How to drink a lamb without a sheep at home, feeding scheme
It is not uncommon for a lamb to be left without food because its mother died or refuses to feed. Proper and nutritious nutrition is extremely important in the first weeks of a baby's life, it provides strong immunity. Every farmer should know how to drink a newborn lamb without a sheep to save it from death. There are several watering methods, the owner chooses the appropriate one, taking into account the situation and his own capabilities.
How to feed lambs without a sheep
The reason why the lamb was left without a mother is not so important, but it is important that it dies if it is not properly drunk. When a sheep is sick, has refused to feed the offspring, or died, the orphaned cub is fed in one of the following ways:
- sit to another uterus;
- drink milk from another sheep;
- fed with goat or cow milk;
- fed with a synthetic analogue of milk.
Milk is the staple food of the newborn lamb. Within 2 days after birth, the cub must at least once receive maternal colostrum, without which the immune system will not "turn on", the internal organs will not begin to work fully, the body will not survive. Then you can drink your pet in any of the above ways.
Experienced farmers keep a second lactating female nearby for the duration of the birth of one sheep, which, if necessary, becomes a nurse.
If a sheep that has given birth does not have problems with lactation, but refuses to feed, then colostrum is donated to water the offspring. If the lambs suckle the mother, but she does not have enough milk for everyone, then complementary foods are required, without which the cubs will grow weak, get sick, and with a high probability will die. Colostrum can be requested from another farm if your own does not have lactating sheep.
Cow's milk used for feeding or feeding needs to be fortified, since its composition is somewhat different. The sheep product contains more fat. For enrichment, fish oil and chicken eggs are added to cow's milk. The resulting mixture is heated to 35-40 ° C, poured into a bottle, a rubber teat is put on so that the baby is comfortable to suck.
You can drink lamb with synthetic milk powder, which is sold in veterinary pharmacies. The product contains the optimal amount of fat and nutrients needed by a developing animal. It is prepared like infant formula: the powder is dissolved in boiled water. You cannot give semolina to a newborn lamb. The product is difficult to digest, it is permissible to include it in the diet in an amount of no more than 100 g per day, when the animal is one month old.
But from 2 weeks of age, the cub can eat a small amount of oatmeal.
According to the adult diet, the lamb eats from 3 months of age; from this period, feeding with milk ceases to be a vital necessity. The diet of a growing pet includes:
- juicy food - grass, roots, silage;
- roughage - hay;
- concentrates - grain compositions, compound feed;
- sources of vitamins and minerals - salt stones, bone meal, chalk.
A lamb that has reached 3 months of age can be sent to pasture with the rest of the sheep.
How to add lambs to another sheep?
When several sheep were born on the farm at the same time, then they can slip the lambs left without a mother. But sheep recognize their offspring by smell, so they do not always accept other people's cubs, and those, not receiving colostrum, die. There are several ways to prevent the babies from being discarded by non-native queens:
- The refusenik's fur is coated with colostrum or the contents of the amniotic fluid of a newly born sheep. The cub takes on the scent of a nurse.
- The refusenik is washed with saline to wash away the maternal scent. Then his little body is pressed against the body of the nurse's own cub, they rub the fur coats against each other so that the smells of the lambs become the same.
- A high-yielding sheep is tied to the bench, the head is fixed so that it is not possible to turn around, to smell the offspring. The lamb freely approaches the udder, receives colostrum. Usually a few of these feedings are enough for a sheep to adopt a step-offs. A similar procedure can be carried out with a mother who refuses to feed her offspring.
Basic feeding rules
Lambs growing without a uterus are weak, do not have strong immunity. So that they do not get sick, you need to approach their cultivation at home with the utmost responsibility. Small animals without a sheep are kept dry and warm in a ventilated area. Artificial feeding involves the use of a bottle that is disinfected before each drink. Also, all equipment for care and feeding is disinfected, scalded with boiling water. Otherwise, pathogenic microorganisms will seriously harm the weak body of a lamb growing without a mother.
Newborn refuseniks are not overfed. But they shouldn't go hungry either. Daily portions are strictly rationed. An overfed lamb is more likely to have stomach malfunction. Feeding scheme without sheep:
- in the first week of the pet's life, the interval between feedings should be a maximum of 2.5 hours, in total 6-7 meals are taken per day, that is, they are fed both day and night;
- in the second week, the number of feedings is reduced to 5;
- in the period from 3 to 6 weeks, 4 meals a day are enough to feed the pet;
- from the 7th week, the lamb is fed 3 times a day.
Feeding the lamb by age
The diet changes as the lamb grows. From the age of 2 weeks, the pet begins to consume complementary foods in the form of decoctions, from the month of age - root crops. They are given at first 20 g, so that the lamb does not carry from unusual food, then the portion is increased every day by 10 g. From 2 months the animal is taught to grass.
The table shows an algorithm for feeding small pets from birth to one year of age.
| Age | Feed type | Products | Quantity per day |
| feeding a newborn lamb without a sheep | milk | cow, sheep, goat, synthetic substitute | 200-400 ml |
| 2 week | milk | cow, sheep, goat, synthetic analog | 400-800 ml |
| lure | broth of oatmeal, cake, oatmeal, wheat bran | 40, 20, 25, 25 g | |
| minerals | drug "Tetravit" | injection under the skin 1 ml per specimen | |
| monthly | milk | cow, sheep, goat, synthetic substitute | 800 ml |
| lure | broth of oatmeal, cake, oat porridge, wheat bran, hay, root vegetables | 30, 60, 60, 60, 150-200, from 20 g | |
| 2 month | milk | cow, sheep, goat, synthetic analog | 400-600 ml |
| lure | broth of oatmeal, cake, oatmeal, wheat bran, grass, root vegetables | 20, 100, 100, 100, 500, 300 g | |
| minerals | salt stones, chalk | ||
| 3 month | main feed | broth of oatmeal, cake, oatmeal, wheat bran, grass, root crops | 20, 100, 150, 150, 900, 400 g |
| minerals | salt stones, chalk | ||
| from 4 months | main feed | concentrates, hay, grass, roots | 300, 400, 2000, 600 g |
| minerals | salt stones, mineral supplements | ||
| from 8 months | main feed | rough, juicy, concentrated | 40%, 30%, 45% |
| minerals | salt stones, mineral supplements |
What can not be fed
A lamb, especially one growing without a sheep, has a weak digestive system and a delicate body, so the introduction of new foods into the diet should be gradual and careful. It is unacceptable to feed young individuals, even already switching to adult food, with the following products:
- sour and marsh herbs (sedge, horsetail, and the like);
- sugar beet (it causes diabetes);
- bakery products, pastries.
Possible problems
When a lamb is 2 weeks old, it is weaned from bottle sucking, it is taught to feed from a bowl. This is not an easy task. If the pet stubbornly does not eat from unfamiliar dishes, then they do the following: the finger is dipped in milk, brought to the animal's mouth, then again slowly, demonstratively lowered into a bowl.
The cub will soon become interested in the contents of the bowl. When this happens, you need to slightly change the feeding regime, give food 30 minutes later. The pet will get hungry, the interest in the contents of the dishes will increase even more.
Diarrhea in young animals is not uncommon. To reduce the likelihood of its appearance, you should carefully monitor the quality of feed and the feeding regime, do not change the diet abruptly. If diarrhea does start, the lamb should be drunk with plenty of water to prevent dehydration, then shown to the veterinarian, especially if the diarrhea is accompanied by a deterioration in health and appetite.
