What would you do ... ?

[Re-instated Gov]

Ewe had triplets.  We removed smallest, 2nd was rejected, 3rd stayed on mum.  3rd died.  We have had mum and leftovers in a small area for the last 3 days. I don't expect her to feed them but more  hoping for them to kind of buddy up for paddock protection, etc  LOL  Hubby thought he'd see what she'd do today if he held her and put a leftover on for a feed.  Then the other.  Success but only if we hold her.  Is it worth us perservering with this to see if she'll feed without our help or just leave it as the status quo and we continue to feed the leftovers?  Not bothered either way.

[Raven]

sorry, I am of no help, gov ( )

funnily I was only remembering the other day about how the farmers used to skin the dead lamb and throw it over one of the others for a ewe to take it - and was wondering if they still do that at all these days? 

probably easier just to bottle feed the kids for the duration? unless the mother is in danger of getting mastitis, perhaps?

[Re-instated Gov]

sorry, I am of no help, gov ( )

funnily I was only remembering the other day about how the farmers used to skin the dead lamb and throw it over one of the others for a ewe to take it - and was wondering if they still do that at all these days? 

probably easier just to bottle feed the kids for the duration? unless the mother is in danger of getting mastitis, perhaps?

Yep they still do BUT I'm no tuffy when it comes to that     We did rub his body over the leftovers to see if that would help.  May have done a wee bit.  Oh well, we'll wait and see.  I'm quite happy to feed them if I have too - I'm feeding 4 others so 2 more won't hurt 

[bintyonekenobi]

not a sheep farmer, honestly don't know, with cows perservering like that will work.  Goats will mother any others - including calves and lambs
... does make me wonder if the third one died because she possibly refused to feed it.

 
Only one way to find out for sure - keep making her feed the lambs, if she never takes to mothering them and you need to take over hand rearing them... I'd be ear marking her for the pot 

[Re-instated Gov]

not a sheep farmer, honestly don't know, with cows perservering like that will work.  Goats will mother any others - including calves and lambs
... does make me wonder if the third one died because she possibly refused to feed it.

 
Only one way to find out for sure - keep making her feed the lambs, if she never takes to mothering them and you need to take over hand rearing them... I'd be ear marking her for the pot 

We did watch her with the 3rd thinking this might be the case but she would feed him very happily. He died from pneumonia      She's not going in the pot - she is actually a very good mother.  This season just crap for her.  She's bonded with her leftovers so will leave her be we've decided.  We'll carry on feeding and she can give them 'paddock protection' ...  She may even be letting them have a sneak feed as they are going to her udder but I'm not gambling with that      

[Raven]

  @ "bonded with the leftovers"



  life on a farm aye?

[Red]

Ewe had triplets.  We removed smallest, 2nd was rejected, 3rd stayed on mum.  3rd died.  We have had mum and leftovers in a small area for the last 3 days. I don't expect her to feed them but more  hoping for them to kind of buddy up for paddock protection, etc  LOL  Hubby thought he'd see what she'd do today if he held her and put a leftover on for a feed.  Then the other.  Success but only if we hold her.  Is it worth us perservering with this to see if she'll feed without our help or just leave it as the status quo and we continue to feed the leftovers?  Not bothered either way.

Do you have another Ewe that is just about to Lamb? We used to sometimes successfully Mother a Lamb up to another Ewe that had just Lambed by rubbing her afterbirth over the Lamb.

[Re-instated Gov]

Ewe had triplets.  We removed smallest, 2nd was rejected, 3rd stayed on mum.  3rd died.  We have had mum and leftovers in a small area for the last 3 days. I don't expect her to feed them but more  hoping for them to kind of buddy up for paddock protection, etc  LOL  Hubby thought he'd see what she'd do today if he held her and put a leftover on for a feed.  Then the other.  Success but only if we hold her.  Is it worth us perservering with this to see if she'll feed without our help or just leave it as the status quo and we continue to feed the leftovers?  Not bothered either way.

Do you have another Ewe that is just about to Lamb? We used to sometimes successfully Mother a Lamb up to another Ewe that had just Lambed by rubbing her afterbirth over the Lamb.

Had she rejected all of them from the word go or if one of them had died at birth, then we would have done that, Red.  The silly ewe initially (ie 1st 24 hrs) managed perfectly well with the trips.  Anyway, to cut a long story short, with the crap weather we had here yesterday and upon release into the paddock, she decided to ignore the leftovers.  So back to square one where they're warm and well fed and very happy ie back in with the other lambs I'm hand rearing.   Just couldn't be bothered watching them possibly go backwards after all we'd done.

[deerdog]

20 mths to late but.....

http://library.ndsu.edu/tools/dspace/load/?file=/repository/bitstream/handle/10365/5273/farm_38_01_03.pdf?sequence=1

http://waynehutchinson.photodeck.com/-/galleries/sheep/page/5