To help reluctant ewes accept their lambs (or to graft an orphan lamb onto a different ewe), I have built a stanchion gate and it works very well. It has rounded vertical wooden posts (adjustible distance from each other), and it can be set up as one side of a lamb pen. The pen should be small (about 5 feet square). The ewe and lamb are placed in the pen, with the ewe's head sticking out between the middle two verticle posts. The posts (or rungs) are adjusted so that they are close enough to keep the ewe from withdrawing her head into the pen. Her bucket of water and a small amt. of hay and/or grain are placed directly in front of her head outside the pen, where she can drink and eat. She should also be able to slide all the way down into a lying down position (rungs should go to the floor).
The lamb is inside the pen. The lamb also has his own little water bucket (away from where the ewe can kick). The ewe may struggle at first when the lamb tries to nurse, but she will eventually settle down. The important thing is to not let the ewe out of the stanchion gate until she has fully accepted the lamb. It may take several days, even a week! Don't soften or give up! Eventually when the lamb smells like her and her milk, she will accept him. Just keep an eye on things frequently to make sure the ewe hasn't gotten out, etc.
I had heard a lot about stanchion gates, but only used it once. The ewe I had in a stanchion gate fully accepted her lamb after 5 days.
You can also buy these gates ready made from Premier Fence and Equipment company, too. Theirs are metal, and also are adjustable. Sydell also makes them, I think. But I made mine from a couple of 2 x 4 horizontal cross bars, and several vertical 2 x 2 posts. It is about 36" tall. The middle two vertical posts are the ones that I made adjustable. The corners of the middle two posts were sanded or filed off so that they aren't sharp against the ewe's neck. I drilled a bunch of holes (5 or 6) n the top & bottom 2 x 4 crossbars, about 1 inch apart. And I bolted the middle two posts to the desired set of holes with wing nuts so I can change the width between posts quickly. Hope this helps,
Sincerely, Mary Swindell
At 12:01 PM 4/7/2004 -0600, you wrote:
Message: 2 Date: Tue, 06 Apr 2004 18:23:56 -0600 To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] From: Jennifer Albert <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: [blackbelly] Rejected lamb: what to do? Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
I have two ewes.One lambed last Sunday morning. She had grown very large, and her udder was large and full. She licked the (ram) lamb clean, but would not let him nurse. I thought that perhaps because (1) this was her first lamb and (2) her udder was so full, perhaps I could help things along. I managed to tie her on a short rope to the side of the pen, milked her a little to make sure that things were working ok, and put the lamb to suck, and I've had to continue to do that three or four times a day each day since. She's not happy about it---when he approaches her on his own, she butts him away, and I have to hold her tight to get her to accept his nursing. Today she was a bit better and did not struggle so much as he nursed.
I'm keeping her on a tether during the day so that she has access to grass and so that I can reel her in to nurse. Her lamb wants to be near her, but he doesn't seem to be taking the rejection too hard. At night, they're both inside a chain link pen with another ewe and her four-week-old ewe lamb.
What's the prognosis? Has anyone been able to get a ewe who has rejected a lamb to accept him/her? If so, how long did it take? Any hints or tricks?
Help!
Jenny in Northern New Mexico
Mary Swindell Illinois Regional Director, BBSAI Bellwether Farm 815 Bell Hill Road Cobden, IL 62920 (618) 893-4568 (home) (618) 453-1697 (work) [EMAIL PROTECTED]
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