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.
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.
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.
Lambs less than 30 days of age will need a liquid diet until about 60 days of age. They will start to nibble lamb ration pellets at about 30 days of age. Provide fresh drinking water at all times for the lamb in a clean bucket that the lamb can easily reach.
Lambs will begin to nibble on solid food soon after birth and will be fully eating grass by 4- 6 weeks old. Hard feed such as Sheep Nuts TM or Multifeed TM nuts can also be fed. Weaning can begin as early as 6 weeks of age but most lambs benefit from milk feeding up to 12-14 weeks of age.
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.
Drunken lamb syndrome is the term given to lambs usually around a week old which stop drinking milk, become lethargic and go ataxic (wobbly or drunken) with no ob- vious cause eg no naval ill, scour, hypothermia etc.
A lamb with hypothermia will appear weak, gaunt, or hunched up and have a cold mouth and ears. Use a rectal thermometer to check its temperature. “A temperature below 100 degrees Fahrenheit is considered hypothermic,” says Olson.
This is why at night you will often hear ewes and lambs baaing and bleating to each other, so that they can pair up. This is why they make such a lot of noise at night time. Some sheep are lucky enough to lamb outside without the close monitoring of the farmer.
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.
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.
Weather permitting, healthy ewes and lambs can go out into the field after 3–5 days.
It usually happens in the first 2-3 days of the lamb's life. A lamb 2-3 days old should be nursing well and be "filled out." Keep an eye open for constipated lambs the first week.
There are three basic methods appropriate for on-farm euthanasia: overdose by barbiturate; stunning with a penetrating captive bolt, followed by bleed-out; and gunshot. Each method has advantages and disadvantages. Euthanasia by barbiturate overdose must be performed by a veterinarian.
Bloat in lambs is a common health issue that unfortunately can kill if not treated early. It occurs when gas forms and accumulates in part of the gut called the abomasal (stomach) and cannot be released. The buildup of gas causes the stomach to distend.
Watery mouth is an infectious bacterial disease that can kill newborn lambs usually within the first 3 days of life. Lambs pick up infection from the environment and the bacteria multiply very rapidly in the gut. Affected lambs die within hours.
All lambs need colostrum. While it is possible for lambs to survive without colostrum in a relatively disease-free environment, the likelihood of disease and death is much higher in lambs that do not receive colostrum. The ideal colostrum source for supplemental feeding of lambs is from healthy ewes in one's own flock.
It was concluded that tail wagging might have communication purposes between the lambs and their mothers while suckling.
If the lamb/kid is too weak to stand and nurse, milk out colostrum from the mother (best) or use a colostrum replacer and bottle-feed the lamb/kid 2 ounces every couple of hours until it is strong enough to nurse on its own.
Lamb creep pen
A creep pen is designed for young lambs to have access to additional feed concentrates separate from their mothers and other mature sheep. A lamb creep pen should be set up to allow the lambs continuous access to fresh creep feed and a clean and dry environment.
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.
Typically, pelleting rations that are more than 60 percent roughage are recommended for finishing lambs. This should result in similar ADGs as observed with feeding high-concentrate rations; however, feed efficiency will be poorer than when lambs are fed a high-concentrate finishing ration.