forbs. In fact, it is usually their first choice of food in a pasture.
Some common garden plants, such as azaleas, chrysanthemums, acorns, buttercups, daffodils, holly and elderberry are poisonous for sheep to eat.
But, we learned from some hurried research in our books and on line, if you overfeed a bottle lamb, the milk will fill their abomasum and the excess will back up to their immature rumen, where bacteria can ferment it, leading to acidosis and bloat.
Without these antibodies rather minor diseases can weaken a lamb, make it sick or let it die, even later on and not just immediately after birth. This colostrum must be consumed by the lamb ideally within the first 12 to 18 hours but no later than 24 hours after it was born. There are two reasons for this time limit.
Milk that has been overheated is a cause of bloating in lambs. Ensure the milk is never heated above tepid. When checked on your wrist before feeding it should feel just warm.