The appearance and weight of a newborn lamb, what care procedures are needed
Sheep are considered one of the most prolific domestic animals, as they go out in search of their soul mate almost all year round, regardless of the season. True, most often lambing occurs in winter and spring. At the same time, newborn lambs need close attention and constant care. In the first hours after birth, they need care. Therefore, the continued existence of an animal depends not only on the behavior of its parents, but also on the farmer.
Appearance
Depending on the breed and genetic characteristics, there are external differences in newborn lambs. A child of a sheep and a ram will necessarily have less wool than adults. In addition, these babies have no horns. The body parts of a lamb are smaller in comparison with the dimensions of its sexually mature parents.
At birth, the farmer must observe that all the babies dry out, and the mother sheep licks each of her babies. In the future, this will allow her to distinguish her lambs from other newborns from the herd.
Average weight of newborn lambs
The average weight of one newborn is about 4-6 kilograms, if there is only one baby in the lamb. When two lambs are born, each of them will be 3-5 kilograms. They soon begin to suck on their mother's milk. Sheep and ram children gain weight quickly. Although the first couple of days they spend more time passively, sleeping.
Little lambs feeding on the milk of dairy sheep consume a lot of nutrients that will further aid in development.
Babies gain 350-500 grams daily during the first 2 months. Such conditions for a growing organism can only be provided by caring mothers and attentive farmers, who observe not only the growth of a small female or male, but also the state of health.
Rules for caring for them
A newborn lamb can be born weak. Some individuals may not even show signs of life. Therefore, the farmer should carry out several procedures to bring the pet to life:
- The muzzle is cleared.
- Artificial respiration is done (the legs are pressed against the chest of the newborn, air is blown into the mouth).
- The head of the lamb is supported and needs help to take its first sips.
The umbilical cord usually breaks by itself. But in rare cases, the farmer still has to prune it himself. After the manipulation, iodine treatment should follow. In order for the baby to be strong, in the first days of life, artificial heating with ultraviolet lamps should be created for him. This will increase the hemoglobin index and the number of deposits of phosphorus-calcium salts.
What to feed the lambs
The first feeding in a lamb's life occurs 40 minutes after birth. Before this, the obligatory processing of the female must be carried out. The sheep's wool is sheared in the place where the teats and udders are located. The nursing mother is washed under warm water and the colostrum is expressed. Only after these procedures are small lambs admitted to it. They need to be shown where the udder is. Therefore, the first time this mission must be performed by a farmer. He should direct the lamb to the feeding area. This is done simply by hand.
Sheep after giving birth are very thirsty. Therefore, farmers should give their pet a drink. A nursing mother can drink one and a half liters of water at a time. Approximately how long she will need even after the lambs are fed the first time. The nurse will also need hay to eat.
Instead of sheep milk, goat's or cow's milk can be used. A week-old baby will need 145 grams for one of 6-7 meals. Reducing portions with such a diet is possible only from a 2-month period.
Regardless of what and according to what scheme the baby eats, a complete rejection of sheep's milk is not permissible. It triggers the immune system according to the rules and allows the growing body to develop with age. Colostrum can be given instead of sheep's milk. If there is no other lambing sheep on the farm, then you should turn to other farmers for help. This is important for a pet, a possible future leader of the pack.
Artificial feeding
Self-feeding lambs artificially is not an easy task for every farmer. But you can cope with it if you devote enough time and do not forget about your obligations. You just need to remember:
- caring for lambs does not allow indulgence, a strict feeding regime must be adhered to;
- a young organism, which is brought up separately from a nursing lamb, must be kept clean, warm and dry;
- you cannot independently and at will break the diet of the lamb, increasing its portion of milk;
- you can teach a newborn to drink from a bowl, but only when he is 12 days old;
- feeding equipment must be clean, sterilized.
If there is another lactating female in the herd, then you can try to plant her hungry baby with another lambing sheep.
How to mark correctly
For breeding farmers, it is customary to mark animals. It can be applied to a baby as early as 3 days of age. The tag allows you to identify the animal. You can also use it to find out the owner's name. The clip is put on lambs' ears. It is made of plastic. Although previously metal tags were popular. It is installed using a clipper, which makes this procedure painless.
There are other options for tagging lambs, but these are more painful:
- tattoo;
- burning information;
- pinches on the auricles.
Now more and more farmers tend not to injure their animals. One of the newfangled methods is chipping. It is likely that this option will soon supplant even wearing ear clips. It is important that the information from the chip cannot be changed, but you can read it.
Selection
If the farm has expensive breeds of animals, then for breeding it is necessary to select the best specimens. Of course, they choose among the young.
To the tribe
Young individuals undergo the first inspection 10-15 days after birth. For breeding, they take those lambs that are in good health, strong constitution and large weight.After the last breastfeeding, another selection is made. Then at the age of 1 and 2 years they are examined again.
For meat
The culled lambs are selected for meat. As a rule, rams are slaughtered when they reach 8-9 months. It is believed that at this age, lamb is the most juicy.
Vaccinations and disease prevention
The need to control the health of the animal is always present. To do this, the farmer must know what procedures should be carried out with a newborn lamb in the first and subsequent days of his life. Disease prevention takes a fundamental place in this issue. Therefore, vaccination is indispensable. The first one is carried out already 3-4 days after lambing. Rabies vaccination can be done at the request of the pet owner. Additional security measures haven't hurt anyone yet.
