Dead ewe what would you do with lambs?

kk.man

Just checked the ewes and lambs this evening and found a ewe dead. She has two fine lambs about 2 months old. Should i just leave them to their own devices now?

rangler1

kk.man wrote: »

Just checked the ewes and lambs this evening and found a ewe dead. She has two fine lambs about 2 months old. Should i just leave them to their own devices now?

They'll be alright if they're eight weeks old

Inchilad

kk.man wrote:

Just checked the ewes and lambs this evening and found a ewe dead. She has two fine lambs about 2 months old. Should i just leave them to their own devices now?

Be unlikely that they will take a bottle.might be no harm to give them access to bit of creep.

Username John

Had the same happen last year, think the lambs were a small bit younger... I left em to it, they lived... but they turned out to be runts of things...

I'd consider as inch said, giving em access to creep for a while... even if twas only for a short while...

Best of luck with em...

Green farmer

Give em creep and they'll be fine

kk.man

Any suggestions given that they are with the rest of the flock? I didn't plan on creep feeding the lambs yet.

rangler1

kk.man wrote: »

Any suggestions given that they are with the rest of the flock for creep feeding? I don't haven planned on creep feeding the lambs yet.

my response is based on grass only, the lambs won't be great but they won't justify the hassle of seperating them and feeding creep only, we've lambs here that were orphaned at 5 and six weeks and they are getting by alright.....probably robbing all round them but surviving

kk.man

rangler1 wrote: »

my response is based on grass only, the lambs won't be great but they won't justify the hassle of seperating them and feeding creep only, we've lambs here that were orphaned at 5 and six weeks and they are getting by alright.....probably robbing all round them but surviving

Thanks and funny reply! Best laugh had all day!

rangler1

kk.man wrote: »

Thanks and funny reply! Best laugh had all day!

Yea, brought one off this morning, six weeks lambed, grass tetany, she mustn't have thought much of the mag buckets.
Have to say there's too much sheep here to be going after two lambs here now

kk.man

rangler1 wrote: »

Yea, brought one off this morning, six weeks lambed, grass tetany, she mustn't have thought much of the mag buckets.
Have to say there's too much sheep here to be going after two lambs here now

I took out the mineral buckets on Saturday 😵

rangler1

kk.man wrote: »

I took out the mineral buckets on Saturday 😵

Four to eight weeks lambed is the highest risk period here for tetany, A neighbours farm is so prone to it that he has to start feeding magnesium with a small amount of meal from 3 weeks lambed on, says he's even lost ewes with singles

arctictree

I'd say the lambs will be fine.

I have a 10 week old pet lamb here that couldn't have been more than 4 weeks old when I got him. Never took a drop of milk off me but is still alive eating grass and nuts.

rangler1

rangler1 wrote: »

Yea, brought one off this morning, six weeks lambed, grass tetany, she mustn't have thought much of the mag buckets.
Have to say there's too much sheep here to be going after two lambs here now

I had another one dead the day after this one, a 3 week old single so had to get him, set up the gates around her and came back in 15 minutes and he was lying against her.....closed the gates and got him.

I wasn't convince it was tetany, never get it in singles so went to the lab, it was blackleg, mustn't have got her right with the heptavac

razor8

What symptoms would show up for blackleg?

J.O. Farmer

razor8 wrote: »

What symptoms would show up for blackleg?

Normally death would be the main symptom in either cattle or sheep. It'll kill within hours.

razor8

Death usually occurs within 48 hours of symptoms being noted. Animals are often found dead. Lameness, depression, loss of appetite and a hot painful swelling on a limb which crackles when pressed may indicate blackleg. Later, the skin over the swelling will become cold, dry and leathery.

Taken from google

J.O. Farmer

razor8 wrote: »

Death usually occurs within 48 hours of symptoms being noted. Animals are often found dead. Lameness, depression, loss of appetite and a hot painful swelling on a limb which crackles when pressed may indicate blackleg. Later, the skin over the swelling will become cold, dry and leathery.

Taken from google

I've seen cattle dead in the morning having looked fine and healthy the night before so 48 hours from symptoms being noted doesn't seem right in a lot of cases. It may be true where symptoms are observed.

Also there is a contradiction there that backs that up. Animals are often found dead which seems to indicate no symptoms were observed.