From the very first moments of life to the first grazing, the lamb requires the close attention of the farmer. If everything is done correctly and "with the soul", you will get a healthy young sheep or ram. Fill up your flock with new animals, suitable for bringing new high-grade offspring and giving high-quality wool.
- Care for lambs immediately after lambing
- Feeding the lambs
- Grazing lambs
- Lamb diet
In addition to the daily cares of caring for the flock, each farmer advocates replenishing his flock. After all "fresh blood" improves the breed, heals the herd, increases its fecundity, is a source of constant stable profits. The more attention is paid to the young, the better the flock. Selection of the best young individuals and care for them increases the resilience of the sheep, allows you to breed with even more productive qualities.
The milk lamb is fed by an ewe.
Care for lambs immediately after lambing
Newborn lambs are helpless, wet and almost do not stand on their feet are not well oriented in the surrounding space. It even happens that the lamb does not breathe after birth, does not show signs of life. In such cases, you need to take emergency measures.Peel the lamb's nose and mouth from mucus. Put it on the straw bedding and, inhaling the baby in the mouth air, pat it rhythmically.
Sometimes a lamb is born in the amniotic membrane. It must be torn off immediately so that the cub begins to breathe.
In a newborn, the umbilical cord breaks off immediately. But, if this does not happen, cut it off, leaving the tea length 8-10 centimeters from the belly. After that, cauterize the navel with iodine solution.
To keep the lamb from getting cold and sick of it, dry it by placing a bowl of hot water next to it. Apply to the udder of the mother of the newborn through 30 - 40 minutes after birth.
Feeding the lambs
Before the first feeding, strain a portion of the colostrum in an ewe. You must help the lamb to get milk at the first feed. Bring him to the mother, direct his head to the nipples and hold her until the baby finishes sucking. For the first 2 to 3 days, feeding occurs frequently. Every 2 to 3 hours.
Constantly check the udder ewe. If the calf does not suck all the milk, give it once or twice a day. Such milk can be used for feeding lighter weaker lambs.
With low milkiness of the ewes and multiple litter, when the mother is unable to feed all the young, you must ensure good nutrition of the baby.Place it against another multi-dairy uterus. To she took someone else's lamb sprinkle her milk over the entire body of the baby. And the new mother will not hear someone else's smell. For a greater taming of the lamb to each other in the evening or at night, plant a receiving ewe for 2 to 3 days.
In hopeless situations, when the lamb is left without mother's milk and it is impossible to plant it to another uterus, the baby will have to be artificially fed. For this, not only sheep, but also cow or goat milk is suitable.
First 5 - 7 days, give it to the lamb every 2 - 3 hours, heated up. Gradually increase the interval between feedings until you finally bring it up to 3 times a day.
Exceptionally milk lamb eats one month. Consuming 5 kg of milk, its weight increases on average by one kilogram.
By the end of the first month of feeding, the amount of milk begins to decrease in the ewe. And the needs of the young, already gained weight, in nutrients increase significantly. Therefore, at this stage of development, the baby should gradually begin to teach to eat concentrates. The best concentrated food for this age is oatmeal.
A little later, start giving juicy food - chopped fresh vegetables. Little by little let us and branch feed.
At four months of age, the ratio of consumption of mother's milk and additional feed in the diet of the lamb is 50:50. At about 3, 5 - 4 months, take the calf from the uterus. And after 2 - 3 weeks, stop feeding with milk and the rest.
Grazing lambs
The first grazing of lambs begins from 20 days old. The condition of its beginning is steady warm weather. During grazing, you must carefully look after the babies.
Do not allow them to mix with the rest of the herd. Babies need to get moving. Do not let them sit on the ground for a long time, because they can catch a cold and get sick. Do not let the lambs tear the wormholes. They can eat the ground and die. Do not allow them to drink from dirty pools. It is necessary to ensure that the ewes eat enough of them and feed the pups in time. On grazing twice a day, the uterus and lambs must be given clean fresh water.
Weaning new youngsters from mother's milk, you must graze the lambs the best, most nutritious areas of grass.
Lamb diet
Lambs taken from ewes are grazed on meadows of herbs rich in proteins and minerals. They eat legumes, alfalfa, clover, sweet clover and the like.
In addition, they need to be supplemented with silage, haylage. Giving juicy food - chopped fresh vegetables. In the fall and winter, when the lambs are transferred to the sheepfold, they eat hay, fodder, succulent feed.
